Mass Effect: Event Horizon
by Drussius
Summary: Happenstance draws the crew of an asari cargo vessel and a band of mercenaries into a fight for their lives during the Reaper siege of Terra Nova. This story explores events occurring at the start of the Reaper invasion, and centers largely around original characters, though some cameos are included. Contains violence and some adult language.
1. Chapter 1: Beginnings

**Author's Note: I would like to thank BSN's hot_heart and IcyFlare and everyone who has reviewed here for your critical input and suggestions. I have not changed the events of the first chapter in any way, but based on the feedback I have cleaned up some grammatical errors and similar issues.**

* * *

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter One: Beginnings

**Approaching the Asgard System, Now…**

Neela'Xara nar Ganaza shifted in the comfortable pilot's seat of the _Sileya_, a small asari cargo vessel, her hands hovering in anticipation over the holographic interface of the controls. A moment later, when the interface indicated that the ship had reached the edge of the system and their mass effect envelope dissipated, the quarian pilot quickly went to work. She swung the ship around and bringing up the local navigational charts, setting course toward their destination… an asteroid spaceport orbiting the planet Terra Nova.

It did not take long to reach sensor range of the planet, and once it was within sight, Neela's eyes widened behind the dark visor of her suit's helmet. A veritable cloud of starships was floating serenely around the spaceport. At the heart of the swarm of Alliance cruisers and frigates were two immense vessels – an Alliance dreadnought and carrier. Neela had not seen such a large concentration of ships since leaving the flotilla for her pilgrimage, and her heart sank at the sight. She had seen the footage that came in the day before. An armada of invaders had commenced an assault on the human home world. This fleet was undoubtedly present to defend Terra Nova against a similar assault.

"_Incoming Vessel. This is the Alliance Sixth Fleet, SSV Thermopylae. State your destination and business._"

"This is the Asari Cargo Vessel _Sileya_," Neela answered the incoming transmission in her high-pitched and almost childlike voice. "We are scheduled to receive a shipment held in cargo bay B-19 of the orbital station. I am requesting approach vectors and a berth."

The quarian pilot adjusted course and speed, slowing the ship so that she could await docking instructions and avoid any appearance of hostility. However, the only response from the Alliance ship following her transmission was a strange digital distortion. She brought up the communications information on the holographic interface in front of her, her brows coming together in confusion over the transmission analysis displayed there. There was some kind of interference in the signal. She wondered if perhaps the Alliance ships might be the source. Perhaps the Alliance was assuming hostility for some reason and was jamming the signal.

She activated the channel designated for contacting the Captain aboard the ship, and was just about to send a message asking her to come up to the bridge when a red beam lanced past the ship. The attack was a direct hit against one of the Alliance vessels, and after a few seconds the sustained fire pierced the ship's barriers, shattering the cruiser violently.

"Keelah!"

Acting on pure reflex, Neela frantically made corrections in their course, taking evasive action to get out of the path of any follow-up attacks that might be incoming. Even as she made the adjustments, however, she was worried. The _Sileya_ was not a combat vessel. While it appeared to be a vastly scaled-down version of the famous _Destiny Ascension_, which had been lost in the Battle of the Citadel years before, it was not an especially maneuverable ship.

"Captain!" Neela screamed into the microphone built into her helmet, glad that she had opened a channel before the incoming fire started. "We have a serious problem up here!"

"_On my way,_" came the immediate reply.

Another crimson beam passed within a few dozen meters of the bow of the ship, and Neela hastily made another course change, noting with alarm that the Alliance vessels had taken up defensive positions. Both the Alliance fleet and the station's automated defenses started returning fire. She was caught in crossfire between the defenders and whoever the attackers were. Adrenaline surged through her. She brought the ship around and plotted a quick course, preparing to make a run toward the far side of the station to get out of the firefight. As the ship banked and turned to align to the new heading, she caught sight of the attackers through the front viewport, and her breath caught in her throat.

There were about a half-dozen massive starships on route toward Terra Nova and its asteroid-based spaceport. She had seen these same vessels in the data feeds received from Earth before contact had been lost. Reapers. The Reaper vessels looked like some sort of strange disembodied mechanical hand and forearm, or perhaps some form of tentacled monster. The humans had blamed these Reapers for provoking the geth attack on the Citadel years before, and had used them as justification for the destruction of a Mass Relay six months ago. Neela had veered between believing the rumors and dismissing them as the delusion of conspiracy theorists ever since she'd first heard the stories. When the footage from Earth came in, however, any doubts had vanished. Terrified as she was at that moment, she was just thankful that the Reapers seemed to be concentrating their fire on the space station and the Alliance craft, not the _Sileya_.

Small red points of light swarmed out of the sides of the Reaper vessels and started drawing closer. Neela sat frozen in her seat, staring with a mixture of terror and wonder at the sight. Her hand hovered over the holographic interface, course corrections momentarily forgotten. She could not tear her gaze away from the red lights that were rapidly closing not only on the Alliance fleet, but on the _Sileya_ as well… until one of them fired a crimson burst very similar to the ones with which the much larger Reaper vessels were bombarding Terra Nova's defenders.

"They're fighters of some kind," she spoke the sudden realization aloud, jarred back to reality by the impact of the first blast against the _Sileya's_ barriers. The strike sent a tremor through the vessel despite the stabilizing effect of the inertial dampeners.

She brought the ship around rapidly and made a run for the station, but laser-imaging scans showed that the fighters were giving chase, forcing her to alter course again in hopes of evading their attacks. The scanner images of the small fighter craft that were displayed on her screen resembled a mechanical eye. The craft were roughly ovoid in shape, save for a few protrusions in the plating of their exterior, and their weapon blasts were emitted from a glowing red aperture at the front. The projectiles they fired were quickly pulverizing the _Sileya's_ barriers, despite Neela's frantic attempts to evade their attacks; there were simply too many to avoid.

She heard footsteps approaching the bridge at a run, and she hoped that the captain would have some ideas about how they could make an escape. She didn't dare try a jump to FTL speeds while under constant fire, especially with the increasing amount of debris polluting the surrounding space as more vessels were destroyed. The _Sileya's_ barriers were almost down, and if the drive core were to be damaged while they were trying to make the jump, it could be catastrophic. However, if they didn't do _something_ to escape, the results would be just as horrific.

* * *

**Columbia System, Four weeks earlier…**

Neela'Xara sat silently in the solitude of the _Sileya's_ bridge, her eyes fixed upon the distant stars outside. The young quarian never tired of the serenity of space, and found the view at once relaxing and inspiring. Only occasionally did her eyes shift to the holographic interface in front of her, and she made minor course corrections to keep the vessel gliding along on its intended route through the system. She was almost exactly where she had always aspired to be… in the pilot's seat of a starship. The only difference between her longtime dream and the place in which she was now sitting was that she was not currently at the helm of a quarian vessel.

The _Sileya_ was a small asari ship, little more than a cargo freighter, though it was quite a beautiful little vessel in the eyes of her pilot. Neela had always thought that aside from her own people's ships, asari ships were the most beautiful vessels in space. She liked the graceful curves and rounded edges common to the ships of both races. There was a much more artistic aesthetic to them than the angular, clunky-looking starships built by the turians or the humans.

Neela had been on her pilgrimage for a little over a year. Thus far, she hadn't found anything that she felt was even close to good enough to serve as a proper gift with which to return to the Migrant Fleet. She wanted her presentation to be something extraordinary, so that when she came back, she would have a better chance to earn a spot on the bridge of whatever vessel would become her new home. Sure, she was competent enough at the repair of various technologies to be useful on the crew of any ship in the flotilla, but that was the extent of her skill in that area… competent. She was every bit as competent at the helm, but her love of piloting starships gave her the determination to learn to become _great_ at it. She would settle for more mundane work if her people really needed it, but she knew she would only be truly happy in the pilot's seat.

She felt, more than heard, another figure step onto the bridge, and she turned in her seat to see which of her crewmates had come to join her. The _Sileya_ had only five crewmembers, and in the six months since she had signed on to the crew, Neela had become quite fond of all of them. They were like a surrogate family, and given how much she missed being among her people, she sorely needed that bond at times.

Her visitor was none other than the ship's captain, an asari who had seemed like such an intimidating figure to the young quarian when she'd first signed on. Captain Julisa Nisaria had the figure of a highly-trained athlete, the steely gaze of a veteran soldier, and the sharp intellect of an asari Matriarch, though Neela never had the nerve to ask how old she actually was. Her skin was a dark hue for an asari, and the natural markings around her eyes seemed only to accent the most unnerving aspects of her gaze. She had obviously seen days on the battlefield, as evidenced by the rather prominent scar that went from her right brow up to her scalp crests, and the fact that she carried an old shotgun with her everywhere she went. In truth, while Neela was more comfortable around the captain now than she had been for the first few months, she still found the woman a bit unnerving.

"Captain," Neela greeted her, and then returned her gaze to the interface in front of her.

"Neela," the captain returned her greeting.

In contrast to the high-pitched voice of the young quarian, the asari's voice was deeper in tone and quite lovely. It often sounded to Neela as if the woman was purring her words rather than speaking them.

"We are on course and speed to reach our destination in less than an hour," Neela reported. "Precisely the time you specified."

"Have there been any signs of other ships in the area?"

"None, Captain," Neela shook her head.

"Slow down. I want to arrive just a little late. An extra fifteen minutes would be excellent."

"Captain?" there was a slight hiss from the seat's swiveling mechanism as Neela turned to look back at her. When she saw the steely look in the asari's eyes, she nodded. "Understood, Captain. Slowing," she pivoted back into position and rapidly made the necessary adjustments, bleeding some of their velocity with a few quick maneuvers.

"Notify me when we are ten minutes out," the captain instructed. "I will have Prathus come up until then."

"Acknowledged."

Neela listened to the receding footfalls of her captain, and then closed her eyes for a moment, soaking up the silence in the wake of the asari's departure. Life with her people on the flotilla was crowded and noisy. There were so many individuals living together in the cramped quarters of their ships that it felt like there was no privacy. While Neela often missed the company of her people, she rarely missed the noise. She loved the silence of the _Sileya_.

It was short-lived; the heavy and uneven footfalls of a new arrival soon filled the void. A mirthful smile graced Neela's lips beneath the dark visor of her helmet at the sound. While three of the five crew members aboard were asari and all three moved with surprising silence over the metal decks, the fifth member of their little family was far less stealthy when he approached. The fact that he walked with a severe limp might have had something to do with it.

"Hello, Prathus," she greeted the turian before he had even entered the room.

The turian collapsed unceremoniously into the co-pilot's chair to her right, groaning as he did so. At his direction, the chair glided up to the interface in front of him, which he activated, scanning the data displayed there.

"Xara," he finally acknowledged her. The turian always used her clan name rather than her given name. "I trust everything is going well up here?"

"The captain wants to be late. I get the feeling she's expecting trouble on this run."

"I think so," the turian nodded. "She wants me monitoring the system for transmissions or signs of signal interference. I'd guess that she wants to arrive late in the hope that if there are additional ships waiting to ambush us, they'll get impatient and start sending messages back and forth. It would be something that we might intercept... could give us some advance warning."

Prathus was something of a father figure aboard the ship, even though all of the asari aboard were chronologically older than him. The turian was almost sixty years old, and as far as Neela knew, that was about half of the average turian's lifespan. He'd told her a little about his life over the months that they'd served together aboard the _Sileya_.

A former soldier, he had served aboard a turian military vessel during the Relay 314 incident. When the humans launched a counteroffensive in the space over Shanxi, the ship he served on had been severely damaged. He was injured when some power relays overloaded, and was trapped in a damaged section of the ship by the resulting explosion. It had been over a day before his people managed to cut through collapsed bulkheads and other obstructions to get him medical attention. As a result he had both a permanent limp and an exceptional dislike for humans. However, Neela had developed a great respect for the turian's experience and instinct, and she frowned at his answer.

"Why did she take this job if she thought it was a trap?" Neela questioned.

"Sometimes a smuggler has to take risks to get paid," Prathus shrugged. "When you deal with criminals, you're bound to get conned now and again."

Neela sighed, unable to argue with the turian's logic. Were it not for the fact that she had been offered the chance to pilot the ship when she hired on to the crew, and the pressing need to leave Illium because of a… misunderstanding… with the local security forces, she never would have taken a job as a smuggler. They did honest work about half of the time, but it seemed like the other half was spent delivering unknown cargo to remote locations with strict instructions not to ask any questions about the groups or items involved.

"I wouldn't worry too much, Xara," Prathus said after a moment. "We have a fine pilot, a fast ship, and a captain who, I'd wager, has dealt with far worse than some thieves or mercenaries."

Neela shifted in her seat, embarrassed by the praise. She stole a glance at the old turian, studying the orange markings on his face. He'd told her once that they were representative of a colony, but he hadn't elaborated. Neela found the angular and symmetrical marks fascinating. Her people, confined to suits to isolate themselves from their environment, were sometimes difficult to distinguish from one another. Most quarian enviro-suits were more or less the same. Some of her people added a layer of padding or a few unique bits to provide some visual distinction – Neela herself had a padded vest of sorts in a lovely shade of turquoise and some matching trim along the hood that covered her helmet. But such individual touches usually weren't much.

Prathus broke in on her thoughts. "All of that aside, I may not be able to dance anymore, but I can still hold my own in a fight."

Neela giggled softly. She couldn't help herself.

"What?" the Turian turned to look at her. "You doubt that I can still fight?"

"No. I doubt that you could _ever_ dance."

"Very funny."

"Whatever happens, I know that we'll manage to pull through," Neela voiced her confidence. "We always manage to avoid disaster."

"Speaking of disaster," Prathus changed the subject, "Aida tells me that her people are debating a measure that would pressure the Alliance to pay reparations to the batarians for the Alpha Relay explosion. If you ask me, the Alliance could use a good dose of humility. This might be the catalyst for it."

"Didn't they arrest the one responsible for it a few months back? Commander Shepard?"

"A perfect example of human arrogance," Prathus's tone was icy. "She slams an asteroid into a relay, destroying an entire star system, and then tries to justify it with stories of the imminent arrival of doomsday machines."

"You don't think the Reapers are real?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. But I think the Alliance is using these 'Reapers' as an excuse to shield themselves from responsibility for the destruction their actions caused. Just like they used ignorance of galactic law to justify tampering with Relay 314."

"I have a hard time believing Commander Shepard would do something like that without a very good reason."

"Why not? The Alliance just watched while the _Destiny Ascension_ was destroyed with the council aboard during the Battle of the Citadel, and then later claimed they couldn't risk losing ships that might be needed to defeat the geth. But they didn't hesitate to seize control of the council afterward. As I recall, that human Shepard was involved in that too," he shook his head in disgust. "I suppose we should count ourselves lucky that the Alliance didn't fight to keep our new representatives from taking their places on the council."

"From what I know, Commander Shepard seems to be a good person. I don't think she would have done any of those things maliciously."

Prathus glanced sidelong at her, and there was a hint of surprise reflected in his expression. "You know her?"

"No," Neela shook her head. "But I've heard about her. She came to the Migrant Fleet a while back to defend one of my people against charges of treason. She convinced the Admiralty Board of Tali'Zorah's innocence. And she eliminated a contingent of geth that had seized one of the fleet's ships. The general opinion among my people is that she is an ally."

"I see," Prathus fell silent.

Neela glanced at the old turian, wondering what he was thinking. Perhaps he had simply decided to drop the subject since she had defended Commander Shepard's actions. She supposed it was for the best. She knew that he was a bit prejudiced against humankind, and didn't really expect to be able to convince him of the Commander's innocence. She didn't even know for sure that Shepard _was_ innocent. Perhaps the Alliance had decided to strike the batarians and claim they had no choice in the matter. Only Shepard herself would ever really know. There did seem to be an awful lot of circumstantial evidence that pointed to humanity being closer to ruthless rivals to the council races than allies.

Neela's gaze returned to the distant stars.

"I like the quiet up here," Prathus broke the silence after several minutes.

Neela smiled.

* * *

**Over Terra Nova, Now…**

The deck beneath Selura Leneur's feet shook violently, and she tried to keep calm as she scanned the data displayed on the holographic screen of the monitoring station she'd taken in an effort to help out. While she was not part of the _Sileya's_ crew, she was aboard the ship with the rest of them, and if she could do something to help, she would.

The asari scientist frowned at the display, shaking her head as the tremors through the deck grew more violent. The kinetic barriers were taking a terrible beating and were close to failing. Worse, the punishment, combined with the rapid evasive maneuvers, were taking a toll on the power and propulsion systems. It was already becoming uncomfortably warm in the engineering area. The plasma conduits were approaching critical temperatures, and the power relays were displaying instability. She had no idea what was going on outside of the ship other than the obvious fact that they were under attack, but she was starting to worry that they would be destroyed. Already it seemed that the inertial dampeners were struggling to smooth out all of the punishment the ship was enduring.

"W-What do the readouts say?" the question came from the _Sileya's_ engineer, a timid young asari maiden named Illitha, as she settled on her back, working her way beneath some of the machinery nearby.

"They indicate that everything is wonderful," Selura's voice was heavy with sarcasm. Sarcasm and jokes were her most common method of dealing with just about any situation, and under stress, she was far more likely to use the former. "And I agree. An undeniable sign of a good day is when you are on a ship that is about to be destroyed in space."

"What? Was that…? Are you really sure this is the time for jokes?"

"Virtually everything is in danger of failure," Selura informed the young engineer. "I need to shunt the plasma flow to the secondary conduits before the primaries overheat and explode. I do not understand why failsafe systems have not done so already."

"Not yet!" Illitha shouted. It was rare, at least in Selura's limited experience, for the engineer to raise her voice. In the time she had been aboard, the girl had barely spoken above a murmur. Illitha had all but disappeared beneath the machinery in an effort to reach something, but Selura had no idea what the girl was doing. She wondered if she had adequately communicated to the girl just how serious the temperature and power readouts really were.

"The conduits are at critical temperature!" Selura repeated the warning.

"Wait for my go-ahead," Illitha's muffled voice reached her.

Selura waited, noting with alarm that all of the warning indicators were passing the critical mark. She wanted to ignore the young engineer's instruction and divert the plasma flow to the alternate pathways, but she couldn't be sure what Illitha knew that she did not. Another violent tremor ran through the deck beneath her feet.

Illitha scrambled out from beneath the machinery, covered with a mixture of grease and moisture. As soon as she was clear, she made a vague motion with her hand and nodded. "Do it," she shouted.

Selura activated the emergency protocols. Almost immediately, there was a loud hiss, and traces of steam flowed out from beneath the machinery where the engineer had been working moments before. Illitha took a place beside her at the console, calling up a diagnostic routine and scanning through the results.

"If I had activated the backups while you were under there…" Selura trailed off.

"The sudden flow of plasma through the cooling units that regulate the temperature of the secondary conduits would have caused an immediate buildup of vaporized coolant in the cooling regulator, which releases the excess pressure into the heat sinks I was laying on," Illitha supplied. "I would have… uh… well… it would have been very uncomfortable. That is why I disabled the emergency transfer protocols before I climbed under there."

"And it was not possible to just say so?"

"Perhaps I should have. But I was trying to divert additional coolant from other systems into the power systems. I… I just did not want to distract myself."

Selura was about to say more, but there was a sudden, violent shift in the ship's stability, and a shower of sparks descended upon them from somewhere in the machinery overhead. Illitha reached over and grabbed Selura's wrist, dragging her toward a set of lockers on the far wall.

"There is environmental gear in the lockers over here," she said so softly that Selura almost didn't hear her. "Put it on quickly. The kinetic barriers are down."

Selura felt her stomach tighten into a cold knot of fear. They should have suited up in environmental gear as soon as the ship came under attack. She only hoped they could get into the protective gear before the ship was damaged too badly for the emergency airtight barriers to hold.

* * *

**Illium, Four weeks earlier…**

Selura walked in a circle around the massive piece of technology that she'd spent the last year working as part of a team to develop. She inspected every inch of the surface visually while simultaneously scanning it with her omni-tool, searching for signs of stress or instability in the alloys of which the exterior shell was composed.

Selura had been hired following her completion of University on Lusia to take part in the design of a new prototype propulsion system meant to replace commercial fusion torch systems. While she had not been at the top of her class overall, Selura's scores in engineering, mass effect field application and propulsion theory and design had been impressive enough to attract the notice of some of the less-established firms in asari space. Asari businesses with greater resources tended to recruit students with much higher overall grades than hers.

This suited Selura just fine, however, as her primary interest was in the development of new technology. She liked to think that her father had something to do with her aptitude for science and engineering, since she was the product of a joining between her mother and a salarian. The past year had been filled with some of the happiest days in her life, spent debating the merits of different forms of coolants, the most efficient thruster design parameters, the most reliable upgrades to current propulsion design, the most promising alloys for the internal heat sinks, and myriad other details on the way to their final results… the prototype propulsion system that stood before her now. It had been a joy to see it slowly take shape during a process in which she had been so intimately involved.

Their new prototype would soon be shipped off to another division of the company for thorough testing, but Selura had no doubts that their design would satisfy all of the project's requirements. They had done their work well, and she had been working with some very talented engineers on the project.

After completing her scan and uploading the results to the laboratory's databanks, she sat down at one of the terminals, sifting through the results of the previous night's test startup. It wasn't long before she was lost in her data analysis, busily entering notes via the holographic keypad to accompany the data. All members of the team were expected to include notations wherever possible, so that there were multiple viewpoints expressed on every test and analysis.

The ping from her omni-tool that alerted her to an incoming message startled her out of her work. She activated the communications implant in her ear, using her omni to link it to the channel, and sat back in her chair.

"Selura here."

"_Miss Leneur, would you please report to my office?_" The voice was that of Director Nyrina, the department overseer.

"On my way," she was quick to assure the Director before deactivating the channel.

She headed for the offices on the floor above, trying to bury the sudden concern that filled her. The project for which she had been hired was more or less completed, and she was afraid that because he contract was about to expire, they were going to release her from their employ. She loved her work, and she didn't know what she would do if her employment was terminated. She'd always wanted to visit Sur'Kesh and see her father's home world, so she supposed she might be able to go there, but she had hoped to be transferred to one of the upcoming projects she'd heard whispers about.

_I am letting my imagination get the better of me_, she chided herself. _She will probably ask for a routine report and nothing more_.

She hurried up the stairs, smiling and nodding to those she passed, and upon arrival at her superior's office, was ushered directly inside by the lovely young asari who served as the director's assistant. The door closed behind her, and she stood before her superior, trying to dispel the uneasiness she felt. It was not easy, as the imposing figure in the finely-tailored silver attire seated on the opposite side of the desk had a presence that simply _demanded_ respect. Selura swallowed.

"How can I assist you, Director?" she managed a smile.

"I would like to talk to you about your contract," the director began without preamble.

Selura's smile vanished. She fought desperately to keep from overreacting and assuming the worst, but her normal method of dealing with life… with jokes and sarcasm… was terribly inappropriate when dealing with the project overseer.

"I know that my contract is almost up," she spoke up before her superior could continue. "But I was hoping that… I mean, I heard rumors about other projects… Could I perhaps assist a new team?"

"No," the answer was succinct, and Selura's stomach twisted into a knot when she heard it. "You will not be joining another team here. But if you would allow me to get to the point of this meeting before you make any further assumptions?"

"Of course, Director. I apologize."

"Thank you," the elder asari sat back in her chair, studying Selura intently. "Your work on the prototype drive project has been impressive. The Council of Directors has asked me to pass along their complements to the entire team. They have also asked me to choose one of the team members to oversee the transfer of the prototype to the testing facility. And so, I wanted to discuss a three-month extension of your contract and a transfer to the testing facility on Thessia."

"An extension?" Selura repeated. It took a moment to get past her assumption that any contract discussion would be negative in nature. She was being asked to continue working for the company, and would be doing so on Thessia? She'd never been to her people's home world. She'd grown up in the city of Monoi on the planet Lusia, and had traveled directly to Illium after graduation.

"You would be the design team's liaison to the team responsible for testing," the Director explained. "You will be expected to explain any design choices on which the testing team wants clarification, and will be asked to make design modifications to correct any problems that come up during testing, as long as such problems are minor in scope. Should any major design flaws come to light, the entire prototype will be shipped back for a rebuild. If such steps must be taken, we can discuss another contract extension and transfer for the rework."

"I would love to stay on the project during the testing phase," Selura's answer was immediate, since she'd had a few moments to adjust to the much more positive tone of the discussion. "Thank you for considering me for this privilege."

"You have earned the chance," a smile graced the elder asari's features. "You will be responsible for overseeing the delivery of the prototype, as well as the pickup and delivery of a few prototypes from other facilities, from the moment they are loaded to the moment they are unloaded. Our logistics department has arranged for inconspicuous transport aboard a privately-owned cargo vessel. It will be arriving here in approximately five days. The relevant data on the various projects and the cargo vessel will be forwarded to you later this evening, once the logistics division has been informed of your identity and can grant you the proper clearance."

"I understand. I will not disappoint you."

"I trust that you will not," the director nodded. "That will be all."

Selura bowed her head and withdrew from the room. Once she was outside of the office and the door closed behind her, it took every ounce of will she had not to start jumping up and down. As it was, she was grinning uncontrollably, and she practically bounced as she strode from the room, eliciting muffled laughter from the assistant seated at the desk behind her.

Several of her colleagues and friends from the project were present in the laboratory when she returned, and one of them, an asari near her own age named Lissiya, smiled at her when she entered.

"You look very pleased about something. I heard you were called to the Director's office. Good news, I take it?"

"My contract was terminated for gross insubordination. I am only smiling because I happen to be a naturally upbeat person," Selura grinned playfully, feeling much more like herself now that her future with the company was no longer an unknown.

"Of course. It was not my intent to suggest that your usual demeanor is unpleasant," her friend returned the grin. The two of them had been working together long enough for Lissiya to become accustomed to Selura's sense of humor and general demeanor.

"Are you sure? I thought that you had finally become overwhelmed by my obvious superiority and were going to start assassinating my character to mollify your feelings of inferiority. It is only a matter of time, after all."

"The only thing that overwhelms me is your false lack of humility," Lissiya laughed. "If someone who did not know you overheard you saying something like that, they would likely think you an insufferable braggart."

"False lack of humility? My lack of humility is entirely genuine."

"My mistake," Lissiya laughed. "Now if you could be serious for a moment, what did she say?"

"I have been chosen to oversee the transport of the prototype to the testing facility, and to serve as the consultant there," Selura was practically bouncing again. "The testing grounds are on Thessia! I've never been there."

"Congratulations!" Lissiya grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Rumor has it that the rest of us will be up for contract review by the end of the week. Those of us whose contracts are renewed will be starting a new project sometime next week."

Selura did her best to look grieved by this news, and she squeezed her friend's hand in return. "I am sorry to hear that. I had no idea your contract was up for review," she paused, and one corner of her lips curled upward in the crooked smile that always appeared when she was feeling mischievous. "Goddess knows why they would ever choose to keep _you_," she quipped, dropping her friend's hand and nimbly dancing out of the way of the playful strike Lissiya tried to deliver to her arm in retaliation. "Striking your coworkers is a serious breach of your contract," she said in mock-indignation. "You are lucky I am fast on my feet."

"No. _You_ are lucky you are fast on your feet," her friend countered.

"Semantics."

"Perhaps getting rid of you is the best thing for me in the long run. Otherwise, sooner or later I _am_ going to strike you in front of management, and then I really _will_ be in breach of contract. None of them would ever understand how much you deserve it."

"So very true," Selura laughed.

"I am really going to miss having you here," Lissiya's expression sobered considerably. "I had hoped we would remain on the same project team."

Selura's smile fell as well, replaced by a look of genuine regret. "I will miss you too. Perhaps when my part in the testing phase is done, they will allow me to rejoin the team."

"I hope so," Lissiya's smile returned. "In any case, you had better get on the vidcomm once in a while and say hello. We should stay in touch. Perhaps I can even come and visit you on Thessia if there is a break in the project. It would be nice to return home for a while."

"What is it like?"

"Thessia is beautiful. You will be constantly surrounded by graceful architecture, with beautiful decorative arches and lovely inlays in the floors. The landscape is dominated by picturesque gardens and placid pools of water… the sunrises and sunsets are glorious. It is so very peaceful. You will love it."

"Just five more days," Selura sighed, trying to picture the home world of her people and what it would be like to actually be there, rather than just seeing it in pictures or vids.

"Since you have some time yet, how about assisting us in siphoning the hydrogen and helium-3 out of the prototype?" Lissiya gestured toward the others present in the room, all of them working to attach hoses to the prototype's fuel couplings.

"Why bother? It is not like the fuel is volatile," Selura's playful tone returned as they walked toward the rest of the team.

"Jokes aside, Goddess only knows what other materials might be stored on the transport vessel," one of the other scientists pointed out as they approached, "or how they might react with hydrogen or helium-3 if an accident occurred."

"I hope I will not be responsible for the handling of any explosives or weapons," Selura admitted, climbing up and opening the clamps, preparing to help maneuver a hose into place. "But I do see your point. I guess I can help out."

"So kind," Lissiya grinned up at her.

"You know me," Selura grinned back. "Generosity defines my existence."

* * *

**Over Terra Nova, Now…**

"What's the problem?" a gravelly voice inquired as the sound of its owner's heavy booted footfalls accompanied him into the room.

His eyes settled upon the spectacle outside, where Reaper ships were bombarding the asteroid spaceport over Terra Nova and the Alliance fleet. There were clouds of debris – the remains of a number of Alliance ships – floating around the spaceport. He also spotted a lone asari vessel that was desperately trying to shake Oculus fighter drones off of its tail while being pelted with incoming fire. The expression on the man's scarred face hardened with irritation and hatred. He was more familiar with both enemies than most others in the known universe, and he was well aware that the Reapers had started their assault on humanity the day before. A handful of images of the vessels descending upon Earth's cities had managed to get out of the system before the Reapers destroyed the FTL comm buoys to cut off communications. As a human, he wanted nothing more than to see the damned things reduced to clouds of shattered debris.

"Asari vessel is in imminent danger of destruction," a higher-pitched and more nasal voice answered him. "Reaper ships have initiated assault upon Terra Nova. Alliance craft are already maneuvering in preparation for retreat. Estimate three minutes until Alliance fleet jumps to FTL for escape. Estimate an additional six minutes before one or more Reapers land on asteroid formerly designated X-57. Surmise that it is likely only a few Reaper ships will remain in orbit. Others will descend to the planet's surface to begin harvesting population, as was witnessed in the footage of the assault on Earth prior to loss of contact."

The figure turned his gaze upon his salarian companion, regarding the green-skinned figure speculatively. Then his eyes turned toward the sight of the planet itself. "I hope you aren't about to suggest we try to save their arses. Cerberus has to have landed by now. We need to get to the surface."

"Cerberus agents landed days ago. However, urgency regarding the descent to the surface is shared. Asari vessel is a useful distraction. While fighter drones concentrate on destroying it, we can descend to the planet's surface."

"I'm glad we agree."

"Our mission takes precedence over the lives of strangers," the salarian assured him. "Besides, lack of armament on this vessel makes discussion of rescue attempts irrelevant." The salarian turned his attention to the young human in the pilot's seat. "Pilot, circle around and start descent to the planet's surface. Avoid enemy contact if at all possible."

The human turned away from the spectacle of the doomed asari ship and headed for the small cabin that had been assigned to him when he came aboard. He had joined up with the ragtag mercenary band when his contacts informed him that a salarian was hiring mercenaries to assist in dealing with a Cerberus threat on Terra Nova. It wasn't a group he was particularly fond of traveling with – a salarian, another human and two vorcha – but he had to take what he could get. He had a score to settle with Cerberus, and he was damned well going to get it done.

He entered his cabin and started collecting his gear. He was eager to give the Illusive Man the first black eye of many to come. No one was going to cross him without paying for it.

* * *

**Omega, Four weeks earlier…**

A lone figure strode along a dark corridor deep in the slums of Omega, his heavy boots ringing against the deck plating with every step. He moved with calm purpose, stepping over the occasional downtrodden soul that was curled up on the floor for lack of anywhere else to sleep. Occasionally the dim lighting glinted upon the edges of battle-scarred armor, or shone upon the surface of the old Mattock rifle that he carried openly in his hands. The few living souls that saw him made sure to keep out of his way, as he had the air of a man not to be trifled with.

The corridors and rooms through which he passed were tarnished and even rusted in spots, and though there were lights, most of the illumination came from the garish holographic advertisements that showed up on the walls here and there. The deep and scratchy voice of a batarian echoed down the lonely corridors, repeating prerecorded bits of what the figure supposed passed for news on this station. Most of them, he noticed, painted humanity in an unflattering light.

The only pause in the man's stride came when the recorded voice mentioned that Commander Shepard was responsible for the deaths of 300,000 batarians, and that the Alliance and the council were now shielding her from proper justice at the hands of the Hegemony. He shook his head, eyes narrowed briefly in anger, and his jaw clenched. One might have supposed he was angry that the batarian voice was suggesting Shepard deserved punishment. But the truth was something else entirely.

Eventually the figure's silent march brought him to a junction in the corridor, where a pile of old equipment was stacked off to one side, casting a shadow that almost, but not quite, hid the heavily cloaked figure that sat beside it. He stopped there, leaning up against the stack of tarnished machine parts and crates.

"There are easier ways to hire mercenaries," the man spoke in a harsh and gravelly voice, irritation showing plainly upon his scarred face. "So let's get on with this. What's the job?"

The figure in the shadows stirred and got to its feet, glancing around before speaking, as if to be sure no one was within earshot. "Follow me," the voice was that of a female.

"I'm getting tired of jumping through your goddamn hoops," the man warned, falling into step behind her. "You'd better not be wasting my time."

They walked a short distance down the corridor, and then the cloaked woman stopped at a door, activating her omni-tool. Her fingers danced across the holographic inputs for a few moments. There was an audible series of clicks, and the door slid open with a pneumatic hiss. She stepped into the darkness beyond the threshold, and the man followed without hesitation. The door closed behind them.

Lights flickered and then turned on, bathing the room in the harsh white glare of their fluorescent glow. The room was barren of furniture and decoration. There were some crates stacked in a corner, but nothing else to draw the eye. The woman cast back the hood on the garment she wore, revealing a pretty face surrounded by dark, chin-length hair. The man was not impressed. He regarded her impatiently.

"We're alone now. Maybe you could get to the point behind all this bullshit?"

Wordlessly, the woman held out a small metallic orb, which floated forward. She activated her omni-tool and pressed a few holographic keys. There was a flash, a flicker, and then the holographic image of a middle-aged man dressed in an impeccable suit appeared around the orb. The holographic image and the man regarded each other for a moment, while the hologram took a long drag from the cigarette he was holding.

"Greetings, Mr. Massani," the hologram intoned. "I was pleased with your performance in helping to deal with the Collector threat, though the final results were less than ideal."

"The Illusive Man," Zaeed inclined his head slightly. "Why the face-to-face? An encrypted extranet transmission would've been simpler… worked last time."

"I wanted to extend this little olive branch, because I was hoping you would consider doing one more job for Cerberus. I am aware that our last deal didn't go quite the way I promised, and I hope that you realize that it was Shepard, not Cerberus, who denied you your revenge. Just as she destroyed the Collectors' base and denied _me_ the resource _I_ wanted. I'm hoping that the payment increase I authorized was enough to lessen the sting a bit."

"Shepard's selfless bullshit on Zorya gave Vido the time to escape. There aren't enough credits in the goddamn universe to make up for that. Go to hell," Zaeed turned on his heel and headed for the door.

"What if I told you that I've tracked down Vido Santiago again?"

Zaeed paused, and then turned slowly, regarding the holographic image with a penetrating gaze. "You know where that bastard is? I'm listening."

"There are a number of loose ends that Cerberus needs to tie up before we can focus on the task of dealing with the Reapers. My troops are busy with the major issues at hand, so I need individuals to clean up a few of the smaller pieces that have slipped through the cracks. I've hired a handful, but time is a factor here. If you can find and deal with some targets for me, I will not only pay you handsomely, but I'll give you what you really want: The location of your former partner."

"How'd you find him?" Zaeed regarded the hologram with suspicion. "He disappeared after we lost him at the refinery. I hear he's got Vosque runnin' the operation while he cowers in some dark hole somewhere."

"Does it matter? What matters is that I have his location, and I'm offering it to you in exchange for the easiest job you'll ever take. Eliminate a handful of targets, and then you can settle things with your old friend. Do we have a deal?"

"I'm a mercenary. Not an assassin. I won't turn down a second chance at dealing with Vido, but I have to ask why you'd choose me."

"You've proven that you get results. Your work against the Collectors was impressive. And since you did a job for Cerberus once and did it well, I am confident you can do it again. I would rather rely on your expertise and our past dealings than bring in an unknown or pull valuable operatives off of more important tasks."

"Fair enough. Deal. Who are the targets?"

"Doctor Eva will provide you with the details, and a scanner device with the location of your former partner's safe house encrypted on it. Once you've used the device to obtain retinal and DNA scans of all five of our targets, it will decrypt the location for you and upload confirmation of your success to me. Consider it a form of payment in advance, with a contingency to ensure that we _both_ get what we want."

"Not much of a contingency. There are plenty of tech experts I could take it to for decryption."

"You have a well-deserved reputation. When you take a job, you get it done. I have every confidence that this situation will be no different. And of course, the device's encryption suite is programmed to purge the information if any attempts are made to access it prematurely."

"So all I have to do is avoid shooting any of them in the face. Simple enough. I'd better get what I want this time," Zaeed warned.

"I think this time, we'll _both_ be satisfied," the Illusive Man predicted. "Eva, give him the device and the necessary information. Good luck, Mr. Massani."

"I don't need luck," Zaeed muttered as the holographic image collapsed in on itself and vanished. He turned his gaze upon the young woman expectantly.

The woman activated her omni-tool once more, uploading the locations of the targets to Zaeed's omni. He checked the information as it was uploaded, and was pleased to see that one target was in the same cluster as Omega, and the other four were all together in Bekenstein. The woman then handed him a small scanning device, which he slipped into a storage compartment in his armor.

"One of the targets is a day's cruise from here," he pointed out. "So why didn't you handle that one yourself?"

"I am a researcher, not an assassin," the young woman regarded him coolly. "And I have other tasks that require my immediate attention."

Zaeed turned without another word and strode to the door, pressing the holographic trigger to open it. As it slid open, he spoke again, his voice edged in steel. "If this device of yours doesn't tell me what I want to know when the job is done, there won't be a planet in the galaxy where the two of you can hide." With that final threat, he stepped out into the corridor, setting off on the quest to find his first target.


	2. Chapter 2: Complications

**Author's Note: I would like to thank everyone who has taken an interest in my story for their comments and support. I apologize for taking so long to get this chapter up, but hopefully the next update will be quicker.**

* * *

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Two: Complications

**Over Terra Nova, Now…**

Captain Julisa Nisaria's rush to the bridge had been delayed by necessity. The shudders running through the deck and the mildly disorienting shifts as the inertial dampeners realigned themselves told her that they were under attack, and that her pilot was employing evasive maneuvers. It seemed prudent to hurriedly don her armor and grab her shotgun and helmet before responding to Neela's call. By the time she reached the bridge, the vibrations in the deck beneath her feet were growing steadily worse, and she had only to glance outside to see red bursts of enemy fire flashing past the viewports with alarming regularity.

"Why have we not jumped to FTL to get out of here?" she demanded, irritated that Neela, who was an excellent pilot, hadn't come to the most obvious solution.

"Captain, the kinetic barriers are on the verge of collapsing, and we have a dozen fighters firing on us," Neela's voice was laced with both anxiety and anger. Julisa's intuition told her that the latter was not directed at her. "There are bits of debris everywhere. I'm afraid if I try to go to FTL speeds, the beating we are taking will collapse the mass effect envelope before we get anywhere."

"And we will be flooded with Cerenkov radiation," Julisa finished. "We have no choice. This is not a military vessel. We cannot take this sort of punishment for long. Get us out of here."

"Understood," Neela brought up the navigational display, hurriedly plotting a course. "Preparing for a jump to FTL speed..."

The ship was jarred by a blast from one of the fighters, and Julisa, who was just sliding into the chair to her pilot's right, saw a warning appear on the interface in front of her, informing her that the kinetic barriers were down. A mere second later, another blast hit the ship, the impact much more pronounced. The displays in front of both of them flickered momentarily, and the ship's tail started drifting to one side. Neela quickly adjusted to compensate for the drift, but it was a persistent problem. Even with Neela's frequent corrections to adjust, their path became erratic at best.

"Captain," Neela's voice was filled with uncertainty.

"I know," Julisa cut her off. She knew what her young pilot was about to say. "The fusion drive is damaged. We cannot go to FTL speeds when we cannot stay on course. Get in close to the space station. There is a good deal of debris floating near the wrecked portions. Maybe we can get these fighters to back off a little."

"The fighters!" Neela suddenly cried.

Julisa looked over at her uncertainly, wondering if perhaps the quarian was starting to lose her grasp on the situation due to fear or stress. "As I said," she repeated. "Perhaps we can lose them-"

"No, Captain," Neela interrupted. "The fighters we picked up on Noveria! If they're armed and we can fuel them, perhaps I can use one of them to engage the enemy fighters and draw them away from the _Sileya_."

Julisa's eyes widened as the realization dawned that the young pilot was right. While she was unsure that a prototype would be armed, it was an idea worth trying. The _Sileya_ would be destroyed in a matter of minutes if they didn't distract the fighters with a new target.

"Get down to the cargo bay," she ordered. She transferred the navigational controls to her interface so that she could take over piloting the ship. "I will have Prathus and that scientist meet you down there."

* * *

**Columbia System, Four weeks earlier…**

Julisa Nisaria relaxed on a comfortable sofa in the home she shared with her bondmate, watching with rapt attention as their daughter Eleira stood in the center of the room. The girl was playing an intricate tune on her _illeuth_, a flute-like instrument with dual resonating chambers, which allowed it to simultaneously produce sound in two different tones. While her daughter was only an adolescent, she demonstrated great virtuosity, and aspired one day to be part of a larger ensemble of musicians, playing in the great concert halls of her people. The soft sounds of the instrument wove into a beautiful melody, if one that was perhaps a little simplistic, since it was only a piece designed for practice.

As the girl's father, Julisa was as proud as she could be of her daughter, and never tired of watching and listening while she followed her dreams and worked to perfect her art. She only wished that her bondmate was with her at that moment, to make the scene perfect. Lethia was a gifted scientist, and was temporarily away to attend a gathering of scientific experts from all over known space on the salarian home world, Sur'Kesh.

Soft digital chimes echoed through the room, announcing that there was an incoming communication. The distraction caused her daughter to miss a note, and the music stopped altogether, accompanied by a groan of irritation from the girl. Julisa smiled, amused at her daughter's obvious displeasure over the tiny mistake, yet another sign of the seriousness with which she approached her music. She slipped from the seat and headed for the terminal. A soft touch to the holographic screen activated the comm channel, and when she spoke, her voice held traces of barely-suppressed mirth.

"This is Julisa."

"_Julisa Nisaria?_" an unfamiliar voice asked.

"Yes. To whom am I speaking?"

"_My name is Wesiria T'Lani, a representative of the Asari Embassy on the Citadel. Miss Nisaria, I am sorry to be the one to pass along such unpleasant news, but a turian patrol ship found the remains of a transport vessel, the _Nusani_, in the Horse Head Nebula. They passed along the names of the deceased they could verify from the passenger manifest, including one that our files list as your bondmate…_"

Whatever else the stranger was about to say was drowned out by a heartbroken wail from behind Julisa. She hurried over and pulled Eleira into her arms, holding the trembling and sobbing girl close. The voice on the comms tried to offer a clumsy apology, but Julisa didn't even hear it. A part of her mind was screaming at her that she should be in tears along with her daughter… That she should be assuring Eleira that everything would be alright... That she should be asking whether the woman on the comm link was sure that Lethia was dead. But the only thing she could feel was anger.

Julisa was a former commando, and the sole concrete thought her mind was willing to form was that she needed the coordinates of the vessel's wreckage so she could find out what happened. It _had _to be an attack by pirates, she decided. She couldn't believe it could have been the result of simple mechanical failure. Not on a vessel full of scientists and engineers. Pirates were the only plausible cause. The need to start searching for the worthless scum that had _dared_ to take her bondmate from her was overpowering. When she got her hands on them…

Her anger quickly reached a boiling point at the thought. The genetic influences of her batarian father screamed for vengeance.

A bluish-purple aura flared around her, startling Eleira, who slipped out of her grasp and scrambled away from her in fear. A shrill scream of rage exploded from deep inside of her, and she rounded on the terminal and hit it with a warp field so intense that it shredded not only the terminal, but the wall and floor around it…

_"Captain, we are ten minutes out."_

Julisa's head snapped up from where it had been resting on her folded arms, and she gasped, momentarily disoriented by the transition from dream to reality. She rubbed her eyes in an effort to get them to focus, and her gaze fell upon the static image of her bondmate and their daughter displayed in a frame on the desk in front of her. The two were sitting together in the garden behind their family home. A capture taken so long ago…

"_Captain? Are you receiving me?_" the youthful voice of her quarian pilot sounded in the aural implant in her ear.

"Yes, Neela," she sighed. "I will be up momentarily.

The _Sileya_ was a small vessel, composed of only three decks, and was built in the style of asari cruisers and dreadnoughts, in a ring around the propulsion elements. However, unlike the larger military vessels, which were not designed for suborbital descent, the _Sileya's_ decks were oriented horizontally, rather than in rings with artificial gravity oriented toward the ship's central axis. The ship's hull was slightly wider at the back, tapering gracefully toward the bow of the ship, with wing-like 'fins' extending out from the top and bottom, right and left sides. It had been modeled after the _Destiny Ascension_.

The interior of the vessel consisted of only three decks. The lowest deck featured a large cargo bay at the aft that occupied the majority of the deck's area. The main engineering section and the main battery covered the remaining area. Because the ship's propulsion ring ran through its heart, the mid-ship deck was split into two halves, one on either side of it. The starboard half held the life support suite and the port half housed the upper engineering section. The upper deck's space was taken up by the bridge, the crew quarters, the mess hall and the small room that served as the infirmary. The only feature aboard the _Sileya_ that was not typically found on non-military vessels was the main battery; most civilian vessels were not armed. But Captain Nisaria had learned the hard way that a smuggler's ship needed to have some teeth in a pinch. The _Sileya_ would never be able to stand up in a true ship-to-ship firefight, but it was beneficial to have the ability to deliver a quick blow before attempting to run from an aggressor.

The _Sileya's_ interior corridors and rooms were composed of a bronze-colored polymer-carbon fiber blend, and decorative arches were molded into the surface of the walls in each room. The arches lent some visual interest to the various areas of the ship. While other forms of decoration were sparse outside of the crew lounge, the vessel was beautiful inside and out.

Because the asari people were a very social species, the crew quarters were a largely shared space. The crew lounge was the hub of the area, and was furnished with some comfortable sofas, a central table, and various terminals for extranet access. A large vid monitor dominated the majority of one wall, and there were a few decorative objects displayed on the other walls of the room.

The lounge was adjoined by a single bathing area and restroom facility on the aft side. On the opposite side was the crew barracks… a large room with six sleeping niches molded into the decorative arches in the walls, one niche per arch and two arches per wall. Unlike alliance vessels, which had small and cramped sleeping pods for most crew members, the sleeping niches aboard the asari ships were spacious enough to be comfortable for two; bondmates serving together often shared the same niche.

The captain had a private cabin adjacent to the crew barracks. It was a relatively small room, barely large enough for a desk with a private terminal, and a full bed instead of a crew bunk.

She rose from her seat and picked up her shotgun from its spot on the desk next to her, delivering the compact storage-mode version of the weapon to the magnetic "holster" attached to the back of her belt. The magnetic lock held it firmly in place. The shotgun was a relic of her past, from days long before the advent of thermal clips, but she never saw the need to upgrade to current technology. She stretched briefly, and then headed out.

When the door from her cabin to the crew lounge opened, Julisa was greeted by the lovely melody of an asari singer's voice, delivered in a very credible emulation of concert hall acoustics by the room's audio system. The song was unfamiliar to her… something currently popular on Thessia, she guessed. It seemed to be about two lovers, caught on opposite sides of a damaged Mass Relay. Both of her asari crew members were seated at the table in the center of the lounge. They were playing a GUI interface version of an old human game… she believed it was called "Go." Both looked up when she entered and bowed their heads in greeting.

"Finish your game quickly or save your progress for later," she addressed them both. "We will be offloading our cargo soon."

"Yes, Captain," they answered in unison.

"Captain, will we be able to link to the FTL comm buoys after we deliver the cargo?"

The question came from Aida Dalinas, the ship's cook and medic. She was an upbeat and energetic maiden, whose youthful face sported extensive decorative patterns in a dark crimson shade. They extended from the outer edges of her brows to the scalp crests just above her ears. Aida was the member of the crew that currently had the longest history of service on the ship.

Julisa had ordered that use of the communications systems be limited until their job was finished; it seemed imprudent to allow unnecessary transmissions while delivering cargo that might have been stolen or something banned by council law.

"Once we are out of the system," Julisa nodded. "Eager to get back into the debate over the proposed sanctions against the Alliance?"

"The vote is coming up soon, and I am hoping to be able to participate. Many batarians lost their lives, and an entire system is gone. Whatever their reasons, the Alliance should be held accountable for their actions." Aida's sorrow for the lives lost was plain upon her face.

One of the benefits of an E-democracy, Julisa supposed, was that it encouraged her people to take an interest in matters of law and government. However, in her view, Aida spent an excessive amount of time debating something or another in their people's VI-moderated chat systems. She had a sneaking suspicion that Aida's participation was more about socializing with other asari than it was about the actual debate of law and policy.

"Captain?" the other asari, Illitha, spoke up timidly.

The girl was extraordinarily petite for an asari, lacking much of the curvature that was common to most of their species. She favored short-sleeved tops, and as a result of her position as the ship's engineer, her forearms and hands were blotched with stains in various shades of gray – a side effect of contact with some of the lubricants used in modern machinery. While the lubricants themselves could be washed off, the skin beneath was often discolored for days afterward.

"Yes?"

"Where is Prathus? Is.. is he on the bridge with Neela?"

"Yes. I need him monitoring the system for communications anomalies. Why?"

"I-I…," Illitha bowed her head and shrugged. "It is not important, Captain."

Julisa was attached to each member of her crew in her own way, but at times she found Illitha's shyness to be trying. She knew it wasn't really her fault; Illitha was simply more comfortable in the solitude of Engineering than she was at the center of anyone's attention. Not everyone could be as outgoing as Aida.

"What is it, Illitha? I need to get to the bridge."

"Um- After our rendezvous, I need his assistance in switching out the CO2 filters in the life support systems. It-it is impossible to get them in and out quickly without a second pair of hands. If I do it b-by myself, it would have to be delayed until we dock planetside somewhere… so that I can take the system offline," Illitha explained. Then she hastily added, "Wh-which is fine, if you would rather I wait, Captain. The current filters will still function for a couple of weeks before they, uh… b-before there is a dip in efficiency."

"After we hand off the cargo, ask Prathus for help. We will only be docking for a few hours when we reach Illium. We have another job lined up immediately following this one."

"I hoped we would be able to get off the ship for a while before the next run," Aida cut in. Disappointment was plain upon her face. "I would love the chance to tour some of the restaurants on Illium, and perhaps spend a night or two in a club somewhere."

"I am afraid not. But the next run is a legitimate shipping job, and it pays extremely well. Afterward, I think we can afford a couple weeks' shore leave."

Both girls smiled at this last statement, and Julisa nodded once, satisfied that she had addressed their concerns. She started toward the door, intent on getting to the bridge, but was brought up short when another thought occurred to her.

"I want both of you in environmental gear. Our rendezvous is set to take place in an asteroid belt. We are supposed to be meeting at a small and secluded little docking station, and we have no way of knowing what the conditions will be there. I want the crew ready if the cargo transfer has to be done in an airless environment."

"Understood," both girls chorused.

Julisa swept from the room, leaving her crew to hastily save the progress of their game and head for their lockers to retrieve their enviro-gear. She moved swiftly through the bronze corridors and rooms of her ship toward the bridge. The _Sileya_ had been her home for nearly thirty years, and she'd seen more crew than she could count come and go. She came to appreciate them while they were aboard the ship, but they all left eventually. The ship always remained in their wake. Deep down, she depended on that one constant in her universe, when everything else had been stripped away over the decades and centuries of her life.

The moment the door to the bridge opened, Prathus started giving his report.

"No sign of any unusual transmissions in the area, and we've detected no recent ion or hydrogen trails. Sensors haven't detected any ships in the asteroid belt. If there are ships out there, they've been patiently waiting for our arrival."

"Neela, bring us into the field and head for the designated coordinates," Julisa instructed. "Prathus, I want you in the main battery, so that we are ready to react if this turns into an ambush."

"Understood," Prathus swiveled his chair around and lurched to his feet, limping from the room.

Julisa lowered herself into the chair her turian crewman had just vacated, sliding it up to the interface and bringing up the scan data. Next to her, Neela busily made course corrections, bringing the _Sileya_ into the asteroid belt and weaving around the floating chunks of rock. The captain was always pleased with the quarian's skillful maneuvering.

The captain alternated between watching the scanner results displayed in front of her, and glancing out through the viewport, looking for some sign of a ship or facility in the area. Neither she nor her pilot spoke while they drew closer to the coordinates they'd been sent. Instead, it was the soft chime heralding an incoming communication that broke the silence. Julisa activated the channel.

"_Identify,_" the voice had the deep and raspy quality common to batarians.

"_Sileya_," Julisa responded. It was fairly common practice during these illicit deals to use concise transmission bursts, so that there was less chance of detection in the event that there was another ship passing through the system.

"_Bay two open,_" the voice answered her, and the signal cut off.

The communication was replaced by an extremely weak beacon pulse, obviously intended to serve as a guide to whatever facility waited at their rendezvous. It was not uncommon for small pirate bands or mercenary groups to use robotic mining equipment to hollow out an asteroid, or set up prefab units on an uninhabited moon for use as a base of operations. Over time, particularly successful groups often expanded these crude bases of operation into small but functional docking facilities. However, their continued existence required secrecy. Julisa's earlier feelings of apprehension returned in force. She activated the intercom to the main battery.

"Prathus, listen. Neela will bring us into the docking bay. She will remain on the bridge and you will stay in the main battery, while the rest of us deal with our customers. I want the two of you prepared to act if the situation becomes dangerous. We may need to exit in a hurry, Neela. So be ready."

"Understood," Neela answered her, accompanying the response with a nod.

"Prathus, I want you prepared to target any other ships in the bay. Once we are all safely aboard, you should be able to cripple their ships before they can get to them. If their barriers are already up by the time we leave, I want you ready to disable the docking clamps or bay doors instead."

"_I'll be ready, Captain_," Prathus's deep voice answered.

Julisa pivoted her seat away from the console and stood up, gazing out through the viewport, waiting to see what kind of facility they were dealing with. It wasn't long before Neela brought them into view of their destination… a small asteroid with two bays carved into the side of it. The entrances were protected by the subtle blue glow of containment barriers. She could see a small vessel docked in one of the bays. Neela steered the ship toward the second.

The captain reached back and grabbed hold of her shotgun, pulling it free of the maglock and pressing her thumb against the activation sensor. The weapon expanded from its compact mode and aligned itself for firing. A small beep announced that the targeting systems were active and the firearm was prepared for use. She turned and left the bridge, signaling Aida and Illitha to meet her in the cargo bay. Then she headed for her cabin, to prepare for what she felt sure was coming.

* * *

**Over Terra Nova, Now…**

Aida Dalinas braced herself against the wall, trying to gain stability in response to the most violent impact the ship had suffered since coming under attack. She had been in the crew quarters when the captain rushed out in her armor, and it had taken only one look at the elder asari's face to prompt Aida to go directly to her locker and get into her environmental gear.

She was now on her way down to the engineering section to see if there was anything she could do to help Illitha. She had great faith in both the skills of the _Sileya's_ quarian pilot and the expertise of the ship's engineer. Between the two of them, she was certain the ship would be okay. Her haste to reach engineering was the result of her need to be certain her closest friend was safe, not because she was worried Illitha would be unable to handle her duties.

She was approaching the elevator when another blast rocked the ship, causing it to lurch violently. Aida lost her footing and pitched over, sliding across the deck, her helmet striking the wall soundly. The lighting in the corridor flickered. She struggled to get to her feet, only to be forced to drop back to her knees for added traction in response to yet another strike. Because of the violent motion of the ship, she had to assume that the inertial dampeners had gone offline.

The lights flickered again, and then the corridor was plunged into absolute darkness for a brief time. When the blue emergency lights kicked on, Aida remained rooted in place, kneeling on the floor. Thoughts of what the loss of primary power might represent were terrifying. Her fearful musings were interrupted by another sudden lurch of the vessel, which threw her into the air. She closed her eyes, jaw clenched, and braced herself for the impact that would come when she hit the deck again.

It never came.

She was floating weightlessly near the center of the corridor, which seemed to be slowly spinning around her. It was a disorienting sensation, and it took her a moment to even figure out which direction was the floor and which was the ceiling. As she studied the motion of the passage around her, she realized that not only had the mass effect fields serving to generate artificial gravity been lost, but that the ship was spinning out of control… or perhaps _she_ was. Either way, she had to assume that the ship was now without motive power.

"Aida?" Neela's youthful voice startled her.

With some effort, she waved her arms and twisted around enough to look in the direction from which the voice had come. The young quarian was walking slowly toward her. She blinked once, uncertain that she was actually seeing what she _thought_ she was seeing. Neela paused – upside down from Aida's point of view – and tilted her head to the side, as if she were wondering what Aida was doing. Aida stared back at her, puzzled.

"Neela? How are you walking?"

"My people live on starships, remember?" the quarian reminded her. "Many of us have features built into our suits to assist us in the event of a loss of gravity, such as electro-magnetic field generators in the soles of our boots."

Aida nodded slowly.

"Get down from there," Neela reached up and grabbed her arm. "We need to get to the cargo bay. We have to get the fighters fueled and into space if we can. Though it may already be too late…"

Aida clutched at her arm, struggling to bring her feet down to the deck. Even after she managed that, however, she maintained her hold on Neela, to keep herself from floating away from the floor. Neela tried to shake her off, and then gave an exasperated sigh.

"You are in environmental gear! Activate your magnetic boots, and let's get moving!"

A hint of purple crept into the color of Aida's cheeks as she blushed. She was glad that her helmet concealed any obvious signs of her embarrassment. As the pilot had suggested, she activated her boots and felt her feet adhere instantly to the deck. She took a few steps experimentally. Her training was in medicine and the culinary arts; she'd never had to move in zero gee conditions before. The difficulty of walking in the magnetic boots was something unexpected. The magnetic field created resistance when lifting her feet. She now realized that this was why Neela had been moving so slowly when she first saw her.

"You know, for someone who was training to be a physician, you can be a bit dumb sometimes," the quarian pointed out.

"I feel foolish enough already," Aida glared at her. "Statements like that do not help."

"Come on," Neela resumed her path along the corridor, crouching once she reached the far end. There was an access panel in the wall, and she activated her omni-tool's minifacturing suite to provide her with the tool she needed to open it. "With the power out, we'll have to crawl through the maintenance crawlspace and go down the ladders to get to the bay."

Aida nodded, but her worries about Illitha's well-being were distracting her. The young engineer would never have abandoned her duties, and if the ship was without power, it probably meant that engineering had suffered a direct strike. The thought of her closest friend having been killed brought tears to her eyes. She watched the quarian work with growing impatience. She needed to know that Illitha was alright.

Her concern prompted her to activate her omni-tool and open the private channel the two of them always used.

"Illitha, can you hear me?"

There was no answer.

* * *

**Columbia System, Four weeks earlier…**

Aida waited in the cargo bay for the signal from the bridge that would confirm that the ship was secured by the docking clamps. Of course, it would hardly be needed. When the docking clamps locked onto the ship, the sound would be unmistakable. Nearby, Illitha was maneuvering the cargo drone around the bay, and Aida watched as the huge, hovering piece of equipment floated around overhead, kept aloft by mass effect fields. Guided by the expert direction of the shy engineer, it was soon in place over the first of the crates. The arms closed in on the sides of the container, and it remained there, waiting further direction.

The swish of the elevator door opening caught Aida's attention. She turned and saw the captain stride into the room with her shotgun in one hand and helmet in the other. The woman was wearing a silver suit of lightweight combat armor, decorated with thin blue highlights along the edges of each section of protective plating. The smile that brightened her expression was a reflexive one, and a stark contrast to the considerable amount of alarm that she felt when she saw the captain prepared for conflict. She simply couldn't help smiling at Captain Nisaria, regardless of the situation. She would admit it to no one else, but she was secretly enamored with the elder asari.

She couldn't describe in words, even to herself, precisely what it was about the captain that attracted her. She could count on one hand the number of times she'd seen her smile. She'd never heard her laugh. The elder asari was serious, stern, disciplined… everything that Aida was not. And while she knew that the captain had been a commando for a great number of years, she knew none of the specifics of her service. She had to assume that the captain was comfortable with violence and killing, two things of which Aida did not approve. She guessed it could be a simple case of hero-worship. After all, the captain had saved her from a terrible fate. Perhaps not in dramatic fashion, but saved her nonetheless.

"Captain?" Aida tilted her head, regarding the elder asari with curiosity. At her words, Illitha turned to greet the captain. When she saw how the woman was dressed, however, her pale blue skin turned ashen.

"Get pistols from the equipment locker. And I want you both to protect yourselves with barriers."

"C-captain?" Illitha's voice was a few octaves higher than normal, a clear sign to Aida that the girl was alarmed.

"We are going to proceed as if this is a normal deal. But I will not lie to you. The remote location and the measures our clients are taking to keep their facility secret concern me. My instincts tell me that they have no intention of allowing us to leave. Get the pistols."

Aida hurried to the locker, retrieving two pistols from within. They were simple Predator models, but would serve just fine if the need to defend themselves arose. She secured one to a magnetic anchor on her enviro-suit, and took the other one to Illitha, who looked like she was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack. Aida took hold of one of the engineer's hands, giving it a gentle squeeze while she pressed the second pistol against the maglock at her friend's hip, securing it in place.

"Do not panic," she tried to reassure her friend. "You concentrate on running the drone and keeping your barrier up. Unload the cargo. Even if the captain is right, she will never let anything happen to us. And if anything goes wrong, all you have to do is run-"

"Illitha," the captain interrupted her. "If violence breaks out, I want you to concentrate on getting the equipment aboard and readying us for departure, not on fighting. The pistol is for emergencies only. And Aida," the elder asari turned her gaze upon her. "You cover Illitha with pistol fire or biotics if you must, but concentrate on seeing her aboard and then get aboard yourself. I do not want either of you taking risks on my behalf. I will defend myself. Understood?"

"Understood," Aida's gaze shifted her gaze to her friend, and she waited for her to say something.

"C-Captain, I cannot… I… I-I cannot do this," Illitha stammered, her tone barely above a whisper. "I am not a soldier."

"You are not going to be fighting-," Aida started to respond, but the captain cut her off again.

"Who is the most proficient member of this crew at controlling the cargo drone?"

"I am," Illitha whispered.

"So if we need to get out quickly, who would be best suited to rapidly maneuver the equipment back into the bay? Should Aida do it?"

"No. She is awful at it."

Aida blinked. Had Illitha just said-?

"Concentrate on your job. I need you focused."

Aida watched her friend intently, and was relieved when the girl took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then nodded. She smiled at the engineer, noticing as she did so that the motion dampeners were kicking in, which meant that they were decelerating. She guessed that they were maneuvering into the docking bay.

"If the situation devolves into violence, they will be focused on me. I promise," the captain told them. Aida found herself smiling at the elder asari's confidence.

The captain slipped her helmet on, and Aida did the same, securing it in place and engaging the suit seals. Illitha hesitated a moment before following suit, possibly spurred into action by the loud metallic bang of the docking clamps locking on the hull. The three of them turned to face the cargo bay doors, waiting patiently. Illitha raised her left arm and activated her omni-tool, a finger hovering over the glowing interface, ready to engage the uplink to the bay doors.

"_Captain, we are secure,_" Neela's voice sounded through the intercom.

Illitha triggered the doors and the massive ramp lowered. Aida picked up a datapad from where it lay upon the cargo bay control console, accessing the cargo computer and transferring the shipment manifest to the handheld device. Tapping it idly against her leg when she was done, she noted with some relief that they were not going to be offloading in an airless environment. From her vantage, the barriers over the docking area's exterior doors were clearly visible.

Once the ramp touched down on the docking platform that extended to meet it, the three of them disembarked. Aida's eyes swept the docking bay with intense curiosity. The bay was a huge open area, with two massive apertures leading out into open space. Wide walkways ran around the perimeter of the room at the midpoint of the walls, and a similar walkway bisected the bay, running the length of the chamber between the two ships. Each walkway was equipped with a docking platform that could be raised or lowered into place so that ships of different configurations could unload with ease. There was a large door set into the wall at the back of the bay, with a small control area for the docking bay's equipment adjacent to it.

Her gaze drifted to the other ship in the bay. Unlike the _Sileya_, which had graceful lines and an almost sculpted profile, the second vessel was angular and intimidating. It had several protruding wings, all of which arced forward and came to points, and the hull was decorated with smaller protrusions in lines along its edges, very much resembling spines. It was a menacing sight.

The three of them walked along the adjustable docking platform, and then waited while a connecting ramp aligned itself, sparing the need to readjust the position of the platform every time a new bunch of crates was unloaded.

"Illitha, start offloading," the captain ordered. "Stage the crates here until we know where they want them placed."

Aida saw Illitha nod and activate her omni-tool, and a moment later the cargo drone hovered slowly out of the ship and onto the platform, with a crate trapped firmly between its arms. Her attention returned to the matter at hand when the captain started descending the ramp, advancing to meet a small group that was approaching along the walkway. She hastened to catch up, and then fell into step beside her.

The realization that the approaching clients were all batarian struck her only after they had moved a little closer. She instinctively took a few steps nearer the captain, apprehension filling her. Not that she hated batarians… her sorrow over all the lives lost in the Alpha Relay disaster was genuine. But it had been pirates and the threat of batarian slavers that had originally brought her into the service of Captain Nisaria. She had no desire to experience the fate she had once been rescued from.

Aida's thoughts were drawn back from her past by the harsh tone of one of the batarians. "Is there a reason you're armed?" the batarian at the front of the approaching retinue gestured toward the captain's shotgun. Aida thought it an odd question, given the fact that all three of the batarians were also armed.

"Surely you can understand a little caution," the captain said pleasantly. "This is our first deal, after all. You are armed as well."

"We will be confiscating the weapons. Hand them over," the batarian barked.

"Then we will be leaving. With the cargo," the captain turned slowly. However, Aida noticed that she did not turn so far as to let any of them out of her field of vision.

"Wait!"

The captain pivoted to face them. "Do we still have a deal then? Caution on both sides seems prudent. Either we should all disarm, or all of us should keep our weapons."

"Offload the cargo," the batarian ordered. "Line it up along the wall on the walkway here."

Aida stepped forward and presented her datapad to the batarian that had done all the speaking, assuming he was the spokesperson for the group. She could hear that the captain was passing along the instructions for offloading to Illitha, who was still staging the cargo on the platform by the ship. The client snatched the datapad from her hand, scanning the list of crate numbers and weights displayed there. The delivery contract stipulated that the contents of the crates would remain anonymous and undisturbed, so this was the only manifest Aida had been able to assemble.

"And the payment?" Aida prompted, doing her best to submerge the unease she felt at being within arm's reach of a batarian criminal.

"It's on the way," the spokesperson turned and gestured toward a fourth figure, which was approaching along the walkway, dragging a hover-pallet behind him. Aida watched the progress of the newcomer warily for a moment, and then glanced back at the captain, drawing reassurance from her presence. She saw one of the crates being settled on the deck behind the captain and released from the cargo drone's hold, and was further encouraged by the fact that Illitha had managed to get past her worries and was doing her job.

The new figure, also a batarian, placed the shipping pallet in front of Aida, and she activated her omni-tool, scanning the cases on the pallet to confirm the contents. The deal was not for a payment in credits, since a transfer of credits could be traced if someone worked hard enough at it. Instead, they'd settled on a sizeable quantity of refined palladium, which they could then sell through either legitimate or black market channels. Aida studied the readings displayed on her omni and smiled in satisfaction.

"It is all here," Aida assured the captain, who in turn motioned to Illitha, directing her to pick up the case of palladium and return it to the ship when she sent the cargo drone back for the next crate.

Aida moved out of the way and stood next to her captain. There was nothing left to do but wait while her friend offloaded the last few crates. Then they could leave. She was beginning to think that the elder asari had been wrong about their clients meaning to prevent them from leaving. Things might have been tense and a little uncomfortable, but so far they had been civil.

When Illitha was settling the final crate on the deck of the walkway, Aida smiled in relief. She was ready to get away from their clients and back aboard the _Sileya_. However, when she turned to walk back to the ship, she saw the captain make a very subtle motion with her hand, turning her palm downward and giving one short wave, as if signaling to stay put. Aida froze in place for a second before turning to face their clients again.

"It has been a pleasure to do business with you," the elder asari spoke in a pleasant tone. "I hope that next time there will be more trust between us, so that the weapons are not necessary."

"We will deal with you again soon," the batarian spokesman responded.

"Then we will trouble you no more."

The captain started to back away from the group calmly, but did not turn her back on them. Aida, following her lead, did the same, and noticed for the first time the signs that her captain had spotted more quickly. The batarians were shifting restlessly. All four of them had their fingers on the triggers of their weapons. And they were watching intently as Aida and her crewmates withdrew, as if waiting for something. The realization hit her like a biotic strike…

_They are waiting until we turn so they can shoot us in the back!_

Aida froze, trying to figure out how they were supposed to get out of the makeshift station without getting killed. The captain's instructions about covering Illitha and getting back to the ship safely were forgotten. Her mind went blank.

"Trouble! Neela, ready the ship for departure!"

The captain's shout startled Aida, but not nearly as much as it shocked her when a streak of bluish-purple hurtled past her and into the midst of the batarians, impacting with their leader, who was thrown violently backward by the sudden strike. Captain Nisaria seemed almost to materialize where the batarian had been standing. It was the first biotic charge that Aida had ever witnessed firsthand, and she was astonished by the speed and violence of it. She managed to start moving dazedly, fumbling for the pistol at her side.

"_Captain,_" Neela's voice broadcast through the channel that was designated for the entire crew. "_The docking clamps are still engaged. If we try to pull free without disengaging them, it might damage the hull._"

Aida wasn't sure if the captain heard Neela's warning, but if she did, she was too busy to do anything about it. Biotic energy rose around the elder asari in wispy tendrils, and she focused it into a solid ball, which she hurled at one of the batarians. The biotic throw struck with enough force to send him over the walkway railing. His scream was cut off a moment later by a sickening thud. The biotic attack was followed by several shotgun blasts at a second batarian, and then a quick turn and a kick to the underside of the third one's rifle when he tried to bring it to bear. The captain moved with the grace and fluidity of a dancer, using physical strikes and biotics at close quarters with amazing proficiency.

The captain's bravery finally inspired Aida to respond to Neela's transmission.

"The captain is holding them off. I will get to the docking controls."

Aida ran past the two-on-one melee, noting with satisfaction that the batarian spokesman still hadn't recovered from the captain's biotic charge, though he was still moving. Swallowing the suddenly bitter taste in her mouth, she fired her pistol several times at him in passing. She had no idea if the shots penetrated his shields or if his shields were even active, but she didn't pause to look. She covered the distance to the console at the back of the bay in record time.

Her eyes frantically scanned the console interface and she experimentally pressed a few of the holographic keys. A message appeared which warned that an authorization code was required to access secured systems. She activated her omni-tool, initiating the automated hacking routine, hoping that the program would be sufficient to break the console's encryption. She glanced up worriedly to see if the captain was still faring well.

The last of the batarians had fallen, and the former commando fired one final round from her shotgun into each of the prone forms. It was a jarring thing for Aida to witness, and she flinched at each of the shots. A part of her immediately wished she had never been exposed to the image of the asari she so admired firing those last three times. She was about to ask after the elder asari's well-being, when a loud metallic clunk to her left drew her attention. The door she had noticed earlier opened, and batarians started pouring out. Five or six made a run for the second ship in the docking bay, while two others raised weapons and fixed their eyes upon Aida.

She looked desperately toward the captain for assistance. A shroud of biotic energy enveloped the elder asari, who then seemed to vanish in a streak. To her dismay, however, the streak impacted with one of the batarians running for the ship, not one of the pair nearest to herself. It occurred to her in that instant that the captain had made the right choice. If the batarians got aboard their ship, it would put the entire crew in danger rather than just one of them. However, the precious seconds that Aida wasted hoping that the captain would save her would have been better spent taking cover.

The explosive sound of assault rifle fire was almost deafening, reverberating off of the walls of the enclosed space. The first few shots struck her barrier, causing her to stumble backward, and she quickly took cover behind the console. Hisses and snaps were barely audible over the din of the weapons as rounds struck her cover or came close. A smell like burning plastic filled the air, and she could hear small crackling and hissing sounds during the occasional lulls in the attacks.

Crouched behind the console with her cheek pressed against the cool alloy, she raised one arm over her cover and fired a few rounds blindly with her pistol, hoping to give the batarians pause. Her arm was quickly withdrawn afterward, and glanced at her omni-tool. Her hacking routines were having no luck in breaking the console's encryption.

"Keep her pinned down," she heard a harsh voice command. "I'll flank her."

Panic engulfed Aida, eclipsing any hope that the captain might return and save her. She was not a warrior. She wanted to be a chef. She wanted to open a restaurant on Thessia. She wasn't suited to combat. She had no idea what to do. She didn't even dare to fire a few blind shots again, as the sounds of projectiles ricocheting off of her cover and the wall behind her were almost constant.

She turned to see if she might be able to make a run along the walkway toward the ship, and her heart almost stopped. One of the batarians had moved around to that side and was taking aim at her, his face twisted in a cruel smile of triumph. Aida concentrated and put every bit of energy she had into reinforcing her barrier, hoping it would be enough to prevent his shots from killing her. She also raised her pistol and fired wildly at him. His return fire was much more precise. Two shots shattered her barrier and knocked her to the floor, and the third tore through her arm, wrenching an agonized scream from her lips.

A trail of white arced down on the batarian from behind, striking him in the back with a sound like breaking glass. Aida watched in astonished relief as his body turned white with frost, his limbs froze up, and he fell forward, lying on the deck like a fallen ice sculpture. She focused her energy, forming a small orb of biotic force, and she hurled it at her fallen foe. He shattered into innumerable pieces, his frozen body annihilated by the force of the blow.

Illitha was sprinting toward Aida and the console, firing her weapon as she approached. Seeing her friend bravely coming to her defense spurred Aida back into action. After re-manifesting her barrier, she scrambled to her feet, knees shaking as a result of her growing fatigue, firing at her remaining attacker. Their combined fire overloaded his shields before he could take even a few steps toward cover, and he pitched over mid-stride, riddled with bullet wounds. Blood pooled around the body.

Aida swallowed heavily, feeling a little sick. Her whole body was shaking; she was unused to maintaining a barrier for as long as she had, let alone forcing herself to reconstruct a shattered one. Using biotics was tiring even for asari, who had a natural gift for it. Beside her, Illitha hurried to the console, frowning at it. Aida hurriedly applied some medigel to her arm to keep the wound from bleeding and allow it to begin healing; the limb was already slick with purple blood.

"Thank you, Illitha. If you had not come to my rescue…" she trailed off.

"I thought… I mean… I am just glad that my omni minifactured and deployed the cryo drone successfully. I h-have never used any of the combat software installed in it before," the engineer admitted.

Aida knew her friend well enough to see that she was deeply upset, but she was doing an admirable job of hiding it and concentrating on the task at hand.

"Can you get the ship uncoupled before more of them arrive?" Aida questioned, looking at the bullet-riddled console, which was intermittently spitting sparks into the air.

"I… I am not sure," Illitha was frowning again. "Th-that batarian damaged the console pretty heavily with all that fire. The processor is still intact, but the holographic interface is damaged. I need to establish a remote link to the system with my omni and then hack through their encryption."

Aida looked around for any immediate sign of danger, and smiled in relief when she saw the captain running toward them. The elder asari was apparently uninjured, and shot a questioning look at the two of them as she approached. Aida shook her head uncertainly in response to the unasked question.

"We have to go," the captain's tone conveyed a sense of urgency. "A few of them got aboard the ship and sealed the airlock. Their ship will undoubtedly have remote access to the docking controls. If they get the engines powered up and maneuver outside before we do, they will have us at their mercy."

Illitha nodded, working feverishly on her omni. After what seemed like an eternity to Aida, her friend finally let out a small squeal of triumph. Aida caught herself thinking that the utterance was more like the sound an adolescent would make when meeting her idol than the sound a grown asari should have made over the pleasure of completing a task.

"I have a link established! Hacking the system now."

The captain grabbed the young engineer by the arm and started toward the _Sileya_, pulling her along. "Come on. Hack on the run."

Aida fell into step behind her crewmates, and the three of them dashed along the walkway toward the _Sileya's_ waiting cargo bay. She had to bite her lip to keep from whimpering as she ran. Even though the medigel bound and sealed the wound and numbed the pain considerably, running was jarring her arm repeatedly, generating little jolts of pain with every step. Illitha was little better, stumbling along awkwardly because she was busy breaking through the facility's encryption and wasn't watching where she was going.

The docking clamps disengaged from the ship and started to retract just as the three of them reached the cargo bay's ramp. The docking platform started to swivel out of position a moment later. The captain was quick to activate the crew's comm channel.

"Neela, we are free of the docking clamps. Get us out of this bay! Prathus, as soon as we are clear, I want you to fire on the face of the asteroid above the bays. It is too late to disable their ship. By now they will have their barriers up."

"_Understood, Captain,_" Prathus's answer came quickly.

Aida smiled proudly at Illitha, impressed with her friend's quick work under stressful conditions. The girl had already maneuvered the loading drone aboard and sealed the cargo bay doors, and the ship was in motion. Aida loved her friend dearly, but she never imagined that the engineer had it in her to overcome her fears when she needed to. She'd secretly thought Illitha would crumble under any real pressure. Now she felt deeply ashamed of that assumption. It wasn't a very appropriate opinion for a friend to have, especially since it had been Aida who had repeatedly found herself at a loss as the stress mounted. Illitha had saved her life.

She ran to a terminal and called up an outside sensor scan so that she could see what was going on. There were viewports on other decks of the ship, but the cargo bay had no such luxuries. With the cargo unloaded, it was more or less empty, save for the large shipping container that had been converted to a clean room to serve as personal quarters for their quarian crewmate.

Illitha moved up beside her, and they watched on the display as the ship cleared the asteroid's docking bay. As soon as they were clear, Prathus opened fire on the surface of the asteroid with the _Sileya's_ mass accelerator cannon. It wasn't the huge weapon found on a dreadnought or even a cruiser, but it did its job admirably. The well-placed shots collapsed each bay in turn. Aida smiled. The turian's specialty might have been communications and information systems, but he was a fine shot with the ship's weapons. It could take the batarians weeks to clear enough of the rubble to get out of their facility.

"Neela, set us on course for the Mass Relay. We need to get to Illium," the captain ordered through the comm link. Then she turned to Aida, glancing down at her injured arm. "Aida, see to your injury. Illitha, help her if she needs an extra hand. Then find Prathus and get to work on replacing those CO2 filters."

Aida watched the captain go, and she couldn't help smiling. While the former commando showed no outward sign of worry over her injury, she still got the feeling that deep down inside, the elder asari did care about them all. Not for the first time, she wondered what had happened that prompted the woman to hold everyone at arm's length. She hoped that one day they would be close enough that she could ask without worrying that the question was out of line.

Illitha snapped her out of her musings when she suddenly threw her arms around her, hugging her fiercely. Aida winced at the sudden pressure on her wounded arm, even as she laughed softly.

"I-I thought you were going to die," the engineer whispered.

"Thanks to you, I will be fine," Aida murmured fondly. "But I would really appreciate it if you stopped crushing my injured arm…"

Illitha practically shoved her away in her haste to let go, and her hands flew up to cover her mouth. Her eyes conveyed embarrassment and heartfelt apologies far better than words ever could.

"Goddess, Aida… I am _so_ sorry…"


	3. Chapter 3: History

**Author's Note: My thanks go out to all of my readers. It has been encouraging to see so many people check out my story. I hope I continue to hold your interest :)**

* * *

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Three: History

**Over Terra Nova, Now…**

Tears coursed down Illitha T'Zari's cheeks, and she struggled to keep the inert form of the young scientist in place over her shoulder. She was in agony, but she refused to allow the pain to slow her down. The repeated attacks against the ship had taken their toll on the power systems, until the plasma relays overloaded and exploded just seconds after the two of them had donned their environmental suits. The detonation originated in one of the junction routers, and the force of the blast shredded the carbon alloy of the router casing and propelled it outward as shrapnel.

Illitha reacted faster than she ever would have thought possible. The moment she heard the warning indicators, she put herself between Selura and the machinery. The blast propelled them both into a nearby bulkhead with crushing force. Even with the protective padding in the helmets of the environmental suits, she was almost certain that the young scientist struck her head soundly enough to result in a concussion; the impact had rendered her unconscious. Illitha's enviro-suit was torn in dozens of places by the shrapnel, and because she hadn't had time to erect a barrier in self-defense, she was cut and bleeding in numerous spots across her back.

Even though the emergency systems cut off the plasma flow in response to the system breach, Illitha was quick to drag the wounded scientist out of the engineering area and into the cargo bay. They had been lucky to avoid being killed by the first overload. She doubted they would be so lucky if there was a second critical system failure. She hated leaving the engineering section when she was needed most, but she couldn't risk the life of their passenger.

As it turned out, it was an excellent decision. The doors had only just closed behind them when the next blast hit the ship. Her omni-tool, still linked into the diagnostic systems, alerted her that engineering had suffered a breach and was experiencing a total loss of atmosphere. On the heels of that warning, a second alert appeared to inform her that the drive core and essential power systems were experiencing severe fluctuations. An instant later, there was a ship-wide loss of power. The artificial gravity went offline, and Illitha was forced to activate the magnetic systems in her boots to remain on the deck.

Under normal circumstances, lifting an unconscious asari onto her shoulders in a weightless environment wouldn't be physically taxing. In her current condition, however, the movement caused the flesh and the muscles in her back to shift around the shrapnel embedded in the wounds. The tears that stained her cheeks were the result of that pain, mixed with fear of what might happen next. She hoped that the airtight seals on the doors would hold and that no breaches would occur in the cargo bay. The thought of being exposed to vacuum conditions with breaches in her environmental gear was unpleasant, to say the least.

Without power, the elevator was dead and the doors would not open. She was in no condition to attempt to crawl through the maintenance access tunnels to another deck… especially if she had to drag an unconscious asari along with her. She felt terribly cold and was shivering violently. It took her a moment to realize that she might be going into shock. There was a very real possibility that she might even die of blood loss if the bleeding was as severe as it felt; she felt as if her entire back was slick with blood.

It was clear that she needed to get to a safe location quickly, so she took stock of the options available in the cargo bay. There were two fighters that they had picked up in Noveria, but she had no idea if their internal systems were complete. If there were no life support systems or power systems installed, they would be little better than being exposed to the airless environment of space. A few crates were stacked off to the side, and most modern crates were airtight, but with the limited amount of air that could be trapped within, they would not keep anyone safe for long.

Her eyes fell upon the reinforced and modified shipping container that served as Neela's quarters, and determination filled her. She had done the work that converted the container to a clean room herself. It had an independent life support suite and power system. It was completely self-contained and airtight, so that the quarian was fully protected from outside contaminants in at least one place on the ship. They would be spoiling the clean environment for Neela if they used it for shelter, but it would definitely save their lives. She had the distinct feeling the ship was doomed anyway, in which case maintaining the pilot's sleeping quarters was irrelevant.

A growing sensation of lightheadedness assailed her. Whether from stress, from loss of blood or both, she didn't know. Fear of losing consciousness added to her determination. She was going to get herself and the scientist beyond the decontamination area of Neela's quarters and into the clean room before she passed out. Her fear that she might die of blood loss after that increased with every step, but she had to face the possibility that the clean room might save only one of them in the end.

_It does not matter_, she told herself. _If I die to save someone else's life, it is a price I will gladly pay_.

* * *

**Leaving the Columbia System, Four weeks earlier…**

Illitha stood among the heat exchangers and ventilation regulators in the life support room, leaning heavily on the safety rail that separated the deck space from the machinery. Her body was wracked with long, drawn out sobs. She'd managed to keep it together long enough to assist Aida in getting her wound cleaned and dressed, and then fled to a place she knew would be empty.

Illitha had never been a very typical asari. She came from a race of people who were mostly social, curious, and interested in new experiences and new knowledge. She, on the other hand, had always been introverted, slow to trust, and did not perform well under stress of any kind. She'd been more at home reading in solitude than socializing with her classmates in school. Starship technology was chosen as her primary field of study because she decided that she would have the best possible experience during her maiden years that way… she could see the wonders of space and visit a variety of different places, but spend most of her time in the engineering section of some ship, where she could easily lose herself in maintenance or diagnostics when she wanted to be alone.

She was ill-suited to the life of a smuggler. Prior to that day, she'd never killed anyone or anything other than the occasional insect. Now she was responsible for snap-freezing one living being and shooting another one to death. The fact that she did it to save the life of her closest friend was a consolation, but a small one. She felt sick. She felt guilty. Her insides felt like they were tied up into knots. And so she cried, hoping that she might find some measure of relief if she just let her emotions go.

It wasn't working.

Her tearful gaze shifted to her left arm, and she activated her omni-tool, calling up the list of combat minifacturing routines. She'd installed them purely for self-defense, but had never imagined that she would ever have cause to use them. Today she'd used one on a living creature. If she had never downloaded them…

Her eyes went down the list. 'Cryo-dispersion Drone,' 'Incendiary-dispersion Drone,' 'Directed Electro-magnetic Pulse…' She frowned, wishing she'd never installed any of them. Part of her mind argued that if she hadn't had access to them, her friend might have died, but she shook her head angrily and pushed that thought to the back of her mind. Filled with sudden resolve, she deleted the combat routines from her omni, vowing to herself that she would _never_ be responsible for the taking of another life.

"T'Zari?"

The deep voice startled Illitha. She straightened up quickly, wiping the tears from her cheeks as subtly as possible. The area in which she stood wasn't immediately visible from the door, so she used the few seconds available while the sounds of uneven footsteps came closer to pull herself together.

She turned to face the turian, forcing a smile. "Hello, Prathus," she greeted him as cheerfully as she could manage. However, she could tell immediately that he wasn't fooled by either the smile or her jovial façade. The mixture of concern and uncertainty in his eyes said it all. She was never a very good liar. It was the only time she spoke up, as her mother had pointed out frequently during her childhood.

"The captain said you would be coming to get me so that I could help down here. When you didn't show up, I decided to come looking. But this is obviously a bad time," he looked away uncomfortably. "Should I come back in an hour or two?"

"No," Illitha sighed, her voice falling to its usual, barely-audible tone instead of the cheerful one with which she'd greeted him. "I… I need to get the CO2 filters changed. I could really use a second pair of hands."

"Sure," Prathus nodded.

Cases of filtration components were stacked neatly in a corner of the room. Prathus started opening them up, removing the filters and leaning them against the wall within easy reach.

Illitha stepped over the safety rail, climbing up on the small rungs built into the outside casings of the environmental systems. When she could reach the access port for the filtration system, she went to work on the releases, quickly snapping the panel free. A soft breeze flowed from the opening.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Prathus inquired. His tone, however, suggested that it was a question he didn't particularly want to ask.

A smile touched her lips at the turian's reluctance, but it was fleeting. She knew that he wasn't comfortable getting personal with members of the crew. Illitha was certain that he was loyal to his shipmates and she considered him to be a friend, but he seemed to view them more like passing acquaintances than friends. His insistence on using their surnames even after spending months aboard the ship was a strong indicator of his unwillingness to get too close. However, there were rare occasions when he passed along a compliment or an offer of support that made her wonder if she was misreading him.

"You were a soldier," she said softly. "Do you..? Did you ever…?" she faltered.

" 'Did I ever' what?" he prompted.

"You have killed things as a soldier… right?"

"Of course."

"Do you ever feel… guilty?"

The turian stared up at her without speaking. He was silent for so long, in fact, that Illitha started to wonder if she'd accidentally insulted him with her question. She hadn't meant to insinuate that he was some sort of heartless killer, but she supposed her query might have been taken as such.

She swallowed and turned back to the work at hand, activating the bypass on the first of the old filtration units and then disconnecting it from the system. The components were extremely long and unwieldy, which was why she needed Prathus's help to get the job done. He supported the other end of the filter once it was halfway free of the slot. Together they pulled it free of the system and dropped it to the ground. Prathus picked up one of the new units he had propped against the wall and passed it to her, helping her slide it into the empty housing.

When Prathus finally spoke, it surprised Illitha, because she'd assumed he wasn't going to answer.

"I don't feel guilty for anything I did while I served as a soldier. You're asking because of what happened with the batarians? I saw Aida in the crew quarters before I came down here. She said you saved her life."

"I know that I saved her," Illitha said softly. "That batarian was going to kill her. But I killed someone. I-I feel sick over that. I feel guilty. I almost wish-"

"Don't," Prathus cut her off. "There's no shame in feeling bad about taking someone's life. You're a civilian, and a good kid. If you didn't feel some remorse, I'd be disappointed. But you did what you had to do to save someone you care about."

Illitha almost laughed at being called a 'kid.' She was an adult by the standards of her people, and was more than twice the turian's age. However, the brief moment of good humor was quickly submerged by lingering feelings of self-loathing.

"You said you feel no guilt."

"I come from a very different culture. Turians enter boot camp when we are fairly young and serve a mandatory fifteen years in the military. We're trained to wage war. We learn to kill. And we learn to accept that killing enemies and losing our comrades will inevitably occur. We might get angry about it, we're upset by it at times, and eventually some of us get tired of it, but we are all prepared to deal with it."

Illitha mulled over Prathus's words while she was enabling the connections to the new filter. She supposed it made sense that a soldier would have some amount of tolerance for the fact that they might have to kill in the process of doing their duty. She just didn't think she could ever accept killing living things as a part of her life. She wasn't even sure she would ever make peace with having done it to save Aida. It was infinitely preferable to losing her friend, but still a regrettable act.

"I was always afraid of this," she admitted. "That I would have to... to hurt someone… if I served on this ship. As a smuggler, I mean."

"Why sign on as a member of the crew? I've always wondered. You don't seem to have the right temperament for work outside the bounds of galactic law."

"I wanted to travel through space. To see distant planets and experience new things," she fell silent for a moment, remembering how romantic the idea of space travel had seemed. "I tried to get a position as an engineer on a number of different ships. Diplomatic vessels, planetary survey ships, civilian transports… B-but the psychological profiles always led to my disqualification. No one wants an engineer who cracks under pressure-"

"Not today," Prathus interjected.

"Wh-what?"

"As I understand it, today you did your job in spite of your fear," Prathus explained. "You ran into a dangerous situation to save your friend. You had to hack the docking controls in a very short span of time so we could get out before the batarians did. If that isn't pressure, I'm not sure what qualifies. You got it done. You didn't break down."

Her brow furrowed. She _had_ run out to the docking controls in the midst of gunfire, hadn't she? She had been so focused on the fact that she killed someone that she was overlooking the lack of fear she felt at that moment. She'd run down there because she saw her friend in danger and she knew they would need her to disengage the docking clamps. The danger never even crossed her mind.

"I-I guess I was just so focused on the fact that people needed me to do my job…" she trailed off.

"It seems to me that a lot of diplomatic vessels, survey missions and civilian transports missed out on a damn fine engineer."

Illitha felt herself beginning to blush. She had a feeling that it would take some time to deal with her guilt for having killed… if she ever managed at all. But Prathus's praise helped to settle her thoughts enough that she could concentrate on work instead of guilt… at least for the moment.

"If we do not finish this maintenance, the Captain might disagree with you." She removed the bypass on the first filter and activated the bypass for the second unit.

"Well, we can't have that," Prathus chuckled.

* * *

**Upper Atmosphere, Terra Nova, Now…**

Zaeed shifted his weight from foot to foot, watching the wispy white of the clouds roll past the front viewport of the ship as they descended from orbit into the atmosphere. He could see nothing, but he knew that the pilot was flying on sensor readings, not using visual flight references. Without anything of interest to look at outside, he turned and took a spot behind his employer, watching over the salarian's shoulder while he worked at a nearby terminal.

"Salik," he addressed the salarian, "You said Cerberus landed days ago?"

"Yes," Salik nodded his head, speaking rapidly as most of his kind tended to do. "Cerberus is classified as a terrorist organization by Citadel Council. Covert incursion required to get agents in place on planet's surface. Only logical conclusion. Cerberus cruiser would draw unnecessary attention in orbit over Terra Nova. Open approach impossible with Alliance fleet in orbit."

"When are you gonna fill us in on the exact details of this job? How does Cerberus figure in?" Zaeed questioned.

He'd taken the job only because his contacts assured him that the salarian was going after Cerberus on Terra Nova. For all of the talking the salarian did, however, he said very little regarding the exact goal of the mission during their initial meeting. He had limited his comments to introducing himself, and the fact that he needed mercenaries willing to fight Cerberus and to escort him to a destination on Terra Nova. Fighting Cerberus was good enough incentive for Zaeed, but he wanted to know what they were walking into.

"Exact details are unimportant for your role," the salarian pointed out. "Requirement for mercenary support due to Cerberus involvement should be information enough. Your task is simple. Escort me to a destination on Terra Nova, which may or may not be under Cerberus control. Other details unnecessary. Enlisted your aid to fight, not to share executive oversight."

"I know my job," Zaeed growled. "But it would be nice to get an idea what kind of shit storm I'm walking into."

"Impossible to say. Cerberus interest in our destination could stem from any number of motivations. If the strategic importance of the target is minor for Cerberus long-term goals, it is possible only a small occupying force will be deployed. If Cerberus leadership assigns great value to their operation, significant opposition might await. Will authorize additional payment if hazard is substantially greater than anticipated."

"I'm not in this for credits," Zaeed's voice took on a steely edge, "I'm in this to hurt Cerberus."

The salarian swiveled his chair around, turning to face Zaeed. His eyes studied the mercenary's face intently before he spoke. "Revenge is a troublesome motive. Must be able to trust you to do as directed. Your services are of questionable use to me if emotional responses override your duties. Mission is far too important to salarian species to risk on the actions of one employee."

Zaeed studied Salik's face silently, and he had to admit that he was impressed with the nerve he saw there. There were no signs of uncertainty or fear in the large eyes, or hints of discomfort in his posture. He returned Zaeed's gaze evenly and seemed to be waiting patiently for a response. Finally, the mercenary gave a small nod.

"I'll do the job I was hired for," Zaeed assured him. "I always do. The chance to shoot at Cerberus is just a bonus."

"Excellent," the salarian turned his seat around to face the terminal. "Will assume your guarantee also applies to fighting Reapers. Reaper attack on Terra Nova complicates situation substantially. Desire to defend a colony world belonging to your people would be understandable."

"The reapers will get my full attention eventually. But until I have a proper target and a reason to get into the fight, I'll stick to dealing with Cerberus. They're tied up in this war already, and I don't believe for a second that they're on the right side."

"They aren't," Salik said softly. "Your decision is correct. Fighting Cerberus is vastly more productive than shooting at Reaper shock troops. Might lead to greater gains for the galaxy in the end. Get vorcha to the airlock. Prepare to secure landing zone. Estimate 91 seconds to destination."

* * *

**Planet Lorek, Fathar System, Three weeks earlier…**

The shuttle touched down on the landing pad a little too quickly, jarring all of the occupants inside, drawing murmurs and grunts of irritation from several of the passengers. The door shifted outward with an audible hiss and slid to the side, opening the shuttle to the environment of Lorek. The heat that invaded the transport was intense despite the twilight conditions and the weather; it was a bit over forty degrees Celsius. The landing area was blanketed by driving rain, the constant hiss of raindrops striking the ground broken only by frequent and almost deafening crashes of thunder. The passengers descended the ramp to the landing pad and started to spread out, leaving the lone non-batarian among them standing in the shuttle's doorway.

Zaeed scanned the landing area, memorizing the layout and the positions of the buildings around it. While he had no intention of having to flee the area, he had been a mercenary long enough to know that it was prudent to have an exit strategy, especially on a world controlled by the Batarian Hegemony. If something went wrong and he had to get off-world quickly, it would be important to know the fastest and least visible route to a shuttle. Commandeering a shuttlecraft wouldn't be difficult, but reaching one might require some effort. There were concealed routes through the buildings, but the landing pads were all wide-open space, positioned in a semi-circle around a large and equally exposed plaza.

He studied the buildings more intently, then shook his head. It was his understanding that the planet had once belonged to the asari, and then had been annexed by the Hegemony. The buildings, however, were the angular, severe structures common among batarian colonies. He'd been on this world twice and hadn't yet seen anything to suggest the asari had ever been there. But then had no idea what he was expecting. Perhaps a few tall, slender, sculpted asari towers mixed in with the batarian's buildings? He dismissed the fanciful train of thought. The scenery had nothing to do with the purpose of his visit.

Very few colonies permitted passengers to disembark with weapons, so Zaeed had stowed his rifle and grenades in a locker aboard the transport that had taken him from Omega to the Fathar system. He wasn't fond of using civilian transports – too many hassles involved – but the short timetable for the job necessitated a little improvisation. Fortunately, there was no shortage of unsavory characters in the Terminus Systems, and he knew a few that were based on this very planet, so he was confident he would be able to pick up the necessary hardware on site.

As a mercenary, Zaeed was occasionally welcomed to places that other humans were not wanted, simply because his skills were for sale if one had the money to pay for them. Years before, he had hired on to a batarian mercenary crew to attack ships headed out of the nearby systems, and had been paid well for the work. It hadn't been a job he particularly enjoyed, however, as he didn't care much for batarians. He considered them to be terrorists and thugs and little else. Though his stay on the planet at the time had been brief, it was long enough to recognize it as a hellhole.

Lorek was tidally locked to its sun, which left only the twilight band between the hot and cold poles habitable. Moisture reaching the sunward side evaporated and drifted toward the dark side of the planet, striking the colder air circulating from the other side. The converging fronts combined into frequent storms like the one into which Zaeed stepped when he finally disembarked from the shuttle.

He moved across the plaza calmly, despite the rather hostile looks he was receiving from the armed guards in the area. He supposed after Shepard killed a few hundred thousand of them, he should have expected the batarians to be even more hostile toward humans than usual. A pair of guards moved to intercept him, looking him over without even bothering to conceal their contempt. He returned their glares with equal disdain, waiting for one of them to say something. When it became apparent that they weren't going to speak, he decided to take the initiative.

"Well? Got somethin' to say, or are you just gonna stand there all goddamn day?"

"Watch your tone, human," one of the guards warned. "This colony is under authority of the Hegemony. And your kind isn't welcome here."

"I go where I damn well please. I'm here to see Grotak. So either tell me where to find him, or get out of my way."

He saw the two exchange glances and then back off a few steps, and he was glad that the old criminal still had a little bit of power in the colony. Not because he was afraid of these two worthless thugs, but because he would need to deal with Grotak to secure transportation to the remote facility his target was using as a hiding place. It had been a mercenary stronghold at one point, but was abandoned after Shepard had crashed the party in search of Cerberus data. That had been during the search for the Collectors, just after Zaeed was recruited onto Shepard's squad.

Before Shepard had screwed him out of his revenge at the refinery.

Zaeed brushed past the two guards, leaving them to glare at his back, and he strode across the plaza, ignoring the batarian scum all around him. The sooner he finished his job here, the sooner he could get off of this worthless rock. He was already getting tired of the hostile stares and the whispering going on around him. One batarian youngster even picked up a bottle from a refuse bin next to a building and drew his arm back as if he was going to throw it. After the menacing glare that the mercenary gave him, however, the youth seemed to have second thoughts. Zaeed gave the lad points for nerve, if not brains.

Once he was well away from the landing area, Zaeed moved closer to a building to shield himself from the worst of the rain, and he activated his omni-tool, sending off a quick message on the encrypted channel he had used the last time he dealt with Grotak. The old batarian hadn't tried to cheat him out of his share of the pay when he hired on to the ship-raiding job, so he figured he could trust him enough to ask him for a little assist, provided he passed along a few credits with the request. He just hoped that there was a VI monitoring the old channel to pick up any attempts to use it.

The rainwater was warm upon his face, but it was still a relief when compared to the sweltering heat of the region. He closed his eyes, letting the droplets of water slide over his skin, waiting with a fair bit of patience for his message to be answered. He didn't have to wait as long as he expected. His omni received a nav-point update on the old encrypted channel, as well as a map upload so that he could navigate the colony more easily. Zaeed nodded. He knew he'd have to pay for the assist – Grotak didn't give anything away – but Cerberus was going to be paying well enough to cover a few minor operational fees.

He was stopped a handful of times during the journey by batarian guards demanding to see his visitor's clearance, but since he'd secured a legitimate pass to the colony, the stops were little more than an annoyance. Aside from the short security delays, he had no difficulty getting to the location of the meeting with Grotak. His destination seemed to be a simple residential complex… a run-down dump by human standards, but he supposed for low-caste batarians it was a decent place to live. He knew that there would be something more hidden behind the façade. Grotak was very good at staying under the Hegemony's radar. Or perhaps he had their blessing. There were too many rumors of batarian pirates being funded by their government to dismiss the possibility entirely.

A batarian sitting in the doorway scrambled to his feet and stepped close to Zaeed as he approached the building, trying to stare him down. Zaeed picked a pair of eyes and stared right back, matching the batarian glare for glare. He knew that the four-eyed batarians thought that they had some kind of advantage in negotiations because other species never knew which eyes to look into… he personally didn't give a damn if he was staring at the wrong set. It didn't take long for the batarian to back off. Perhaps the heavy scarring to the right side of Zaeed's face lent him a more menacing appearance, or perhaps others could see in his eyes that he wouldn't lose a moment's sleep over stabbing them in the heart, but most of the individuals the mercenary dealt with didn't get in his way for long, if at all. With the exception of krogan… It often seemed to the mercenary that krogan were _more_ likely to try to harass him because of the scars.

_Damn them and their stupid "strength equals respect" bullshit_, he complained mentally.

Zaeed stepped inside the building and wiped the rainwater from his face, his nose twitching at the unpleasant odor that assailed him. He never did like the smell of batarians… or their cooking. He followed the nav-point he was given, passing through the main entryway and down a narrow hallway to an elevator. Once the elevator's doors closed, a voice addressed him through the intercom system.

"Zaeed Massani," the voice was even raspier than the typical batarian tone, and there was a bit of an underlying crackle, as if the speaker was about to start coughing. "What do you want from me? I didn't think I would ever see your ugly human face again."

"Who the hell are _you_ calling ugly, Grotak?"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't flood that elevator with neutron radiation and then cut the eyes out of your head before I toss your carcass into the incinerators, Massani."

"I have credits to pay in exchange for a few small favors."

"Credits, huh?" there was a long pause. "I guess there's no harm in talking a bit."

The elevator gave a sudden lurch and started moving downward. Zaeed noted that the display on the control interface still said the lift was on the ground floor. He snorted. Anyone inside of it when it was traveling down could tell which direction it was going. The static display wasn't fooling anyone. Grotak's last hideout had also been hidden underground. The old batarian certainly seemed fond of subterranean lairs.

When the elevator came to a stop and the door opened, a blast of cool air hit the mercenary. After the heat and humidity outside and the stuffiness of the elevator, the climate-controlled atmosphere was more than a little refreshing. It would make the heat outside feel even worse when he left, but Zaeed was willing to suffer that discomfort in exchange for the extra comfort now. He stepped out into the small room beyond, which was a featureless cube save for the single door in the facing wall and the two armed guards that flanked it. One of them pounded on the door twice, and it opened after a brief pause.

Sharp eyes quickly surveyed the area when he entered the room. For a mercenary with a career as long as Zaeed's, taking careful note of one's surroundings was second nature. The chamber was massive, with three walls made of poured concrete or some similar substance, and the fourth composed of a carbon steel alloy. The ceiling of the room was cluttered with crisscrossing conduits, pipes and cable bundles, all of which disappeared through the steel wall or through the ceiling to the building above. The mercenary guessed that on the other side of the mismatched wall were the power, water filtration and similar systems for the structure. A steel catwalk ran along the right-hand wall – the metal one – near ceiling level. Several batarian guards with rifles were perched upon it.

An odd mixture of decorative and utilitarian furniture was scattered through the room. Most of the seats were the uncomfortable and cheap type of metal chairs and benches popular in batarian military facilities. These harsh and practical objects stood in stark contrast to the sleek and sculpted polymer tables and the huge desk at the far end of the room, which were obviously less for utility and more for décor; still functional, but more pleasing to the eye. The desk faced toward the door, but the chair behind it was turned around to face the opposite direction, where a massive video monitor dominated the far wall. Footage of a brutal combat between a pair of humans, likely slaves, was currently playing on the screen. This sort of entertainment was not uncommon among batarian criminal circles.

"So, what are these favors you want, Massani?" the chair behind the desk swiveled slowly to face him, revealing a batarian with sagging, mottled, rust-colored flesh and one missing eye on the left side, the socket sealed with scar tissue from what had obviously been a nasty wound when it was received.

"Grotak," Zaeed nodded in greeting. "I have a job here. Gotta hunt down a human hiding in one of the old merc bases. I need a hovercar or a shuttle to get out there. And a rifle."

"Rifles we have plenty of," the batarian wheezed, and then was interrupted by a brief fit of coughing. Zaeed waited patiently until he caught his breath, at which point Grotak continued. "The shuttle will cost you. What sort of credit payment were you thinking of?"

"I don't want one of those useless Kishok pieces of shit. I need a proper rifle."

"Vindicator?"

"If that's all you have," Zaeed nodded. "But I'd prefer a Mattock. And I want some incendiary grenades."

"I still didn't hear you mention the amount you're willing to pay."

Zaeed snorted and shook his head. "Why don't you tell me what you _want_."

Grotak's mouth twisted in an amused smile, and he struggled to get out of the chair. He was extremely old for his race, and it was quite apparent to Zaeed that he wasn't as mobile as he used to be. When he finally managed to gain his footing, he shuffled around the desk and to a spot near the metal wall, where he activated his omni-tool, prompting a large area of the partition to swivel around. Racks filled with dozens of weapons were affixed to the newly-revealed surface. There were various rifles of batarian make, as well as some Vindicators and Phalanx pistols. A number of small, sealed crates occupied a shelf almost at ground level.

"No Mattocks. For a Vindicator rifle, a handful of grenades, the directions to get here, a shuttle and a pilot, I want… twenty thousand credits," the old batarian said at last.

"You've got to be kidding. Twelve. Not a credit more. And I don't need a goddamn pilot."

"My shuttle, my rules. I won't just _hand_ you a shuttle for twelve thousand credits. I actually want it back."

"Fine. If the pilot is non-negotiable, then we have a deal. But you'll settle for twelve thousand."

The batarian seemed to consider it for a moment, and then turned away, opening one of the crates and pulling out five incendiary grenades, which he lined up along the top of one of the racks of rifles. Zaeed didn't wait for the old criminal to agree verbally. It was obvious that he was amenable to the deal. He went directly to the rack of Vindicator rifles, selecting one and aiming it at the wall, gazing down along the sight.

"You have a deal, Massani. The rifle is all yours. Grenades too. My pilot will meet you at the south shuttle port, and he'll fly you out to your destination and then back when you're done. But he won't be getting involved in your little job. If you get killed out there, he's leaving you to rot."

"He'd only be in my way anyway."

"What's so important about this job, Massani? Humans aren't popular with my people right now. You're lucky you weren't shot on the walk over."

"Let's just say that someone made me an offer I couldn't refuse."

"I see," the old batarian rasped. "I'd be interested to know how they managed to get _that_ kind of payment together."

"It's a one-time deal. Once I get what I want, the payment won't _exist_ for anyone else to give me."

The old batarian's face twisted in an ugly smile. "You're working for the chance at payback then? Always the best kind of payment."

Zaeed didn't answer. He simply touched the trigger that collapsed the weapon into its portable form and reached over his shoulder, securing it to the maglock on the back of his armor. The grenades were stored in a canvas carrier secured to the plating covering his thigh, within easy reach if he needed them. He headed for the door.

"Don't let security stop you with that rifle, Massani," the old batarian warned him. "A human with a weapon will almost definitely be shot without warning. I'd stick to the alleys if I were you…"

"Just get your man out there," Zaeed paused in his stride long enough for the door to open, and then he left without another word. He had a long overdue meeting with his former partner to get to. He was anxious to get this job done so that he could finally get the payback he'd been promised over six months before.

* * *

**Over Terra Nova, Now…**

Prathus Ganarius sat on the floor in the starboard elevator with his back braced against the corner, his heart thundering in his chest. His eyes were tightly closed, and he struggled to keep panic from overwhelming him, but it was a losing battle. He was frozen. He'd been in the same spot since the ship's main power went offline, trapping him in the lift on the way to the main battery. Were it not for the fact that he had his magnetic boots engaged and was using every ounce of strength in his body to brace himself against the wall, he would have been floating around the small area; the artificial gravity failed several minutes before. He was barely even aware of the sounds and vibrations caused by the continued attacks against the ship. The vessel was dead in space, but the attackers wouldn't stop.

The turian couldn't force himself to move. In his mind's eye, he was reliving the terrifying hours during which he had been trapped aboard the _Talikan_, the ship upon which he had served during the Relay 314 Incident. He was back in that collapsed room adjacent to engineering, with a fallen section of bulkhead lying on his crushed left leg and a length of severed fiber-optic cable tied around the limb as a tourniquet, hoping that his crew would get to him before loss of blood or some other complication led to his death.

He tilted his head forward and then snapped it back, banging his helmet against the wall of the elevator, trying to break out of the mental shutdown he was experiencing. While he still enjoyed space travel, he had hoped never to be part of a spaceborne battle ever again. This was the reason he left the turian military once his mandatory term of service was over, and left Palavan and his family behind, seeking work on a ship that didn't belong to his people. He would not be expected to answer a call to duty if no one knew where to find him. Perhaps it made him a poor excuse for a turian, to look for a way to avoid his duty to his people, but he could not face the thought of dying aboard a starship in the middle of a war. Not again.

He couldn't catch his breath. He imagined again and again that at any moment the attackers' weapons would breach the elevator shaft and damage the linkage that held the lift in place, sending him plummeting down to the bottom of the shaft. His logical mind pointed out that without gravity, the lift couldn't fall. It pointed out that if the lift _could_ fall, the shaft only extended about ten more meters down to the deck below, so the chance of serious injury would be minimal. But his imagination wasn't paying any attention to his logical mind, and it was the former that held him captive at the moment. He was trapped in the past, waiting thirty-two hours for the emergency response crew to cut through the bulkheads to reach him while he lay dying on the deck of the _Talikan_.

"Why isn't the backup power grid online?" he demanded of the empty air around him. "I have to get off this ship. I'm not going to die aboard a starship. I won't…"

He finally got his sense of dread to work for him instead of against him. If there was any chance of getting off the ship, he needed to get moving. This thought was a lifeline to cling to. He rose to his feet and staggered to the door of the lift, favoring his left leg as always. Thanks to extensive scarring and the poly-steel braces implanted along the bone in that thigh, the limb didn't work quite the way it was supposed to. He activated his omni-tool and tried to establish a link to the ship's comm system, opening a channel to the rest of the crew.

"This is Prathus," he announced. "Is anyone left aboard the ship? Does anyone read me?"

The only answer to his broadcast was digital distortion. He looked at the signal display on the holographic screen of his omni and frowned. Whoever the attackers were, they were employing some sort of signal-jamming technology.

Forced to give up on communication with the crew, Prathus brought up the minifacturing utility menu on his omni-tool, selecting the welding function. Within moments he was cutting through the lift door. His hands were shaking as he worked, but he did his best to keep a tight leash on his fear so that he could do what needed to be done. There was an emergency escape pod located off of the corridor leading from the lift to the life support suite, and once he was beyond this door, he would be able to get off the ship. The evacuation pods had an independent power source for situations just like this one.

He hoped that the others managed to get to some of the other evacuation pods. And if they didn't, spirits forgive him for abandoning the rest of the crew before he could be certain that they were safe. He only hoped the fighters would ignore the escape pod. Dying in an evac shuttle wasn't any better than dying on the ship.

* * *

**Approaching Illium, Three weeks earlier…**

"_Hello, Uncle. I hope you'll get this vid message soon. When I tried to contact you last, the VI in your apartment said that you were away for work. We miss you. But I wanted you to know that I complete my assignment aboard the Hazenkal in just over a month. After that, my mandatory service is over. I already have a job lined up with C-sec as a security officer. I was afraid when I applied that since it's now mostly under human supervision, my application would be rejected, but the acceptance message I received from their recruiting office was very complimentary. Maybe the recommendation from my current supervisor helped. Mother is very proud of me. I'm so excited about the idea of life aboard the Citadel. I've already started looking into securing an apartment in the wards. I hope that once I'm on the Citadel, I'll get to see you in person sometimes. You do make runs there on that cargo ship, right? Send a return message when you get the chance."_

Prathus sat quietly at the terminal for long moments after the message ended, staring at the paused image of his nephew on the holographic screen in front of him. The lad had grown into a fine turian. Prathus's heart always swelled with pride when he saw his nephew in these messages or on vidcalls, dressed in his military armor, tall, proud, and making a life for himself. He would have to contact his family the next time he was in his apartment.

The soft beep signaling activation of the door trigger heralded a new arrival to the crew lounge, and Prathus quickly deleted the message and slid out of his chair, turning toward the entry. When the captain walked in, he nodded a greeting to her.

"Captain. I was just going through the incoming messages. I forwarded several to your terminal, including one that was heavily encrypted and identified only with the tag 'information obtained'?"

Prathus was a perceptive turian, and he immediately noticed a slight shimmer in the captain's eyes, and the sudden rigidity of her posture. Both were extremely subtle reactions that he doubted many would have noticed, but he picked up on them and wondered what it was that the message contained. She thanked him for alerting her to the message, and even in the tone of her voice he could sense a trace of… anxiety? Or perhaps excitement? Unwilling to pry into personal affairs, he quickly changed the subject.

"I understand that we have another run immediately after we land. Is there any chance we'll be loading for long enough that I may have time to go ashore?"

"As long as your business is relatively quick, then yes," the captain's gaze kept flickering over to her cabin door. "I will be sending Aida and Illitha ashore to stock fresh supplies and sell off the palladium from our last deal. But I expect to be docked for less than two hours."

"Understood," he nodded. "That'll be plenty of time. I have to make a quick purchase and arrange to ship it."

"This is a cargo vessel, Prathus. We can deliver the item in question ourselves if it is going to a location not far out of the way."

Prathus shifted uncomfortably, shaking his head. He'd made it a policy to keep himself isolated as much as possible since leaving his home world. It made it easier to deal with the inevitable cutting of ties that would occur at some point. Over the last nine months, he had saved almost every credit earned on each of the delivery runs the _Sileya_ had undertaken, and he was hopeful that in another nine months he might accumulate enough to retire. The Citadel was looking like a good place for retirement. When the time came, he would have to leave these people behind.

"I don't want to inconvenience the crew or delay our shipments. And the destination list you forwarded to my omni-tool yesterday didn't mention anything even close to Palavan. I plan to ship something home."

"I see," the captain's gaze was abstracted. "Just be aware that I am willing to make small detours if it is helpful to my crew. If you ever need to reach a destination that is just out of our way, do not hesitate to make the request."

"Thank you, Captain."

Prathus watched as the asari walked into her cabin with unusual haste, and then he eased himself back into the chair, absently rubbing his left leg, which was aching terribly. It was a sensation that he had to live with from time to time. He brought up the extranet connection and started browsing through the virtual catalogs for some of Illium's stores, searching for a suitable gift to commemorate his nephew's completion of his term of service. He couldn't let the occasion pass without marking it in some way.

C-Sec sounded like a much better line of work for his nephew than continued military service. With the exception of the geth attack three years before, nothing extraordinarily dangerous _ever_ happened on the citadel. It would be a comfort to know the lad was safe.


	4. Chapter 4: Desires

**Author's Note: I continue to be appreciative of all the comments and support from readers and fellow writers. I would like to give special thanks to Awska for collaborating with me and coming up with the _-hiss-_ insertions in the speech of the Volus in this chapter. I think it works well.**

* * *

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Four: Desires

**Ten kilometers outside Scott, Capital of Terra Nova, Now…**

Zaeed waited in the airlock, one hand firmly grasping an overhead handrail, his rifle in the other. The grip was necessary to remain steady while the ship traversed the turbulence of the lower atmosphere, which resulted in a fair number of shakes and sudden lurches. Behind him, he could hear the heavy, rasping breaths of the two vorcha mercenaries and the occasional creak of synthetic leather when one of them shifted his weight. The distraction provided by the asari vessel seemed to have worked, since they had not come under fire while entering the atmosphere.

"Our landing is imminent," Salik's voice announced over the intercom.

The veteran mercenary released his grip on the stabilizing handle and readied himself. When the ship touched down a moment later, he activated the airlock controls and waited with some amount of impatience while the ship's interior pressure was equalized to the atmosphere outside. When the door finally shifted outward and upward, he jumped out before the ramp even descended, quickly stepping out of the way. His rifle came up to firing position, his eye trained along the sight, and he quickly swept it in an arc across the surrounding terrain.

They had landed in a small, rocky clearing in the midst of a forested area. Grass was sparse in the landing zone, but a few tall green blades peeked out from amidst the rocks here and there. An occasional bluish-purple blossom managed to thrive near the bases of the larger stones. Along the clearing on all sides, tall trees with long, wide leaves stood as silent sentinels. The leaves reminded the mercenary of those found on palm trees on earth, but these leaves sprouted from the trees from top to bottom in rings. The vegetation would serve to conceal the ship from prying eyes, save from the air. However, it also prevented anyone in the clearing from seeing much of the surrounding landscape. The temperature was comfortable, and a light breeze floated through the clearing, bringing with it the smell of foliage and the subtle and sweet fragrance of flowers.

The two vorcha shuffled down the ramp and started scouring the small clearing for signs of danger. Zaeed ignored them, completing his own circuit of the landing zone to be certain that the area was clear. He'd be damned if he left it to _vorcha _to see to security. By the time he finished his quick search of the perimeter, the remainder of his group – the human that had been in the pilot's seat and his salarian employer – were disembarking from the ship, carrying a heavy crate between them. He walked over to meet them.

"The area seems secure," he announced. "What now?"

Salik's eyes darted around to take in the surroundings, and then he nodded once, as if confirming the answer to some unasked question. "Set the crate here," he gestured with his free hand, and he and the pilot settled the container on the rocky ground. Zaeed waited with some impatience for his question to be answered.

"See no sign of danger," the growling voice of a vorcha announced. "Where Cerberus go?"

"First step of the mission is to determine location of any nearby threats to the operation," the salarian gestured toward the crate. "Will deploy reconnaissance drones to patrol the area so that any Reaper or Cerberus forces will be spotted well in advance of this position. Once defensive perimeter has been firmly established, we will traverse the wilderness toward the city of Scott, so that local records can be hacked and information regarding Cerberus' destination can be obtained."

"You don't know where Cerberus was going?" Zaeed questioned.

"My information indicates that construction crews excavating the site of possible platinum deposits in preparation for robotic mining uncovered a massive underground chamber somewhere in this hemisphere. Exact location was highly classified and could not be obtained by my operatives. Reports suggest the possibility that Prothean ruins were discovered inside."

"Why haven't I heard anything about Prothean ruins being discovered here? That's the kind of crap that ends up all over the bloody news feeds."

"Discovery occurred less than a galactic standard week ago. It is likely that the corporation involved paid off workers to keep this discovery quiet until monetary concessions could be secured from either terran government or the Council in exchange for the location of the find. Speculation, of course. However, encrypted burst transmissions intercepted by sources assigned to monitor the situation revealed Cerberus intent to take control of the excavation site."

"Why not go to the Alliance with this information?" the other human, a young man named Robert, spoke up for the first time. Zaeed had been wondering the same thing.

"Reasons behind rejection of that course of action should be clear if a moment is taken to consider the situation," Salik shook his head. "As your employer for this mission, it should not be necessary for expansive explanations on my part regarding impetus behind the task at hand. You are being paid to follow directions."

"Right then," Zaeed shrugged. He was a professional, and the reasons behind the mission meant nothing to him beyond simple curiosity. He was being paid for his services and would simultaneously get to strike a blow against the Illusive Man. That was enough for him. Besides, once he thought about it, the salarian was right: The answer was obvious. If the Alliance found out that a salarian group had spies stationed in one of their colonies, it could lead to a diplomatic incident.

Zaeed focused upon his duty, keeping watch on the surrounding forest while his fellow mercenaries and his employer worked to get the drones unpacked and deployed. He was eager to get some Cerberus troops in his sights. He had been stewing in his anger for days, and it demanded an outlet sooner rather than later.

His train of thought was broken when an object pierced the cloud cover to the northeast, drawing his gaze upward. His jaw clenched. A massive Reaper ship was descending to the surface of the planet. Electrical discharges arced back and forth like lightning between the tentacle-like appendages at its bow. While the mercenary had seen the vessels in space, watching from the ground as one descended upon the planet's surface was an entirely different experience. He was not a man who scared easily. But he felt a chill run up his spine.

"Let me guess: Scott is in that direction," he predicted.

"Indeed," the salarian answered, though there wasn't any apparent concern in the tone of his voice. "Problematic but predictable. Reapers would naturally descend upon the largest centre of civilization first. Additional ships will descend soon. Must get underway. It will be difficult to hack records once Reapers have destroyed too much of the settlement's infrastructure. Fortunately I have emergency generator units on board in case loss of power becomes a problem once we reach our destination. We will be able to wire in auxiliary power to any systems it becomes necessary to access."

"Assuming the damned place is still standing when we get there," Zaeed muttered.

* * *

**Planet Lorek, three weeks earlier…**

Zaeed watched the terrain below as the shuttle coasted over the landscape, his thoughts dwelling upon events long past. Vido Santiago was almost in his grasp, and just like when he'd joined the _Normandy_ crew, he could practically taste the long-overdue sweetness of revenge. If his luck continued to hold, he might have Vido in his sights within the month. It couldn't happen soon enough.

"We are coming up on the coordinates you mentioned," the raspy voice of the batarian pilot warned him. "ETA: 90 seconds."

Zaeed pulled the vindicator rifle from its spot behind his shoulder and readied the weapon for firing, taking a moment to check the ammunition block and the heat sink. Satisfied that the weapon was in proper working order, he hit the release for the shuttle door, which shifted outward and slid aside, admitting an immediate rush of driving rain and intense heat. He braced himself against the frame of the exterior hatch and waited while the pilot brought the shuttle into position over the landing pad.

The facility was a small structure set into the bedrock that surrounded it, with a single landing pad outside and a narrow walkway connecting to the main entrance to the facility. There were several windows facing out toward the landing zone, and through them Zaeed spotted figures rushing around inside the building, no doubt preparing to repel the threat that he represented.

He leapt down as soon as the shuttle was in place, stumbling a little when he hit the ground, but quickly bringing his weapon to bear upon the single access leading into the facility. His eyes settled upon the green holographic trigger that opened the door, and he watched as it quickly turned red, signaling that it had been locked… not an unexpected response to his arrival. He was no technical expert, but he'd come prepared for security responses such as that one. He advanced along the walkway to the facility, watching the figures inside the complex move around. By the time he reached the entrance, the windows darkened to block light transmission – a common feature in modern installations – preventing him from seeing any more of what was going on within.

At the exterior door to the facility, he slipped a hand into the canvas carrier strapped to his armor and removed a small disc from inside. He slapped it against the door, directly over the holographic trigger, and pressed the button that activated it. The device adhered to the surface and a red holographic wheel spread out around it, with numerous little bits of computer code displayed within. Slowly the display shifted in circles while the device worked. It was an expensive automated hacking device, and one of the few things he had been comfortable bringing down to the surface from the transport, since it resembled a commercial VI projector.

In moments, the hacking device successfully interfaced with the facility's security systems, and the display on both the hacking apparatus and the door turned green. Zaeed pulled the gadget free and activated the portal, stepping into the short hallway beyond. The process had to be repeated with the interior door, which had also been sealed, but within moments he had access to the building's heart. He pocketed the auto-hacker before attempting to activate the second access, since he knew that there would be resistance waiting in the next room. He pressed his back against the wall and hit the trigger with the back of his hand.

An immediate hail of gunfire answered the door's opening, and Zaeed patiently waited out the initial volley, ready to act as soon as there was a lull. His hand slipped into the pocket that held his grenades and he withdrew one of them. The moment the gunfire dwindled, he clicked the trigger on the top of the grenade and threw it into the room beyond. A second later there was a deafening explosion, and a smell like burning plastic filled the air when the thermite incendiary elements ignited. There were cries of mixed panic and pain.

Zaeed leaned out from his cover beside the doorway, quickly picking a target and firing. The explosive sound of the gunfire reverberated off of the walls of the small corridor, leaving his ears ringing, but his aim was precise. He saw one man, whose arm was already smoldering because of the incendiary grenade, pitch over backward when the burst of gunfire hit him, and a second man followed when he leaned out and fired a second time. Both men, he was puzzled to note, wore shirts decorated with the Cerberus logo.

He waited behind the cover of the doorframe to see if there would be any more incoming gunfire, but there was only silence. He stepped out and quickly scanned the room beyond, weapon always pointing in the direction he was looking, ready to fire if another threat presented itself.

The room was large, with a raised platform along the back wall and one on the far left-hand side of the room, each with a ramp leading up to them. The room was filled with equipment of varying description, most of it intended for scientific work, and there were three exits that he counted, one on each dais and one on the back wall at ground level. He advanced slowly, heading up the nearest ramp toward the platform facing the entrance.

"_Whoever you are, we can work out some sort of deal_," a female voice addressed him over the facility's intercom system. "_I work for a very influential organization, and I'm sure they'd beat your current employer's offer in exchange for you leaving and never coming back._"

Zaeed ignored the offer. There was a security access console at the top of the ramp, and he quickly scanned the holographic interface until he found the internal surveillance controls. He cycled through the feeds from the cameras covering the remaining rooms and found only one more person in the facility, standing at a console in another chamber. She had a pistol, but he wasn't particularly worried. There were only three doors to choose from, so the search would be short.

"_What do you say?_" the voice over the intercom persisted.

"Not bloody likely," Zaeed muttered. He closed the visor on his helmet and activated the oxygen-recycling systems, making the suit airtight. With that precaution taken, he initiated the fire suppression systems. A wave of fire-retardant foam descended over the room, and he quickly wiped it from his visor. As he expected, the emergency system disengaged the locks on all the doors. All three portals opened to allow personnel unrestricted escape routes. He quickly ducked inside the room adjoining the security station, and when he didn't see the woman inside he turned and headed for the ramp on the left side of the room. The Illusive Man had been right. So far, this was the easiest job he'd ever taken.

He was halfway up the ramp when a silhouette appeared in the now-open doorway. The woman had no doubt realized that she was cornered and had no choice but to fight. She never even got the chance to fire; Zaeed's response was immediate and instinctive, a result of years of combat experience. He fired one quick burst. The three rounds perforated her abdomen in a vertical line, and she hit the floor with an agonized cry. The foam around her started to turn pink as her blood mixed with it.

Zaeed advanced to stand over her, kicking her pistol into a corner well out of her reach. She was curled up, clutching her stomach, moaning and writhing in agony. He didn't have to worry about further hostile action. The thought that he should just put her out of her misery crossed his mind, but his curiosity got the better of him. He crouched over her.

"You're Cerberus," it was a statement, not a question. The only answer was an agonized groan.

"Why would the Illusive Man want to kill his own people?" Zaeed asked. "Are you some kind of traitor?"

The woman still didn't answer; it was clear that she was in too much pain to respond to interrogation. Her slender frame shook violently, and he realized she might be going into shock. Unmoved by her pain, he simply shook his head and forced her over onto her back, planting his foot on her stomach, which drew a strange mixture of a scream and a sob out of her. He trained his rifle on her chest and fired one more time to put her out of her misery.

"One down," he muttered, delving into the compartment in his armor where he'd stored the Illusive Man's scanning device. He examined the scanner closely for a moment, and then leaned down and pressed the sensor against the bare skin of her hand, his thumb brushing across a holographic trigger on the handle as he did so. A synthesized voice started speaking.

"Scanning…" there was a pause, "DNA analysis confirmed. Doctor Anikka Milar. Please confirm with retinal scan."

Zaeed leaned over the dead woman, prying her eye open and positioning the scanner over it. He could see a blue line move up and down over her eye – obviously a laser projection from the scanner – and then the voice returned.

"Retinal scan confirmed. Doctor Anikka Milar. Pupil fixed and unresponsive. Subject deceased. Prerequisite scan one of five logged."

Zaeed snorted. _Doctor _Milar? He was starting to get the suspicion that the Illusive Man's 'loose ends' were employees who had outlived their usefulness. He turned away and headed for the security console. It occurred to him as he made his way across the foam-covered floor that if the Illusive Man was executing his employees to tie up loose ends, there was a very real possibility they would try to do the same to him when his work was done. He would have to be ready if this turned into a double-cross.

It didn't take long to find the controls for the system's reactor core. He disengaged the safeties and turned the output up to maximum, watching as the warning indicator approached the critical line. Satisfied that the power systems would overload in minutes and obliterate the facility, he headed for the shuttle.

* * *

**Above Terra Nova, Now…**

Neela muttered to herself as she crawled through the maintenance access, with Aida following close behind. She had initially been excited by the idea of getting into a fighter and engaging the drones on slightly more equal terms. However, her initial imaginings had since been soured by reality. Even if the fighter prototypes in the cargo bay were armed and fueled, she would be engaging an enemy that vastly outnumbered her. With every passing second, a nagging suspicion grew in her heart that she'd essentially volunteered to commit suicide.

The young quarian's thoughts were wrenched away from the grim reality of her future when she reached the end of the crawlspace, where a ladder led down into a small maintenance room below, just off of upper engineering. She climbed down the ladder as quickly as possible and examined the access panel that separated the maintenance section from engineering beyond.

"Have you noticed that the sounds of weapon impacts are getting louder?" Aida asked as she reached the bottom of the ladder.

Neela paused to listen for a moment. She had been so focused upon her impending demise that she'd actually blocked out the sounds of attacks impacting on the hull and the tremors running through the deck. Now that she was actually paying attention to them, she quickly noticed that Aida was correct. She could hear the sounds of metal being struck with tremendous force, and the distinctive whine of alloys bending and collapsing. The noises seemed to be coming from almost directly below them. It made no sense. The space below them was the engineering section.

"Perhaps they're just impacting closer to our position. It almost sounds like the noise is coming from engineering. But that's only possible if-"

The deck beneath her feet shuddered violently, and then the floor between the two of them exploded upward, pierced by a crimson beam that continued on to tear into the bulkheads overhead. The plating around the breach was bent up and out by the force of the blast. Only because they were both wearing magnetic footwear were they able to remain on their feet despite sudden warping of the deck beneath them. However, Neela lost her balance, tilting precariously to her side and wrenching her knee before she could right herself.

A brief and sudden rush of air swept past them as the atmosphere of the maintenance corridor vented in a matter of seconds into the deck below. The force of the venting rocked them both, and might have pulled them off their feet if they were not anchored to the floors. _Engineering is exposed to space, _Neela realized. She was immediately grateful for the protection her suit provided against vacuum exposure. Her first reaction after the initial moment of shock wore off was to scramble away from the hole, as did Aida. It was an excellent instinct, because another crimson blast sheared through a wider area of the deck plating seconds later.

Neela pressed her back against the wall and remained perfectly still, hoping that if the fighters did not detect further movement, the attacks would cease. Aida wisely did the same, and for several minutes, the two of them stood there in silence, waiting for either a sign of further attack, or a sign that the enemy had moved on. Unfortunately, without any air left in the compartment to carry sound waves, they were forced to rely on what they could feel… and it was very difficult to determine the origin of an attack based solely on the tremors running through the deck.

No further attacks seemed to be forthcoming. Still, it was some time before either of them had the courage to move. Neela was the one to take the initiative, slowly inching her way forward, so that she could peer through the hole into engineering below.

"Keelah," she breathed.

Below her, a massive ovoid shape was moving around in the engineering compartment. She recognized it from the laser scans that she had seen of the fighters when she was still in the pilot's seat. The enormity of the situation was difficult to wrap her head around. One of the fighters was _inside_ the ship, and even as she watched, it was systematically destroying the machinery around the drive core. It seemed to be leaving the core alone, but the damage it had done to the rest of the engine's components was severe.

Afraid that any helmet-to-helmet communications between Aida and herself would be detected by the fighter drone below, Neela didn't risk trying to explain her thoughts to the asari. Instead, she activated her omni-tool and brought up the floor plan of the ship, checking to be sure there was an open route to the nearest evacuation pod. She knew one was located in the corridor off of upper engineering, but if they couldn't reach it without drawing the attention of the drone, it would do them no good.

She interrupted her study of the holographic representation of the ship's internal layout to glance at Aida, and was glad to see that the asari was watching intently. There was another maintenance access tunnel in the subflooring between their current position and the deck above. It would allow them to come out in the corridor on the opposite side of upper engineering, close to the escape pod's hatch. She highlighted the path on the floor plan hologram, turning her intended route red, and glanced up at Aida. The asari nodded and started climbing the access ladder, taking the lead in their detour.

Neela carefully skirted around the hole in the floor. Without gravity, there was no risk of falling through, but she did not want to attract the attention of the drone below. Every step caused her to wince. It was painful to pull her foot free of its magnetic bond to the floor with an injured knee. Thankfully, once they were in the close confines of the maintenance tunnel, she would be able to disengage the magnetic field generator and float through the section using only her arms to guide her.

She just hoped that the rest of the crew was faring better. She hoped _Selura_ was faring better…

* * *

**Illium, Three weeks earlier…**

The _Sileya_ glided into the berth that had been designated as their docking destination by Illium's Traffic Control, slowing and finally coming to a halt in perfect position. The magnetic docking clamps attached to the sides of the vessel, and Neela sat back in the pilot's seat, smiling with satisfaction for a job done flawlessly. She never tired of being at the helm of the ship. Were it not for the fact that she wanted to return to her people one day, she would never relinquish her position as the _Sileya's_ pilot.

"We're secure," she announced through the ship's intercom, and then set to work powering down the drive core and engines. They were scheduled to be docked for a couple of hours, which would give her some free time before returning to her position on the bridge.

She swiveled the chair to the side and slipped from her seat, practically sprinting for the airlock near the end of the corridor adjoining the bridge. She wanted to get ashore and stock up on some dextro-based food of slightly higher quality than the provisions that her asari crewmates purchased for her. While their efforts were appreciated and the food they selected was fine, Neela liked to treat herself now and then. Since all of her foodstuffs had to be irradiated, decontaminated and kept in the sterile environment of her personal cabin, she did all of her own food preparation. She relished the occasions when she could prepare a special treat for herself.

The rest of the crew was already in the airlock when she arrived, and she took a place behind them, waiting while the ship made the necessary adjustments to allow them to disembark. When the doors opened, she had to suppress the urge to push past her crewmates and run off to find something special for her evening meal. They all filed down the docking corridor, where a member of Illium's docking security waited to administer a quick security scan of each of them.

When Neela's turn to be scanned by security came, she noticed the asari officer scowling at her. For the briefest of moments, she was confused by the look, and then she realized with a sinking feeling that she wasn't going to be allowed off the ship. She'd almost forgotten that she wasn't allowed on Illium. The asari officer, however, was quick to remind her.

"Neela'Xara nar Ganaza," the officer frowned at her. "Illium security has issued a level one security warning regarding your presence here. You are not allowed on Illium. Either get back aboard the vessel, or we will take you into custody."

The captain and Prathus had both paused at the end of the docking collar, and Neela looked toward them hopefully, praying that they would be able to get permission for her to come ashore. However, those hopes were quickly dashed. The captain walked back to where she stood, with Prathus on her heels.

"Neela will be staying aboard the ship, officer," the captain assured the other asari. "She is aware that she is not welcome here, and she will be overseeing the loading of our cargo," the asari's gaze shifted to Neela. "Right Neela?"

"Yes, Captain," Neela's voice was subdued. She bowed her head miserably.

"Can I get something for you while I'm ashore?" Prathus inquired.

Neela's head came up swiftly, and she regarded Prathus with some astonishment. She'd never expected him to make an offer like that, and she hadn't even thought of asking him. "Would you? I would be very grateful."

"Of course. What do you need?"

"I wanted to get something special to eat. I know the selection of dextro foods will be limited, but perhaps some turian snapberries or a fularia cutlet?" the quarian smiled to herself. "Both if they have them. If not, any other sweet fruit will do." Her mouth was watering just at the thought of the sweet and juicy green berries, or the rich taste of a cut of fularia meat. The fularia was a small, large-eared, rodent-like creature native to Palavan.

"I'll see what I can do," Prathus assured her.

Neela watched the rest of the crew leave, and then her gaze shifted to the young security officer, who was still glaring at her in a decidedly unfriendly manner. She glared back, feeling somewhat free to do so behind the tinted visor of her helmet. With her frustration somewhat alleviated by the subtle act of defiance, she retraced her steps into the ship, sealing the airlock and heading for the cargo bay. The cargo they would be carrying on their next run was due to be delivered soon, and she knew there was work to do before it arrived. She had assumed this would be Illitha's job, but the captain was clear about what she expected.

It didn't take long to get the few crates of supplies in the cargo bay moved out of the way, and to open up the bay doors in preparation for the delivery. Once she was done, she sat down against the outside of the shipping container that had been converted into her personal quarters, let her head rest against it, and closed her eyes. She was asleep in minutes.

A pleasant voice slowly worked its way through the layers of slumber that shrouded her mind, and she became aware that someone was gently shaking her. She'd had no intention of dozing off when she sat down, and she had no idea how long she had been sleeping. As awareness returned, she opened her eyes and was greeted with the sight of a lovely young asari standing over her, smiling a crooked little smile. The stranger's skin was a soft shade of powder blue, and there were small dark blue spots along the outside edge of her brows. She was dressed in a blue-green outfit of matching pants and shirt, and held a datapad cradled against her chest.

"I'm sorry," Neela mumbled, getting to her feet as quickly as she could. "I didn't mean to fall asleep. Are you delivering our cargo?"

"It is quite alright," the asari smiled at her, eyes alight with amusement. "I would probably doze off if I were sitting in an empty cargo bay too. My name is Selura Leneur."

"It's nice to meet you," Neela bobbed her head in greeting. "Neela'Xara nar Ganaza," she introduced herself. "I'm the ship's pilot. The others are ashore to resupply, so I will be in charge of loading the cargo, I guess."

"You guess? Well, in that case, _I_ guess that if you can pilot a ship, I can trust you with a cargo loader," Selura grinned at her. She turned and gestured toward a transport hover-truck that was floating on the opposite side of the docking platform. "The container is in there. Please be careful with it."

Neela activated her omni-tool and linked it to the cargo drone, guiding the large floating clamp out of the compartment in the wall where it was stored when not in use. It floated off the ship and across the docking platform. She wished that Illitha was present to do the loading, since she was unused to controlling the loading drone and felt clumsy and uncertain with it. Illitha, on the other hand, could practically make the thing dance.

"So, what brings a quarian into service on an asari cargo vessel?" Selura asked her.

"I am on my pilgrimage," Neela explained distractedly. Most of her attention was devoted to maneuvering the cargo drone into the back of the transport truck. It was a tight fit between the huge crate and the ceiling of the truck's storage bay.

"Pilgrimage?" Selura repeated. "I apologize, but I am not familiar with quarian customs. I have never actually spoken to a quarian before. This is some sort of a holy journey?"

"No," Neela smiled at the question. "When my people reach maturity, we leave the Migrant Fleet behind and set off in search of knowledge or technology that can improve life on the flotilla. When we return with our find and present it to our new captain, it cements our role as an adult member of our society. It proves that we will be able to contribute to the prosperity of our new ship and the fleet. It is not a religious experience. More of a… rite of passage."

"Interesting. Your pilgrimage custom sounds like a wonderful idea. More cultures should adopt it. Mine certainly should. Too many of my people spend their youth working as either mercenaries or dancers. Forcing us to do something useful would probably be of greater benefit."

Neela smiled at the compliment to her culture, happy that someone had something positive to say about the quarian people. Too many members of the other races looked down upon her people as vagrants and scavengers, judging them untrustworthy without any real cause.

"You are not a dancer," she pointed out. "You're overseeing the delivery of whatever we are carrying. I have to assume that you're part of the company that developed it. Your concern for its safety is obvious."

"I was on the team that designed it," Selura's eyes strayed to the container. "It was my first project after graduating university. I admit I am a little overprotective of it."

"You must have a gift for work in your field."

Selura laughed, surprising Neela. She had intended the statement as a compliment, and wasn't sure what the asari found funny about it.

"I am not sure I qualify as 'gifted'. Moderately knowledgeable, perhaps? Not entirely inept?" the asari grinned. "I did not place highly in my class overall, though I did receive excellent marks in certain subjects. I consider myself lucky to have a job in a scientific field at all. If _I_ were in a management position and reviewing my own application, I would have looked at my academic records and told myself I was better off as a dancer."

Neela couldn't keep herself from smiling, and she was glad the asari couldn't see it. "Dancers are highly respected among my people," she said. "I wouldn't look down upon your people for choosing dancing as a profession."

"You have yet to witness the horrifying spectacle that passes for my dancing."

Neela laughed.

It was a considerable struggle for the quarian to get the cargo drone in place and to maneuver the crate out of the transport vessel. However, once that was done, the rest of her work was easy. She settled the container on the deck, and then turned her full attention back to her guest.

"Are we taking only this one container?"

"Yes," Selura activated her omni-tool, scanning the massive shipping crate. The mischievous glint in her eye had vanished, replaced by intensity that was somehow compelling.

"Don't worry. We'll see it delivered safely to its destination," Neela assured her.

"I look forward to the trip."

"The trip?" Neela repeated.

Finished with her scan, Selura deactivated her omni-tool and nodded. "The arrangement was that I would accompany the shipment to its final destination, and would oversee the transfer of a few other items from different company facilities along the way," She activated the datapad she was holding and scanned the screen for a moment before turning it to face Neela. "See? The contract guarantees that I will maintain personal oversight."

"Oh! Welcome aboard then," Neela smiled, and she pressed a few of the holographic keys on her omni-tool, linking to the cargo bay's systems to close the cargo bay door.

"Thank you," Selura bowed slightly. "But you never really answered my question," she changed the subject. "I asked how you came to be the pilot on an asari ship, and all you said was that you are on your pilgrimage."

"Ah, yes. Well…" Neela looked away uncomfortably. "I have always dreamed of piloting a starship, and briefly held a position as a trainee on the bridge of my birth ship, the _Ganaza_. I was here on Illium when I got word from an associate that there was a ship docked that was looking for crew. It was urgent that I got off the planet, so I went to apply. When I spoke to the captain about my desire to sign on as a member of her crew and she found out about my training as a pilot, she assigned me the job. She was piloting the ship herself before she hired me."

"It was lucky that your friend told you about the job then," Selura smiled at her. "Were I in your place, I might have tried playing some quasar that day too."

Neela thought she heard just a trace of sarcasm in the girl's tone, and she glanced at her uncertainly. However, seeing only a genuine, friendly smile gracing the asari's expression, she dismissed the thought and gestured toward the door at the back of the cargo bay.

"Let me show you around the ship."

"Why was it so urgent to get off of the planet?" Selura asked her, hurrying to pick up a duffle from where it rested in the corner. Neela assumed that the asari had brought her belongings aboard before waking her. The girl was quick to return to her side.

"Uh… I'm not sure this is the right time to talk about that," Neela hedged. "I really should show you around the ship, not spend time talking about myself."

"Of course. Because talking while walking is a difficult combination of activities," Selura's tone was playful, which helped to take some of the discourtesy out of her words. Still, Neela thought the statement a bit rude.

"Excuse me?"

"I am sorry," Selura bowed her head. "It was only meant as a joke. There are few things I take seriously. You are well within your rights to refuse to answer personal questions. I was merely curious. Please do not be offended."

Neela studied the asari scientist speculatively, and decided that she seemed trustworthy enough. But she didn't want to discuss the matter. The idea that she might make a poor impression on their guest if she told the truth concerned her. It was impossible to say whether the girl knew that their vessel was used for smuggling half of the time. She didn't want Selura to panic and cancel the contract because of her past troubles with the local law.

"I don't mean to be rude, but it's really not something I want to discuss," she said at last. "It's not a pleasant subject."

"I understand. Every girl has to have a few secrets. They add to our mystique," Selura grinned. "But I cannot promise not to make some guesses."

A ghost of a smile touched Neela's lips.

She spent the next twenty minutes giving Selura a tour of the _Sileya_ from bottom to top and filling her in on the general operation of the ship. If the young scientist was going to be traveling with them, she figured it was only right that she be told about the frequencies used for communication with the crew, the schedule for the meals, and any other relevant details pertaining to life aboard the vessel. Selura examined her surroundings intently while they walked, and if Neela had to judge from her expression, she would have guessed the girl was impressed with what she saw. However, the young scientist also frequently interrupted the tour with guesses as to why Neela had needed to get off of Illium.

It turned into a bit of a game for the asari, with every feature Neela pointed out to her prompting a new guess, none of which the quarian confirmed _or_ denied. She was accused of everything from shoplifting lingerie to having had an affair with a high-ranking, but bonded official. Selura cast her as a thief, a pirate, a smuggler, an assassin, and a Council Spectre. Neela supposed she should have been offended at some of the guesses, but she instead found herself struggling not to laugh by the end of the tour.

She concluded the tour in the crew quarters, so that she could allow the girl to pick a place to sleep.

"The sleeping quarters are through there," she pointed to the door in question. "There are six sleeping niches, and only three are taken. It's pretty obvious which ones are spoken for. Just take any of the empty ones. There is a small locker beneath each of them were you can store your belongings."

"You have intimate knowledge of the sleeping facilities here. So… you had to leave Illium because you were running a brothel aboard the ship," Selura added one more guess to her already-expansive list.

Neela, staying true to her reaction to all of the previous guesses, said nothing. Though this time she found herself blushing, and was glad that her visor hid the flush that she could feel upon her cheeks. She simply said, "The bedding for the unused niches is in the lockers beneath them."

"Do you sleep in there?" Selura asked. "I thought that quarians needed a controlled environment. I assumed you would need a private room."

"I have special quarters down in the cargo bay. The large shipping container down there has been converted to a clean room facility so that I have a safe place to sleep and eat. The ship's engineer did a wonderful job on the conversion. It has a decontamination airlock, and independent power, life-support and water filtration," Neela braced herself for another wild theory about her departure from Illium.

"That sounds nice," Selura surprised her with a smile and a lack of teasing. She disappeared into the sleeping quarters, presumably to put away her things and choose a bed. "It must be nice to have someplace private to go."

"It is," Neela turned toward the door. "I'm sure the others will return soon. Until then, make yourself comfortable. If you need me, I'll be on the bridge."

"You mean the pilot doesn't spend her time in engineering or the life-support suite? I need to brush up on my starship protocol, I think…"

Neela shook her head, laughing softly as she left the crew quarters behind. The young scientist was an odd one, but there was something about her that Neela liked. She headed for the bridge, hoping to relax in the pilot's seat and perhaps get just a little more sleep before the crew returned.

* * *

**Above Terra Nova, Now…**

Captain Nisaria was furious. The _Sileya_ had been her home ever since she'd lost what was left of her family, and the attack upon it was destroying it one piece at a time. A part of her was extremely angry at Neela for not jumping to FTL to get out of the system the instant she detected the Reapers. Unfortunately, she couldn't do anything about the pilot's earlier decisions now. The vessel was crippled and adrift, and they were all trapped in a situation from which escape was no longer an option. Even if they managed to get off of the ship, the only place to go was Terra Nova, which was already under Reaper attack. She had watched as one of the largest Reapers descended into the atmosphere, while others were landing on the asteroid space station.

She lingered on the bridge far longer than she should have, hoping to see some of the escape shuttles launch and head toward the planet. When she finally saw one of the small shuttles enter her view and speed toward Terra Nova, she allowed herself a brief smile. Each shuttle could hold three people, so perhaps the majority of her crew was safe. While the pod descended toward the surface, she waited anxiously to be certain none of the fighters would pursue.

It wasn't long before a fighter came into view. However, it was not the escape pod that held the machine's attention. It turned instead toward the _Sileya's_ bridge. Realizing that it was going to fire directly on her current position, Julisa turned and rushed for the door.

The force of the drone's attack shattered the forward bulkhead of the ship, venting the bridge's atmosphere into space and propelling huge chunks of the forward hull into the room. A large section of debris struck her in the back and drove her into the wall, momentarily sandwiching her between the two surfaces. The impact drove the breath from her lungs sent a tremendous wave of pain through her entire body. For a moment, her vision dimmed to an indistinct gray haze.

She was thankful that she didn't actually lose consciousness, though she was certain she'd come close. When her vision cleared, the wreckage that had briefly pinned her was drifting the opposite direction. She slowly staggered toward the door, pressing her hand to her chest. Breathing was difficult, and even the smallest movement of her torso was agonizing, leading her to the conclusion that several of her ribs were broken. She also tasted blood, and was afraid she might have suffered severe internal injury. But she couldn't be sure. _Everything_ hurt.

The _Sileya_ was slowly being reduced to a floating cloud of debris and Julisa knew that there was a very good chance that some, if not all of her crew was dead. For the first time in decades, she was at a complete loss. There was a brief moment where she felt a keen desire to lie down on the plating of the deck and wait for death the claim her. Instead she forced herself to start moving, groaning in agony as she did so. It would take some work to pry open the door from the bridge to the corridor beyond. She needed to get to the crew quarters. If she was going to follow her ship into oblivion, she would do it with the picture of her bondmate and their daughter in her hands. She wanted to feel like they were with her in the end.

* * *

**Illium, Three weeks earlier…**

The rhythmic pulse of the bass could be felt in the air and in the floor beneath Julisa's feet long before the door to the club opened at her approach. Once it parted to admit her to the establishment, however, the sound of the music was deafening. Cadence was one of the most popular clubs in the lower sections of Illium… a place where the dance floor was crowded, the music was loud, and just about any illicit substance could be found for the right price. Not that any of it was illegal under Illium's somewhat permissive regulations, but some of it was difficult to come by.

The club's interior resembled an arena more than anything. A raised platform encircled the entire room, with the bar on the left side as she entered, and a number of tables spread throughout the space. On the right were a number of extranet terminals and a VIP lounge area. At the far end of the room there were several doors that led to private rooms beyond. From the platform, stairs led down on all sides to a sunken central area that served as the dance floor. A sea of swaying bodies crowded that portion of the club, moving in rhythm with the beat.

Julisa knew the club well and headed straight for her destination: one of the private rooms at the back. The most direct route was across the dance floor, so she waded into the sea of undulating figures. Along the way, her steady walk acquired a rhythm that matched the beat of the music flooding the room. She alternately glided and bounced along, allowing herself a rare moment of indulgence to enjoy the energy that permeated the area. A lovely young maiden swayed into her path and their eyes met, and for a moment the former commando was tempted to postpone her meeting and dance with the younger girl. It had been a great number of years since she had danced with a partner.

The temptation did not last long. Her time was limited, and the reason she'd come was infinitely more important to her than the indulgence of her loneliness. She shook her head and moved past the girl, leaving her to find another partner on the floor.

Upon entering the private room, she found the rotund form of a volus reclining upon a sofa, a datapad in his hands. He looked up when she walked in. When the door closed behind her, it blocked out almost all sound from the room beyond. She bowed her head in greeting.

"Greetings, Thessia-clan. You – _hiss_ – must be Miss Nisaria," the volus greeted her, his statement broken by the suit's breathing apparatus when he paused for breath. "It is – _hiss_ – a pleasure to meet you. The broker has – _hiss_ – managed to obtain footage of the individual you specified."

"How much?" Julisa demanded. Her gaze was locked on the data pad the volus was holding.

"Tracking her down – _hiss_ – was not easy," the volus explained. "She is using – _hiss_ – the surname of a friend, and has enacted – _hiss_ – privacy blocks on her academic records. The broker's agents – _hiss_ – have more pressing matters than tracking – _hiss_ – civilians and attending concerts."

"Just name the price," Julisa's voice was edged in steel. The urge to snatch the datapad from the squat figure's hand was overwhelming.

"Thirty thousand credits."

"Done," Julisa activated her omni-tool to initiate the credit transfer, and was relieved when the volus didn't waste any more of her time talking, but instead activated his omni to complete the transaction. With that done, he handed over the data pad and headed for the door.

"A pleasure to do business – _hiss_ – with you," he said as he passed.

Julisa paid him no mind. She activated the data pad and scanned the list of video files shown on the display. Selecting the first one, which was titled 'Debut Performance – South Serrice Symphony', she initiated the playback.

The vid began with a group of asari musicians filing out onto a stage, taking their places in a semicircle on the platform. The image zoomed in on one in particular, who held an _illeuth _in her hands. Tears rolled down Julisa's cheeks at the sight… her daughter, now just over 100 years old, ready to participate in her first professional performance. When the applause died down and the musicians raised their instruments, Julisa held her breath. The music that emanated from the speakers a moment later was spectacular, and she could hear the dual tones of the _illeuth_ dancing over and around the sounds of the other instruments, weaving into the melody with practiced ease. She sank down on the sofa and pressed the datapad to her forehead, sobbing softly against the backdrop of the musical masterpiece.


	5. Chapter 5: Impressions

**Author's Note: Thank you for the overwhelmingly positive reviews to date. Your support has managed to keep me inspired and working, and I very much appreciate the comments. I can only hope I continue to live up to your expectations. Sorry that it has taken this long to put up the next chapter, but I'll try to get a bit more consistent in timeframe from here on.**

* * *

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**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Five: Impressions

**Over Terra Nova, Now…**

Awareness slowly returned to Selura. For a moment she could not recall where she was or what she had been doing. But as consciousness returned, her mind began to process other cues from her surroundings. A sense of weightlessness reached her first. She didn't feel the pressure of a surface beneath her, or any part of her body touching anything. Pain came next. Her head was throbbing, and the waves of discomfort made her feel nauseous. The stale smell of recycled air and synthetic polymer tickled her nose. When her eyes opened, she could see absolutely nothing; wherever she was, it was pitch black. She struggled to recall where she had been and what she was doing.

It felt like her mind was shrouded in a dense fog. Recollection was hazy and indistinct. She had been viewing technical readouts. In the research laboratory? She rejected that idea almost immediately. She hadn't been in the laboratory for some time. She was aboard the _Sileya_, on the way to pick up the final prototype from Terra Nova...

It all came flooding back to her. The ship was under attack, and she had been assisting in engineering. The young engineer had insisted that they dress in environmental gear. Selura had just been locking her helmet's seal when there was a warning alarm. And then… She frowned. Try as she might, she couldn't remember anything after that point. Gazing into the impenetrable darkness, she tried to figure out where she was. Prior to losing consciousness, she'd been sure that the ship was going to be destroyed. Now, as she stared into the void around her, there was a brief, horrifying moment where she imagined herself floating in space, drifting off into the vast emptiness.

She suppressed the surge of panic that welled up from deep inside. She reminded herself that if she were floating through space, she would have seen stars, planets, and debris. Wherever she was, it was an enclosed area. She didn't hear any sounds of explosions or signs of battle, but she couldn't be certain of what had happened while she was unconscious. Perhaps they had restored power and escaped. Perhaps the attackers had disabled their ship and left them. Perhaps she was floating around in an emergency lifeboat waiting to be rescued. There was no way to be certain, but the fact that she was alive made any number of possibilities plausible.

She twisted around, trying to find a surface so that she could activate her magnetic boots and start to get her bearings. When she failed to encounter any surface within reach, it became clear that she was going to need to look around. Afraid that she might draw hostile attention to her position if she used a powerful light source, she settled for activating her omni-tool, looking around by the dim illumination shed by the orange holographic display.

She was in a small, enclosed room. The shadowy outline of a bed was just visible several feet above her head, upside-down from her perspective. There were pillows and small objects floating around nearby. And she thought she saw the outline of another figure in the gloom at the far end of the chamber, but it was difficult to be certain without a more powerful light. Since she saw no signs of danger, she decided it was safe to use a more powerful form of illumination. She cycled through the functions on her omni-tool and selected her search light, shining it around so that she could get a better look at her surroundings.

The room was about five meters long and half that wide, with a single, heavy door at the far end. She had been correct about the bed, and there was a small counter with a sink and all of the necessary equipment for preparing and cooking meals lining one wall. On the opposite side of the room stood simple metal desk with a private terminal, and some other equipment that she couldn't identify at a glance. A colorful quilt was fastened to the wall above the bed, and there were a number of paintings hanging on the other walls, most of which depicted quarian ships. Dozens of objects floated around the room, including a paint-stained artist's easel, brushes, data pads, and unidentifiable bits and pieces of tech. She was certain that they were in Neela's private quarters, given the fact that she'd never seen this particular room in her time aboard the ship. The paintings of the quarian ships on the walls were also a strong supporting indicator of her theory.

She watched as the pictures shook on the walls, saw ripples run through the quilt, and quickly realized that they were still under attack. Given the importance of isolation and protection from outside contamination that was necessary for Neela while she was living aboard the _Sileya_, she had to guess that the room was largely soundproof. It explained why she didn't hear any signs of battle. She closed her eyes and sighed. She had hoped they'd escaped somehow.

Twisting around, she finally managed to get a foot in contact with the room's ceiling. With that accomplished, she quickly activated her magnetic boots and smiled when they adhered to the surface, allowing her to stand up. With her feet beneath her, she felt far less disoriented, even if she was looking at the room upside-down. Shining her light toward the other figure she had seen floating around, it was easy to recognize the overly-slender figure of the ship's engineer, Illitha.

_At least I'm not alone._

She started toward the inert, floating form, intent on waking the girl up so that she could figure out what happened. However, when she got close enough for a clearer look at the young engineer her gaze fell upon the back of the girl's environmental suit. It was torn and scorched, and stained purple with blood. Her eyes widened.

"Illitha!" she shouted, closing the remaining distance as quickly as she could, cursing the difficulty involved in walking with magnetic boots.

She pulled the other asari close and brought up the emergency functions on her omni-tool, activating a bio-scan. She swept the device quickly down along Illitha's back, studying the holographic projection it displayed for her. The program was designed for simple first-aid purposes. It wasn't sufficient for advanced medical care, but it gave her the information she needed. Illitha was alive. She was unconscious and bleeding, but her heart was beating and she was breathing. Selura sighed in relief.

With a firm grip on the engineer's arm, she dragged the girl toward the bed, transferring from the ceiling to the wall and from there to the floor as she walked, swatting brushes and pillows out of her way when they drifted into her path. She pushed Illitha's form facedown onto the bed, since the bed was anchored to the floor, and she quickly tied the girl's ankles together with one end of the bed sheet, tying the other end of the sheet to the bed frame. She repeated the process with one of Illitha's wrists and the head of the bed. She needed to keep her patient from floating around if she was going to do anything to stop the bleeding. However, she needed more convenient illumination than the unidirectional beam from her omni-tool.

Recalling that Neela had mentioned her quarters having an independent power source, Selura decided to try verbal prompts first. "Lights?" she called out. "Lights on. Activate lights." There was no response to any of her commands.

Selura quickly panned her light around the room. A panel beside the door at the opposite end of the chamber caught her eye. She hurried over and pressed it, holding her breath as she did so. She hoped that the power source was still active. Much to her relief, light flooded the room, produced by small lighting panels in the corners. She disengaged her search light and returned to her patient.

At her command, her omni-tool produced an omni-blade, which she carefully maneuvered into one of the tears in Illitha's environmental suit, slowly cutting through the back of the protective outfit and the clothing beneath, baring the young engineer's back for her inspection. Despite the seriousness of her task, she found herself growing embarrassed by the entire situation. She had tied a girl to a bed and was cutting her clothing off. It sounded like some sort of badly-written fetish scene. She shook her head.

As more and more of the suit was sliced apart and she started to see the extent of the engineer's injuries, she felt a little queasy. There were dozens of wounds across the girl's back from her shoulder blades to her waist, and many of them had bits of shrapnel stuck in them. The majority of the wounds had clotted enough to stop the bleeding, but the torn flesh, shrapnel and blood both dried and fresh made it ghastly sight. Fortunately, none of the wounds appeared deep; all of the shrapnel was protruding from the engineer's back, rather than buried deep in her flesh. The thick protective layering of the enviro-suit had saved her from the worst of the damage.

Selura looked around helplessly, unsure what she could do. Her medical skills were limited to basic first aid, and she had no idea if she would be helping or worsening the situation if she started picking the shrapnel out of the wounds. Worse, she had no medigel with her to prevent infection from setting in, numb the pain and speed the healing process.

_I need to do what I can for her_, she told herself. Taking a moment to steel her nerves, she looked around for something that she could use as makeshift bandages. She was already using the sheets to bind Illitha to the bed, so she needed something else. Glancing down, she noticed a few drawers built into the base of the bed, so she pulled them open. The first held only simple supplies: A hairbrush, a few data pads, bits and pieces of tech, some paint brushes and tubes of paint. She pushed it closed and turned her attention to the other.

A facedown canvas was the sole object in the drawer. Looking at it, Selura was tempted to turn it over and see whether the painting was empty or finished, but she reminded herself sternly that Illitha needed her help. She closed the drawer and tried to focus on the task at hand.

Her eyes came to rest on the quilt that hung on the wall.

_Sorry Neela. I hate to destroy your possessions, but I know that for Illitha, you will forgive me._

She pulled down the quilt, using her omni-blade to cut it into long strips. It seemed reasonable that anything in the room was likely to be sterile, which was a good starting point for a makeshift field dressing. Once the entire quilt was sliced apart, she set to work on removing the shrapnel from the girl's back. She took great care as she worked, and was quick to press the makeshift bandages over the wounds once they were free of shrapnel, whether they had started bleeding when the shards of metal were pulled free or not. Many wounds did. A few didn't.

While she worked, she reflected that this task was the sole area where the lack of gravity was helpful to her, since the only things keeping Illitha on the bed were the makeshift restraints. It was easy to wrap the strips of quilt around beneath the engineer's body and tie them tightly to serve as a proper bandage. Since Illitha was floating, there was no need to roll the girl to the side, or struggle to get the cloth beneath her.

As for what she was going to do once she'd tended to the engineer's injuries, she had no idea. She supposed she would have to venture out of the room. Illitha would need a new environmental suit before she could be moved from the area. Assuming she managed that, then she could try to find Neela. Afterward, they would have to figure out how to get off of the ship and reach safety.

_One problem at a time_, she reminded herself, carefully working another piece of shrapnel from one of the young engineer's wounds. _One problem at a time._

* * *

**Illium, Three weeks earlier…**

Selura packed away her clothing and personal effects in the locker beneath the sleeping niche she'd claimed, excited over the prospect of getting underway. Dreams of seeing Thessia had occupied her thoughts for the last week, and she spent an almost obsessive amount of time studying vids and extranet sites that discussed the great landmarks and attractions of her peoples' home world. This led to the assembly an extensive list of places she hoped to visit during her time on the planet.

With her possessions properly stowed in her locker, she returned to the crew lounge, where she wandered around the room. Other areas of the ship had featured decorative molding, but Selura saw no personal touches. The visual interest in such areas was incorporated into the ship itself. The crew lounge, by contrast, was home to personal items here and there. There was a painting on one wall, housed in a protective case, which depicted a Thessian sunset over an oceanfront view. The representation was so striking that she could almost hear the waves crashing upon the shore. Another wall featured a case with a yellowed and aging parchment inside, covered in flowing script in an old asari dialect. Historical dialects had been a weak point in Selura's academic career, but she believed it was one of the languages from the southern principalities. Her attention was drawn to one of the sofas, where a small plush krogan stared at her with bead eyes and a grin that was far too cute to picture on the real thing.

She activated the menu on the vid display that dominated one wall, scrolling through the selection of recordings stored on the drive. It held an odd mixture of old asari action vids, asari romances, and a few hundred recordings of some show called "Battlespace." She deactivated the interface and turned, noting for the first time that there was a flat holographic projector on the table in the center of the room. A quick perusal of the device's menu turned up nothing but game titles. She had never played most of them, but recognized many of them as old human games that were becoming popular with younger asari in the universities. Go, Chess, and Shogi were a few that she had seen classmates play before she graduated.

"Who…? Wh-who are you? What are you doing in here?" a soft voice demanded.

Selura whirled around, startled, and found an unusually petite asari with pale blue skin standing in the doorway, regarding her warily. The girl took a step backward, as if she were about to run off in search of help.

"I am sorry," she hastily apologized. "My name is Selura Leneur. I am your passenger for the upcoming voyage. Your pilot told me I should settle in and pick a bunk. I was-" she glanced at the game interface she had been snooping through and laughed nervously. "Well, admittedly I was prying into things that are none of my business, but I was only trying to get some idea of the interests of the crew."

As she spoke, she saw the other asari's posture slowly relax, and the expression on the girl's face took on a more inquisitive aspect, though a hint of suspicion remained. She studied the girl curiously, noting the more subtle details that had escaped her when she first caught sight of her. The overlapping gray stains upon her fingertips and forearms stood out, because they were something that Selura shared. They were a result of the synthetic heat sealant often used in the moving parts of modern starship engines, which both lubricated such components and prevented the materials from heating up when exposed to extreme temperatures.

"I was not aware th-that we were taking on a passenger," the girl spoke very softly. It almost seemed as if she was afraid someone might overhear her words. "My name is Illitha T'Zari."

"You are the engineer?" Selura inquired with a smile, and almost laughed at the confusion that clouded Illitha's expression. "The stains on your hands gave you away," she explained, holding up her own hand to show off the same marks upon her fingertips. "I spent the last year working in a mechanical field. I know the discoloration well."

"Oh," Illitha laughed nervously. "Y-yes. I am the engineer. It is nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Selura smiled. "Neela gave me a tour of the ship. It is very impressive. You seem to do an excellent job of maintaining it."

"Th-thank you," a hint of purple crept into the engineer's cheeks.

Selura was about to say more when another figure appeared in the doorway. The new arrival was also asari, just a little taller than the engineer, and just a shade darker of skin. The area around her eyes was decorated with delicate whirls of crimson. The newcomer's gaze danced back and forth between Selura and the engineer for a moment, and then she smiled and bowed her head in greeting. "We have a guest," her tone was warm. "I am Aida Dalinas. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Thank you. My name is Selura Leneur," she repeated her introduction. "I will be traveling aboard your ship for the upcoming voyage."

"Welcome aboard," Aida smiled cheerfully. "The captain should have informed us that there would be a guest aboard. I would have stayed here to welcome you."

"Your pilot was very welcoming," Selura's gaze shifted to the engineer, who seemed perfectly content to stay out of the conversation. She would have sworn, in fact, that the girl was trying to blend in with the wall. "I am sorry the captain did not warn you in advance, however. I am afraid your engineer thought I was trying to sabotage your game interface."

Aida's eyes went to the table, and when she saw the game menu open, she started laughing. "Oh, it is quite alright. Illitha is more comfortable around machinery than people," she gave her friend's shoulder a gentle squeeze, earning a smile from the engineer. "Do you play any of our games?"

"I recognize several, but I have never played any of them. I was always more interested in taking apart my mother's datapads and VI assistants than playing games."

"I imagine that your mother did not approve of that," Aida gestured to one of the sofas in invitation, taking a seat in a chair adjacent to it.

"She _loved_ it when I took her newest purchases apart," Selura's tone was playful. She sat down on the sofa, reclining against the arm so that she could face Aida directly. "It gave her the opportunity to practice her biotic pull. I think I spent the majority of my adolescence floating around helplessly while she lectured me on the price of modern technology."

This last earned laughter not only from Aida, but a barely-audible giggle from Illitha as well. The engineer had moved over to the table, and was now leaning against it and watching the two of them.

"The lecture I got for replacing the voice of her VI assistant with an elcor vocal emulation was especially memorable. She complained endlessly about it until the technician was able to reset it." She deepened her voice to mimic the voice of the VI as she remembered it. " 'With false cheer: Welcome home, Miss Leneur. Genuine inquiry: What information can I provide for you today?' "

The impression was greeted with more laughter from both girls.

A tall, slender turian limped into the room, drawing Selura's attention. Aida was quick to take charge of the introductions, almost leaping out of her seat to gesture toward her guest. Selura was hard-pressed not to laugh at the obvious excitement the girl felt at having a visitor aboard.

"Prathus, this is Selura Leneur, our guest for the next run," the girl introduced her. "Selura, this is Prathus Ganarius. He is the executive officer aboard the ship and our communications expert."

Selura rose from her seat and approached the turian, offering her hand to him in greeting. "It is a pleasure to meet you," she smiled at him, studying the angular lines of his face and the subtle movements of the mandibles that flanked his mouth. She had always been fascinated by turians. She wasn't sure precisely why.

"A pleasure," he took her hand and shook it briefly. "The captain mentioned you'd be coming aboard. I'll introduce you to her when she returns from her business ashore."

"I hope you are hungry," Aida spoke up. "We just returned from restocking our supplies. I am planning to prepare baked Thessian greengill fillets with a spicy Hyetiana mushroom sauce, a side of terran sweet corn, and a decadent Lusian chocolate cake with Armali blackberry frosting for desert."

"Was that a joke?" Selura looked around uncertainly. The entire dinner sounded heavenly, and she wasn't sure if they were teasing her. She had expected to be surviving on vacuum-sealed, processed protein rations for the duration of the trip, or perhaps cheap nutrient paste.

"She isn't joking," Prathus chuckled. "Dalinas is the ship's medic, but also the cook. I don't think the captain will ever let her leave this crew based on the merits of her culinary skills alone."

Selura glanced at Aida, who was blushing furiously at the turian's statement. It took a moment for the cook to find her voice. "It was my dream to open a restaurant on Thessia and become a famous chef before other matters forced me to set my sights on a career with greater salary possibilities. But the captain insists on picking up fresh provisions every time we dock so that we can enjoy proper meals."

"I had expected to be eating bland rations of some kind," Selura admitted. "I brought a stash of candies aboard so that I could have something tasty once in a while. Now I discover I have been assigned to travel aboard a mobile gourmet restaurant." Her confession earned smiles from everyone present.

"I sh-should get down to the cargo bay. Our buyer will be here to pick up the palladium shortly," Illitha turned to go, and then paused and offered a shy smile. "It has been nice to meet you, Miss Leneur."

"Please call me Selura."

"Selura then. I will see you at dinner."

"I have to go to the bridge and tell Xara that her food is waiting in the cargo bay," Prathus announced as Illitha walked out of the room. "I'm sure that she'll want to get it decontaminated and store it before we get underway." Prathus limped from the room and out of sight.

"It seems I have not held their interest for long. So much for my dazzling personality," Selura's tone was filled with amusement.

"I am sure their leaving had nothing to do with you," Aida assured her. "We have a short span of time left in port, and there is much to do. I am afraid I am going to have to take my leave as well. I have to begin preparations for dinner."

"Abandoned by all of my new friends," Selura sighed dramatically. "I will go curl up in a corner and soothe myself with tears." _Or find Neela and make some more guesses as to what drove her to leave Illium_, she thought gleefully.

Aida regarded her uncertainly for a moment, and then seemed to realize that she was joking. A smile formed on the aspiring chef's lips. She gestured toward the door.

"The mess hall is through this door and at the opposite end of the corridor, on the right. Once you have recovered from your feelings of abandonment, you can find me there if you have the desire for company. I do not mind talking while I cook. Or at any other time, really."

Selura laughed. "I may just take you up on the offer. I would love to see a master chef at work. I wanted to learn how to cook, but I cannot warm up a quick-serve pastry without burning it horribly. My few attempts generally ended with the initiation of fire-suppression systems. I was forced to give up and buy only ready-to-eat meals or have someone else prepare my food, lest I unintentionally poison myself or burn my home to the ground."

Aida laughed and shook her head, heading for the door. "The meal will be served in about an hour. Until then, feel free to peruse our selection of vids or play a tutorial game or two on the game interface. I would love to challenge you to a game later if you feel up to it."

Selura watched the asari go and then returned to exploring the room around her, trying to adjust to the idea that for the next several weeks, this vessel would be her home. She had been forwarded a schedule by her company's logistics department. According to the timetable, they would arrive at an asari research facility on the planet Ilos in five days, and then would reach Noveria about a week later, where they would be spending several days docked. A day later they would arrive at Terra Nova to pick up the final prototype from an orbital station. Once the last shipment was aboard, their journey would take them directly to Thessia, where her new assignment awaited. Her eyes strayed to the painting of the sunset on Thessia, and she smiled.

_I cannot wait_.

* * *

**Over Terra Nova, Now…**

Julisa was no longer operating rationally. Her current actions were based largely on the need to salvage one piece of her once-happy life from the middle of the mess in which she was now trapped. She had been struggling against the unspeakable agony that assailed her for what seemed like an eternity, wrenching the doors to the crew quarters apart bit by bit. Every inch of ground the doors gave was repaid with a surge of pain that left her breathless and on the verge of passing out, but she refused to quit. With one final heave, she forced the doors open another few centimeters, providing just enough of a gap to pass through without having to squeeze her way between them. She leaned against the doorframe, her head swimming. This was the second portal she'd had to fight to get past, and the effort was taking its toll.

A fit of coughing seized her, and every spasm was excruciating. Her eyes closed tightly as she suffered through it, trying desperately to keep from losing consciousness. Were it not for the lack of gravity, she would have fallen to her knees. The taste of blood in her mouth was stronger when the spasms passed, and when she opened her eyes, there were small purple droplets spattered across the inside of her visor. It was becoming more difficult to catch her breath.

The crew lounge was completely dark. Even the emergency lighting in the crew quarters had failed, forcing Julisa to activate her omni-tool's search light. While she knew the ship well enough to navigate it with her eyes closed, she was certain that all of the punishment and the lack of gravity had caused everything that was not anchored to the decks to shift. Her light confirmed her suspicions. Sofa cushions, chairs and personal items were floating throughout the area. She picked her way carefully across the room toward her cabin, where she was forced to work at prying a door open for the third time.

By the time she managed to force her way into her quarters, she was physically and mentally exhausted. It was with some relief that she stumbled through the gap between the two halves of the door and took a moment to stand in the darkness and collect herself.

She did not allow herself to enjoy the reprieve for long for fear that she might lose consciousness if she did. She began her search, panning her light across the room, and soon found what she had gone through all of the effort to salvage… the old picture display that held the image of her family, and the data pad with the video recordings of her daughter. Both were floating around near the ceiling.

In spite of all the pain she felt, a rare smile touched the former commando's lips when she turned the picture display over and studied the image it held. She blinked away a sudden upwelling of tears and grabbed a pillow from where it floated, pulling the pillowcase off of it. She stuffed the picture of her family and the datapad inside and tied it closed before returning to the crew quarters, staggering toward the evacuation pod that was located off of the crew lounge. She hit the trigger to open the hatch…

…and nothing happened. She scowled at the offending barrier and activated her omni-tool's scanning function, running it across the hatch door. The emergency shuttles had independent power systems, so she knew that it should have responded to the trigger. When the scan results come up on the omni-tool's holographic display, she ground her teeth in frustration. The ablative armor paneling that shielded the escape pod from outside damage had been destroyed by the attackers, and the pod itself was all but demolished.

The nearest remaining escape pod was located on the opposite side of the deck, beyond the mess hall. Reaching it meant having to force open at least two more doors, and there was a possibility that the escape shuttle she'd seen speeding toward Terra Nova was the one from the mess hall. She didn't know if she could make that journey. The thought of activating a distress beacon occurred to her, but she discarded the idea. She would risk drawing the Reaper drones directly to her position.

_I have no choice but to check it out_, she told herself. If the escape shuttle on the other side of the deck was damaged, destroyed or missing, she would deal with the repercussions then. There was still every possibility that the ship would be destroyed before she ever reached her destination. It was a grim thought. As a precaution, she activated her omni-tool's recording function, intent on leaving a message that someone, someday, might deliver to her daughter.

"If anyone finds this message, my name is Julisa Nisaria, and this message is for my daughter, Eleira…"

* * *

**Illium, Three weeks earlier…**

Julisa cradled her newly-purchased datapad against her chest in a protective embrace as she traversed the corridor between the airlock and the crew quarters. Her very first stop was her cabin. Even once she was locked away in the solitude of her personal quarters, she was loath to put it down, irrationally fearing that if she let go of it, the tenuous connection to her daughter that it represented would somehow disappear forever. Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath, struggling mightily over the simple act of putting down a datapad. When it left her fingers and came to rest on the desk, she felt an enormous weight settle over her heart.

_At least I know she is happy and has realized her dream._

She wanted nothing more than to send a message to her daughter, now that she knew the name the girl was using. However, the last time they'd spoken, Eleira had been so full of hatred and resentment, that she doubted such a message would even be read. The former commando's stoicism and calm were gone, and she found herself in the unfamiliar position of feeling lost and alone. She'd been able to harden herself against the separation from her child when she didn't know where the girl was, but now that she knew, it was harder to just carry on with business as usual.

_How could I ever have been so stupid?_

Shaking off her melancholy thoughts as best she could, she activated her aural implant and patched into the ship's internal communications channel.

"Neela, I want to get underway. As soon as you can, get up to the bridge and set course for the Mu Relay. We are going to Ilos. I will come up to the bridge to relieve you after dinner, so that you can prepare your meal."

"_I'm almost done decontaminating my provisions, Captain_," Neela's response came quickly. "_I will be on the bridge in five minutes_."

"Fine."

Their current contract required them to make several stops on the way to their final destination. However, at the end of the trail were Thessia… and Eleira. She didn't know if the girl would even want to see her, but the knowledge that they would be on the same planet at the same time made it extremely tempting to try. Perhaps after all of this time, her daughter would have forgiven her.

_No, _she chastised herself. _Who could forgive their father for abandoning them in their childhood?_

She sighed and made her way to the mess hall, doing her best to shift her mind to other matters. She was interested to meet the individual that would be joining them aboard the ship. It had been a condition of the contract that she take a civilian along. However, her client had not provided much information about the person in question aside from a name. She hoped that whoever the passenger was, she would not become a nuisance during the journey. The ship ran well under normal circumstances, and there was a general sense of harmony among her crew. Introducing a disruptive element was not something she was prepared to deal with for the next four weeks.

When the door to the mess hall opened, she was greeted by the sweet scent of fish and a spicy aroma of some kind, mingled with the unmistakable smell of fresh-baked chocolate cake. There were many things she appreciated about Aida. The culinary delights she brought to the table morning and evening were easily her favorite.

Her crew was just sitting down, and Aida was busily shuttling serving plates and bowls from the prep area at the far end of the room to the table. As always, the girl had prepared a second set of entrees for their turian crewmate, who had different dietary requirements from the rest of them.

Julisa's gaze swept over the assembled crew, finally settling on the new face among them.

_I am losing my mind…_

The stranger sliding into the seat beside Illitha bore a striking resemblance to her bondmate, Lethia. From the shade of her skin to the general shape of her face, there were enough similarities between the two that she would easily have believed the girl was Lethia's reincarnation. The distinct feeling that she was losing her grip on reality overcame her.

"Captain," Prathus rose from his seat when he noticed her standing in the doorway. "I would like to introduce you to our guest, Selura Leneur."

Julisa saw the girl bow her head in greeting, and she struggled to hide the mixture of wonder and heartache that she suspected was written plainly across her face. Prathus was looking at her strangely, and Aida's expression showed similar hints of concern and curiosity. She bobbed her head in greeting and managed to find her voice.

"Welcome aboard, Miss Leneur."

"Please, call me Selura," the girl smiled a crooked little smile.

Julisa felt a little better when she saw that charming little smile appear on the girl's lips. It was nothing like the gentle, peaceful smile that her bondmate had always seemed to wear. Her voice, too, was very different from Lethia's. These differences between the two helped her to reclaim a little bit of her equilibrium. She glanced at Prathus, who practically fell back into his seat and didn't so much as look her direction. One of the things she liked most about her XO was that he didn't care to get involved in her personal affairs. Aida, on the other hand, was watching her intently.

_Why is this getting to me? It is just a coincidence._

"Your ship is beautiful," Selura addressed her. "Neela was kind enough to give me a tour. I have never been aboard anything like it."

"Thank you."

"Is Neela going to join us?"

Selura's question was directed at Aida. With Selura's attention on someone else and Aida no longer staring at her, Julisa felt some measure of relief. She needed a little time to regain control of her emotions and replace her mask of professionalism and discipline. She helped herself to the various dishes arrayed on the table, and then sat back and picked at her food without much appetite. Aida's cooking was usually a source of immense enjoyment for the captain. However, while everything smelled wonderful, she was too preoccupied to eat.

"Neela prepares her own food in her room and eats alone," Aida explained. "She always waits until the captain can take over piloting the ship."

The conversation was briefly derailed by the sounds of the docking anchors disengaging from the ship, and Julisa could feel the subtle shift in the artificial gravity as the vessel started to ascend. The crew was accustomed to this sort of thing while eating, and continued to eat without interruption. She noticed that Selura, on the other hand, grabbed both her plate and glass, as if she expected them to slide off of the table.

Illitha's soft giggle broke the silence. "You do not have to worry, Selura. The inertial dampeners stabilize the ship to keep things from sliding around while in motion."

"I know that," Selura's tone suggested embarrassment. "It was reflex."

"How recently did you complete University?" Aida asked their guest.

"Actually, I only completed my studies a little over a year ago. I was recruited immediately following graduation by Calyrias Industries. I guess my scores in certain fields of study were good enough to attract their attention."

"Which fields?" Illitha inquired.

"Ancient history, krogan mythology and philosophy," Selura grinned briefly.

Julisa saw the look of confusion that settled over the engineer's features. Apparently Selura did too, because she murmured "I am joking," and her expression became serious. "Actually, my highest marks were earned in engineering, mass effect field theory and application, propulsion theory and design, and entertainment media technology. I believe it was the first three that got me hired. Calyrias Industries does not produce vids or advertising holograms."

_She is a scientist. Like Lethia._

"What sort of work do you do there?"

Selura shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I am sorry," she apologized. "I would love to talk about it at length, especially with someone who shares my interest in technology. But my company enforces a strict policy of non-disclosure regarding internal projects. Actually, I could get into a great deal of trouble just for having told you the fields of study that led to my recruitment."

"I understand," Illitha nodded. "If you… Maybe sometime…" she faltered, and then seemed to gather her courage. "If y-you ever have the urge, visit me in the engineering section. It would be nice to talk shop with a fellow tech enthusiast."

"I will definitely do that," Selura smiled, earning a shy smile from the engineer in turn.

"You studied entertainment media tech?" Aida chimed in. "I am an avid vid-watcher. Did you ever think about getting into the entertainment industry?"

Julisa watched the young scientist while she and Aida talked. The conversation quickly veered to the subject of the latest vids and the most popular actors and actresses, but the captain stopped paying attention to what they were saying. Emotions and memories that she'd thought long buried had been stirred up by the vid capture of her daughter, and to see a girl who looked so much like her bondmate had compounded the issue.

However, the more the girl talked the less of Lethia she saw in her. As the dinner and the inane conversation between the two wore on, the turbulence of her emotions calmed. At first she had been struck by the similarities and felt a keen sense of loneliness and longing for her lost love. Now she was focusing on the differences, and her feelings were shifting the opposite direction. The girl's presence was a reminder of what she had lost, and as a result was already beginning to irritate her.

_I am not being fair to the girl_, she scolded herself. _It is not her fault that they share similar features._

She pushed her plate away and rose from her seat, turning and heading for the door. She resolved to simply avoid their guest as much as possible. Besides, she needed to get to the bridge and relieve Neela so that the poor pilot could eat. Some time alone on the bridge would be the perfect thing to help her settle her mind and regain her composure. She crossed the threshold into the hall, and in the moments before the door closed behind her, Aida's voice reached her ears.

"Is the captain okay? She barely touched her food…"

_I have not been 'okay' since you died, Lethia. But I think it is time I start trying to undo the mistakes I have made. I can only imagine the disappointment you must feel toward me,_ she sighed heavily. _But it cannot possibly match the disappointment I feel about myself._

* * *

**Above Terra Nova, Now…**

Aida floated through the maintenance tunnel, using only her hands to propel herself, just as she had spotted Neela doing in the first few moments after they were both inside. Ordinarily, she might have enjoyed the feeling of floating along through the cramped crawlway; there was something about it that might have been relaxing. However, she was terribly concerned for the fate of her best friend. The engineering compartment was without oxygen, and though she hadn't been able to work up the courage to see what was happening down there when Neela looked, the beams that had broken through into the maintenance area left her with serious doubts that Illitha still lived.

She realized that it was too dangerous to try to contact Illitha, but knowledge of the danger did not free her of the desire to make the attempt. If she were alone, she might have given in. With Neela right behind her, however, she judged it an unacceptably selfish risk. There was little choice but to trust that Illitha was resourceful enough to reach safety. The young engineer found the strength and courage to save Aida's life several weeks before, and she wanted to believe she could find that strength again.

At the end of the access tunnel, a ladder led down into a room identical to the maintenance area where they had previously stopped. She pushed herself out into the void beyond, turning in midair, and when her boots met and adhered to the wall on the opposite side of the small room, she walked down along the surface to the floor. It was a much easier path than using the ladder.

Neela joined her at the bottom of the ladder a few moments later and quickly set to work with her omni-tool, loosening the fittings that held the access panel in place. Beyond the panel was the corridor outside of upper engineering, and the escape shuttle they needed to reach. Once the obstruction came free, Neela crawled out first, with Aida following as soon as the opening was clear.

The corridor was empty and silent. It took a few seconds for Aida's brain to register the fact that there hadn't been a rush of air past them when they opened the access port, which meant that the corridor was already depressurized. Together, the two of them moved down the hallway to the hatch that led into the escape pod, keeping careful watch for any sign of danger. Neela activated the pod door.

It didn't occur to Aida until the safety of the pod's interior was there, right in front of her, what it would mean to get into that pod and escape. She would be saving herself, but possibly abandoning her best friend, the young scientist, a turian she respected, and the asari she loved. She looked at Neela uncertainly, and saw that the quarian was regarding her in turn.

"We can't leave them," Neela said softly.

"I was thinking the same thing," Aida smiled sadly. "What was going on in engineering?"

"One of the fighter drones is aboard the ship. It was destroying the machinery."

"Did you see...?" Aida trailed off, unable to complete the question.

"I didn't see any bodies," Neela shook her head. "I'm sure they would have tried to get to safety when the barriers went down."

"We were headed for the cargo bay to get the fighters. Maybe they had the same thought. We should get down there and see if the fighters are still aboard."

"Agreed. If we don't find some sign of Illitha and Selura down there, then we have to assume they used the escape shuttle in engineering and they're safe. If so, we'll come back up here."

"Sounds good."

The pair headed for the end of the corridor, where the door to upper engineering waited. Without the elevators, their only choice was to head for another access crawlspace that led from upper engineering to the maintenance area behind the cargo bay wall.

It wasn't until they were halfway down the corridor that they could actually see the door directly. When they reached that point, what they saw brought them both to a halt. The door was bowed outward as though it had been struck by a large object. The damage left a gap between the two halves of the portal where the seal had been broken.

Aida took the lead, approaching cautiously. If there was another fighter drone on the other side of the door, the last thing she wanted to do was draw its attention. Pressing close to the wall as she approached, her heart racing, she tried to control her fear of what she might find. It took all of her nerve just to peer through the separation between the ruined doors and see what was waiting beyond.

Nothing.

She saw only the conduits and walkways of upper engineering, illuminated by the pale blue of the emergency lights just like the rest of the ship. She darted to the opposite side of the doors to see if she could get a glimpse in the other direction, with the same results. The gap between the doors provided only a limited view of a much larger room, but she saw no signs of anything moving around inside. She exhaled slowly.

"It looks clear."

"The doors are warped," Neela pointed out. "We'll never pry them open. They won't be able to move in the track. I'll have to cut through."

Aida stepped back and watched while the quarian engaged her omni-tool's plasma cutter, slowly carving a semi-circular section out of each door to form a hole at its center. She was on edge, afraid that at any moment, a crimson beam would carve through the walls or the elevator door at the far end of the hall. While she couldn't justify fleeing the ship without trying to find the people she cared about, she knew that they were taking a terrible risk.

Neela climbed through the hole in the door as soon as she was finished. Aida followed close behind, her eyes darting around the room as soon as she got through. The upper engineering section wrapped around many of the main drive core's components, making it a roughly U-shaped area with a large concentration of conduits and machinery rising right through the middle of it. Instead of solid decks, the floor was formed of metal grating, which allowed a somewhat obstructed view of the engineering section below. From what little she could see when she looked through the flooring, most of the machinery in the engineering section had been destroyed. She figured the drive core was intact, or it might have exploded, but she didn't see much of anything else that was undamaged. Even the floors were marred with deep gouges.

It never even occurred to her that there was no sign of a fighter drone moving around in the area below. If it had, she might have walked to the far end of the room to get a look on the other side of the obstruction formed by the machinery that rose through the center of the area.

Neela was already snapping the access panel free of its moorings, a task made simpler by the fact that everything was designed for ease of access within engineering, and Aida turned to watch as the quarian started to climb through the hole. She didn't even notice the red glow shining with increasing intensity from around the corner.

* * *

**En route to the Mu Relay, Three weeks ago…**

"I am worried about the captain," Aida confessed, swinging her feet idly forward and back. She was perched on a console in engineering, watching while Illitha worked at the adjacent console.

"She did seem to be acting distracted at dinner," Illitha nodded, sounding a little distracted herself.

"It was not just distraction. She actually looked...," Aida paused, fumbling for the right word, "…distressed. Maybe even a little lost. In all of the time I have been aboard this ship, I have never seen that expression on her face."

"Everyone has their bad days," Illitha's voice was soft.

"Perhaps I should go talk to her. She might appreciate a friendly ear."

"I am not so sure...," Illitha shook her head. "I think… It might be best if you leave her alone."

"Maybe I could help."

"Maybe you would embarrass her by calling attention to the fact that you noticed how she was acting."

"Everyone needs someone to talk to from time to time," Aida protested.

"You are letting your feelings for her cloud your thinking," Illitha bit her lip. A brief period of awkward silence passed between them. "I should not have said that. Sorry."

"I… do not know what you mean," Aida lied. However, she could feel herself blushing, and she knew it was wasted effort.

"You are my closest friend," Illitha looked up at her, her voice barely a whisper. "I care about you. So of course I notice how you smile every time she walks into the room. I notice how your eyes light up whenever you talk about her... which you do _frequently_. And I do not think _anyone_ could miss how your eyes linger on her backside when she walks away."

Aida felt her cheeks burn. She tried to think of something to say, but she couldn't wrench her mind away from the realization that if Illitha had noticed these things, everyone else on the crew probably did too. She wanted to crawl into an access tunnel somewhere and hide for a few months.

"I understand," Illitha said softly, her gaze fixed once more on her work. "The captain is amazing. It is easy to see h-how you might come to admire her. But… I think… I mean… Tell me honestly. Have you ever seen the captain speak to _anyone_ about her feelings? Or her past? You have been on this ship far longer than I have. M-maybe you have seen something I have not?"

"No," Aida shook her head. "I have never seen her talk about herself at all. I suppose you are right. Perhaps this is not the best time to try to get personal with her. I only want to help," she sighed.

"You can help by leaving her to sort things out on her own," Illitha suggested.

Aida frowned, watching in silence while Illitha worked at the holographic controls of her console. She decided that a change of subject was in order.

"What do you think of our guest?"

"Sh-she seems nice. Her sense of humor takes some getting used to," Illitha shrugged. "She seems to answer just about every question with a joke before she even thinks about giving a serious response. And she is nosy."

"She is curious," Aida smiled. "Seems an admirable trait for a scientist. I look forward to getting to know her better."

"Me too."

"It is especially nice to be able to talk about vids with someone without having them point out the inconsistencies in the operation of their tech," Aida teased her friend. It was something Illitha did frequently when they watched vids with stories that took place on starships.

"She is a tech fanatic too, you may recall," Illitha smiled at her. "She… Watch a few vids with her, give her time and she will inevitably point out something that is incorrect."

"Is this a trait common to all engineers? I thought it was just you," Aida grinned.

"No, I… We… It is all of us. Watch a vid with the two of us together, and see how we dissect every scene involving anything remotely technical. We will drive you insane."

"I will smother you both with the sofa cushions," Aida laughed.

Illitha echoed her laughter, and a few moments passed between them in companionable silence. However, without the conversation to distract her from other thoughts, her mind started to drift back to the captain's unusual behavior. She shook her head and decided it was better to keep talking than to dwell on matters that were none of her business. Illitha had been right, after all, the captain didn't seem interested in involving the crew in her personal life. She wondered if that was why she appointed Prathus her XO, even though Aida had been on the crew longer. They shared a need to distance themselves.

"What are you doing, anyway?" she asked.

"Calibrating the starboard plasma couplings."

"I have no idea how you can spend so much time doing things like this," Aida shook her head. "I love you dearly, but I find all of this tech stuff terribly boring."

"Anyone maintaining starship tech needs to learn to love calibrations," Illitha shrugged. "There are many things on starships that require calibrating."


	6. Chapter 6: Contact

**Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who has submitted feedback to date. The comments and criticisms have inspired me over the past few days and I've been writing at an almost manic rate. Hopefully my temporary creative mania doesn't hamper the quality of the writing too much :)**

* * *

.

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Six: Contact

.

**Above Terra Nova, Now…**

Selura shifted her weight from foot to foot restlessly. Neela's personal quarters were separated from the cargo bay by a small decontamination chamber, so that anything going in or out of her room could be scoured free of contaminants. It was an extremely thorough system. However, since Selura was in something of a hurry, impatience mounted while the cycle activated and the cleansing field ran over her again and again. When the system finally finished its work and the outer door opened, she was quick to exit to the cargo bay.

Her eyes struggled to adjust to the gloom. Neela's quarters still had power, and were brightly lit. The cargo bay, by comparison, was illuminated only by the dim blue glow of emergency lighting. The corners were shrouded in shadows, and even where the lights were most concentrated, it was difficult to make out fine details at a distance. Frowning, she headed for the large door that led to the engineering section. She _knew_ that there was a locker in there with emergency equipment, since that was where Illitha had procured their environmental suits. She couldn't make the same claim about any other area of the ship.

However, once she reached the massive portal, she was presented with an entirely new dilemma. Without power, the door did not respond to her approach. Her gaze scoured the perimeter of the door, looking for some sign of a manual release or emergency access. She didn't see either.

_Brilliant. A door with no manual access. A child in _primary school_ could have seen the problem with this sort of design…_

She had to get a new environmental suit for Illitha, to replace the damaged one she'd cut off of her to deal with her wounds. Without it, the engineer would be trapped in Neela's chamber. She glanced around the cargo hold, hands clenched in frustration. She knew that the fighter prototypes her company had loaded in Noveria were unarmed, or she would have been tempted to climb into one and blow the doors open. The only other apparent option was to start searching through the crates for something that could help. And really, what was the chance she'd find anything useful while poking around in random crates…?

She ran to the nearest crate in the bay and engaged her omni-tool to trigger the release, flipping the lid up when it unlatched. She quickly rifled the contents, tossing aside datapad casings and other electronic components in her haste to get to the bottom of the container. Nothing useful. She frowned and moved on to the next crate. She was about to repeat the process when her attention was drawn by a tremendous rumble. The sound reminded her of distant thunder, and it grew louder with every passing second.

There was a metallic groan, then the high-pitched squeal of carbon steel being twisted under stress. Her eyes were drawn to the back of the bay, near ceiling level, where she could see the wall beginning to bulge outward. Her instincts screamed at her to get moving and find cover, but she stood rooted in place, staring with dread fascination as the deformity in the wall increased.

A crimson beam suddenly broke through the wall, flashing toward her. She dove aside, floating out of the path just as the attack struck the crates near where she had been standing, shattering them and scattering their contents in all directions. The air in the cargo bay started venting from the chamber through the hole. Selura was still floating, since her dive had deprived her of the magnetic anchor to the deck her boots provided. As a result, she found herself floating rapidly toward the hole.

Panic filled her. Her instincts took over, and she flipped herself around in the air, orienting her feet toward the wall to which she was being inexorably drawn. Unfortunately, the breach was rather large, and she knew that she wasn't going to be able to catch hold of the sides. Her heart thundered in her chest, and she found it terribly difficult to breathe. The possibility that she was about to be pulled into space was terrifying. She just had to hope that the area beyond the hole would have a surface close at hand to which her magnetic boots could adhere…

* * *

**En Route to the Mu Relay, Three weeks earlier…**

Selura stared at the dome of opaque polymer over her head, shifting restlessly beneath the soft sheets of her sleeping niche. She'd discovered when she bedded down for the first night of her voyage that each niche in the crew quarters was equipped with a soundproof dome that could be closed over the sleeper, granting both privacy and quiet. However, she was simply too excited by the commencement of her journey to sleep.

The crew seemed very pleasant. While she got the feeling that the captain wasn't happy to have a stranger aboard the ship, everyone else had been more or less welcoming. Aida in particular was a friendly and talkative individual, and they had spent several hours just chatting. She'd also visited Illitha briefly in the engineering section, where she was treated to an in-depth tour of the various systems in the drive section.

Some might have been bored by the presentation, but propulsion theory was one of Selura's specialties, and she found it fascinating to get a close look at a functioning drive core. When she was attending University she had studied them in great detail. Her class had been able to explore non-functional display models and holographic recreations, but neither provided the same atmosphere as the real thing. The hum of an active drive core and the energy in the air made the experience more palpable. The ozone smell of the electrical field passing through the eezo core was subtle, but in her opinion, it added dramatically to the experience.

Rolling over, she fluffed her pillow and repositioned it beneath her cheek, trying desperately to get comfortable. Unfortunately, it just wasn't working. With a sigh, she tossed the covers aside and opened the dome, climbing out of her niche. She hoped that no one would mind if they found her walking around the ship in a loose-fitting nightshirt and matching pajama pants; she didn't feel like changing clothes just so she could take a stroll. The deck was terribly cold beneath her feet, however, so she did pull on a pair of boots.

Selura toured the ship in silence, hoping to work off some of the excited energy that was keeping her awake and further familiarize herself with the ship in the process. She started on the lower deck, passing through the cargo bay and the engineering section. She spent some time in the main battery, inspecting the visible hardware of the ship's mass accelerator cannon. She made sure not to actually touch anything; she wouldn't want a stranger fiddling with her prototype, and felt it only fair to extend the same courtesy to the ship's systems.

Once her curiosity on the lower deck was satisfied, she headed back to the upper deck to continue her exploration. When she reached the door leading onto the ship's bridge, she paused. She wasn't sure if Neela would be sleeping at this hour or piloting the vessel, but she found herself curious. If Neela _wasn't_ piloting the ship, who was responsible for the job in her stead? She triggered the door.

A deafening cacophony greeted her. Fast-paced percussion, the electric whine of a guitar, the synthesized tones of a keyboard… it was human music, if she wasn't mistaken. She believed it was referred to as 'Rock and Roll.' The sheer volume of it caused her to wince. A human voice joined the melody, and Selura was amused to hear the high-pitched tone of the quarian's voice join in, echoing the lyrics… off-key.

"Whirling and swooping through the wreckage around us; Shaking and shimmying as the weapons fire pounds us; Our target ahead, all weapons green; Prepared to fire on the Pirate Queeeeeeeeeen!" Neela sang.

Selura covered her mouth to suppress her giggling. The quarian might have been a gifted pilot, but her singing was awful. However, she could only suppress her mirth for so long. Eventually, she burst out laughing.

The quarian bolted from her seat, whirling around to face her. "Selura!" her voice was barely audible over the din of the music. She turned and hit one of the holographic keys on the display in front of her seat, but the music only got louder, prompting her to jab a finger at the controls frantically until the playback finally cut off. By the time silence descended over the bridge, Selura was cradling her midsection, almost doubled over with laughter.

"I am sorry," Selura was still giggling even as she spoke. "It was never my intention to startle you. But I have finally figured out why you had to get off of Illium. A crowd of angry fans was intent on lynching you for butchering the music of their favorite band!"

"You… were listening?"

Selura could almost _feel_ the quarian blushing… if quarians could blush. She wasn't sure. But she shook her head, pressing a hand to her aching sides, grinning at the way Neela shifted in embarrassment.

"I did not mean to spy on you," her voice still radiated her amusement. "Sleep was proving elusive. I decided to wander the ship to tire myself out, and when that failed, I opted to come up here for company."

Neela said nothing. She returned to her seat and drew her knees up to her chest, her heels resting on the edge of the chair. The way Neela was curled up reminded the scientist of the defensive posture of certain shelled herbivores on Lusia. When threatened, they would curl up inside their shell to ward off danger. Selura's smile fell a little bit, and she stepped closer. She hadn't intended to offend Neela with her amusement, and now she wanted to undo the damage before it was too late.

"Please forgive me," she said softly. "I never meant to embarrass you. I cannot sing either. The two of us together would be horrifying," as soon as the words left her lips she groaned inwardly. It wasn't exactly a complimentary follow-up statement. She was choosing her words _very_ poorly.

Neela's head fell forward against her knees. "Keelah, was I really _that _awful?"

"I have heard worse."

_By the Goddess,_ the urge to slap herself in the head was almost overwhelming.

"That doesn't make me feel any better," Neela murmured reproachfully.

"I apologize," Selura bowed her head, wondering if she should just leave before she made it any worse. Instead, after hesitating a moment, she asked, "Do you mind if I sit up here with you?"

There was a long pause.

"If you'd like."

One corner of Selura's lips curled upward. She lowered herself into the seat at the terminal to the pilot's right, her gaze never leaving her companion. She had so far managed to say all the wrong things, so she set a challenge for herself. She eyed the girl's posture, and decided that if she could get the quarian to loosen up and sit normally, she would have repaired whatever damage she caused. She liked Neela, and didn't want to lose their fledgling friendship. She concentrated on choosing her words with extreme care.

"What was the song you were listening to? It was human music, if I am not mistaken."

"Yes," Neela confirmed. "A human band called 'Eezo Excess'. I found their music on the extranet shortly after I started my pilgrimage. I liked it."

"It certainly is interesting. It was a little loud for my tastes, but there was something stirring about the energy of it."

"What sort of music do you enjoy?"

"Oh, my tastes are eclectic," Selura shrugged. "I like some asari opera and symphony, techno dance melodies, and some of the popular romantic ballads."

"Opera is a popular form of music amongst my people too."

"I enjoy music, but it is not a frequent source of entertainment for me," Selura admitted. "My work this past year has dominated a great deal of my time, and prior to that, my studies were my main focus."

"I can understand that," Neela shifted in her seat. "Being at the helm while everyone else is sleeping gives me the opportunity to indulge myself. But if I had to choose between listening to my music and piloting, I'd run for the bridge every time. It is always nice to do what you love. I get the feeling that for you, that's your work."

"It is," Selura reclined further in her seat, glancing out through the forward viewport at the stars. "What made you decide you wanted to be a pilot?"

"I was born aboard the _Ganaza_. It's a part of the Patrol Fleet that guards the flotilla. The Patrol Fleet includes a number of fighters, and as a child, I used to watch through the windows as the fighters performed practice maneuvers and formations outside. The thought of being among them was inspiring. All I ever wanted was to be out there with them. I used to try to sneak onto the bridge so that I could learn how to fly the ship."

"I suppose I can see the appeal," Selura smiled. "I have never seen a fighter in action, but they are always dazzling in the vids."

"I would love to become a fighter pilot," Neela confessed. One of her feet inched off of the edge of the seat and came to rest on the floor. "I was serving as a trainee on the bridge of the _Ganaza_ when the time came to start my pilgrimage. I hope that when I return, I can get onto the bridge of my new ship. Or a position as a fighter pilot trainee."

"What about the _Ganaza_? You do not plan to return to it?"

"When we return from our pilgrimage, we present our gift to a new captain and join a new ship, leaving our birth ship behind. It helps my people maintain genetic diversity."

"I see," Selura said softly. She had much to learn about the quarian people.

"What about you? Why specialize in scientific fields?"

"Oh. I like to think it is a simple matter of genetics," Selura smiled. "My father was salarian. Math and science always came easily to me. I struggled in almost every other field. It was a simple matter of doing what came naturally."

"I sometimes forget that your people can produce offspring with anyone," Neela shifted in her seat. "And you truly gain traits from the father species?"

"There is some debate on the matter. The only insight I can offer is that I have an excellent memory, a gift for math and science, and an overactive mind," Selura grinned. "Those all seem like very salarian traits to me."

"Me too," Neela laughed softly. She returned her other foot to the floor, stretching in her chair.

Selura watched the quarian stretch, and she silently declared victory in her battle to make up for offending her.

"I want to visit the home world of my father's people one day," Selura's eyes were drawn to the outline of a planet they would soon be passing. "I barely remember my father. But I have always wanted to learn more about the culture he came from."

"You don't remember him?"

"Not much, no. I was only twenty when he passed away," Selura's voice softened. "I was still a child."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

"It is fine," Selura's smile returned. "Tell me about your family."

"There is not much to say," Neela paused, bringing up the navigational controls and making a few quick adjustments to their course before continuing. "My father is an enviro-suit technician, and my mother is a doctor."

"Any brothers or sisters?"

"No," Neela accompanied the answer with a shake of her head. "Quarian families are limited to one child each. With finite resources, we can't allow our population to grow past our ability to feed and house everyone."

"Oh," Selura nodded. "That makes sense. It sounds to me like your parents both had important jobs. Your family must have been well-respected among the crew."

"Well, a crew is like family, so there is mutual respect regardless of our jobs. But I was always proud that my parents did such important work. After I was old enough to start wearing my own suit, I actually felt guilty. Because of my father's expertise, I always had the latest programs and upgrades. Except for… uh, nevermind."

"Except for what?"

"Nothing," Neela squirmed in her seat, and Selura got the feeling that she was becoming uncomfortable again. Curiosity was eating away at her, but she didn't want to offend the girl by persisting, so she changed the subject.

"Your parents did not mind that you wanted to become a pilot? There was no pressure to follow in one of their professions?"

"Not really, no. I did get the feeling that my mother was a little disappointed that I didn't want to be a doctor, but they never discouraged me from following my dreams."

"What are they like?"

"My father is a passionate soul," Neela's voice radiated warmth. "He was always committed to his beliefs and his ideas. He would argue and debate for hours to support what he believed, whether it was about war with the geth, or the greatest example of quarian engineering, or which ship's squad would win the Khez'talein tournament that year. I guess you could call him stubborn. You couldn't change his mind with a heap of proof, but he would put in as much effort as it took to convince you that his opinion was the right one."

"Passion is a good quality," Selura nodded.

On the other hand, she considered stubbornness to be an extremely bad quality. Stubbornness stifled the exchange of new ideas and discouraged cooperation, two things that were extremely counterproductive in Selura's view. She wisely chose to keep _that_ opinion to herself. She also decided not to ask what a 'Khez'talein' tournament was.

"What about your mother?"

"My mother is the stabilizing force in our family. She was never outspoken or opinionated. Well, at least not outside of medical matters," Neela amended. "But she was always there to rein in my father's enthusiasm, or offer encouragement or support when one of us needed it," she fell silent for a moment, and then whispered, "I miss them."

"I can see why. They sound like amazing people."

"They are."

Selura smiled. Her eyes drifted closed, and she enjoyed the comfortable silence that descended between them. The seats on the bridge were cozy ergonomic models that molded themselves to the contours of whoever was seated in them. She crossed her arms and reclined in the chair, waiting for the quarian to say something.

She didn't see Neela glance her way, or she might have realized that the reason no further conversation was forthcoming was because the pilot was keeping quiet so that she could fall asleep. With silence reigning and the comfort of the chair in which she sat, Selura dozed off within moments.

* * *

**Above Terra Nova, Now…**

Neela had just climbed through the access between upper engineering and the cargo bay below, and was turning to descend the ladder when she spotted the massive silhouette of the enemy fighter drone rounding the corner behind Aida. Her eyes widened. The gaze of the hostile mechanical eye fell upon the two of them, and the dark void at the center of its crimson iris started to brighten with red light. She instinctively knew what was coming. She threw herself through the opening into upper engineering, wrapping her arms around Aida's legs and yanking her to the ground.

A crimson stream of particles passed directly over the pair, slamming into the wall behind them. Neela rolled to her left and planted a foot against Aida's hip. The mighty shove she gave sent the asari sliding across the deck and served to propel herself in the opposite direction just as the oculus redirected its beam. It tore through the floor where they had both been laying, carving a line of destruction between them. Neela silently thanked the lack of gravity for even making it possible to put distance between the two of them so quickly.

"Aida run!"

Neela saw Aida scramble to her feet and she did the same. Aida made a run for the corridor outside of upper engineering, and Neela silently begged her ancestors to watch over the girl. Neela's injured knee was throbbing, and she was farther away from the door than Aida had been. She knew she would never reach it before the oculus killed her.

She activated her suit's shield generator and made a leap for the maintenance access hatch, wincing as she dived through the opening. The fighter drone fired a beam directly through the gap as she did so, striking her feet and spinning her around in the small space beyond the hole. The beam had only impacted with her shields for an instant, but it was enough to overload and collapse the barrier. The force of the blast jarred her legs and sent a surge of pain through her injured knee, causing her to cry out. Fortunately, the protection granted by her shielding was enough that her suit had not been significantly damaged; she wasn't receiving warning alarms indicating a suit rupture.

The fighter directed another beam through the opening into the access tunnel, and Neela pressed back against the wall to keep well out of the way, waiting for a break in the fire so that she could scramble over the edge and float down to the area below without risking injury. She watched in awe as the beam slowly pulverized the wall where it was striking at the back of the maintenance room, causing the surface to bow outward. After several seconds of sustained fire, it broke through the surface into the area beyond, and the attack stopped, leaving a gaping hole behind. Immediately there was a rush of oxygen through the hole, as the air from the room beyond rapidly vented into the vacuum of engineering.

The venting process did not take long. Neela was considerably startled, however, when a humanoid shape hurtled through the breach in the bulkhead, impacting feet first with the wall just in front of her. She flinched and shut her eyes out of reflex. When she opened them, she found herself staring at an asari's back. The figure was crouched on the wall perpendicular to herself, and looking around franticly. Neela wasn't sure if it was Illitha or Selura, as the bulk of the environmental gear she was wearing made the differences in their physiques less distinct. Had the girl been in the area beyond when it vented? With such a small area for the oxygen to vent through, she supposed the pull would have been substantial, if brief. However, since the asari was obviously wearing magnetic boots, she wondered how she had been pulled free of the deck.

She didn't have time to ponder the situation further. The asari was just starting to turn around, but Neela couldn't wait until the girl spotted her and then take the time to explain the situation. Another attack could be forthcoming at any moment. She grabbed hold of an arm and pulled her down along the ladder, running down the wall as fast as she could, ignoring the protests her knee registered at the exertion. Her sudden tug pulled the girl's boots free of the wall, and the asari floated down the tunnel after her with a startled squeak.

It was only after she reached the bottom of the ladder that she stopped running, releasing her hold on the asari's wrist and letting her float down to the floor. She could feel the deck beneath her feet vibrating, and she looked up to the top of the ladder, where a beam was sweeping back and forth across the wall. She got the impression that the oculus was widening the hole it had created, so that it could pursue them.

"Neela?"

Neela recognized the voice as Selura's, and transferred her gaze to the asari, who was getting to her feet. She grabbed the scientist's arm to help her up, and once the girl gained her footing, Neela pulled her close and hugged her fiercely.

"I'm glad you're alright."

"You too," Selura squeezed her in return.

The two separated, and Neela briefly studied her eyes through the visor of the helmet the asari was wearing. She could see Selura's smile reflected in them, and a smile of her own formed in response. However, it was fleeting. She glanced up at the glow of the beam above, and saw Selura's head tilt back to follow her gaze.

"What is going on up there?"

"An enemy fighter drone is _inside_ the ship," Neela explained succinctly. "Is Illitha alive? Is she okay?"

"She is alive. But the second answer depends on your definition of 'okay.' She is badly injured, but her wounds are dressed and she seems to be in no immediate danger. She needs a new environmental suit before I can move her."

"She has no enviro-suit? The cargo bay's atmosphere is gone!"

"Do not worry! She is safe in your room," Selura quickly reassured her.

Neela breathed a sigh of relief. Then she started pacing around the tiny room, her mind racing. Even if she was carrying a weapon, she had seen the size of the oculus drone, and she harbored serious doubts that she would have been able to destroy the thing. Her omni-tool had a few simple combat functions installed, but it seemed unlikely that they would be of much help either. She was starting to panic. The only place they could go from where they were was out into the cargo bay, and after that, the only place to hide would be her quarters. Then there would be _nowhere_ left to run. Her pacing grew more and more frantic as her fear mounted.

"Neela, there is something I need to ask you…"

Neela turned to regard the asari expectantly, wondering what could be so crucial that it needed to be asked right at that moment.

"You were forced to leave Illium because you were offered a job with a hanar water show… right?"

Neela stared at the asari in disbelief… and then she started laughing. The laughter washed away the panic that had been building, and she shook her head ruefully. It seemed a terribly inappropriate time for jokes, but somehow, Selura's playful injection of levity to the situation was exactly what Neela needed just then. Rather than panicking and focusing on the horrible things that _might_ happen, she relaxed a bit and started thinking constructively about possible methods of getting off the ship.

"Are the fighters in the cargo bay armed?" she asked.

"No," Selura shook her head. "They have all the systems required for mobility, but no weapon systems. And no fuel."

Neela nodded thoughtfully. Activating her omni-tool, she started loosening the access panel that would allow them to get into the cargo bay, mulling over other options while she worked. There was a storage locker in the cargo bay with environmental equipment and some basic weapons. She supposed that they could arm themselves and try to fight off the drone when it managed to get into the bay, but she wasn't optimistic about their chances. They could hide in her quarters and hope the drone didn't find them, but she had seen how thorough the machine had been when destroying engineering. She thought it unlikely that it would leave the crates and containers in the bay intact.

"Have you seen the captain, Aida or Prathus?" Selura asked her.

"Aida was with me when the drone found us," Neela told her. She hoped that the girl was smart enough to go straight to the escape pod and leave the ship, rather than trying to come to their rescue. "I haven't seen the captain since I left the bridge. The last time I saw Prathus was before dinner."

"Do you think they are okay?"

"Yes. I think they'll all be okay," Neela said with a great deal more confidence than she felt. "We can't worry about them. We need to get to Illitha and get off the ship. How badly is she injured?"

"Her back is a mess," Selura said softly. "She had bits of shrapnel embedded across the entirety it. I got the shrapnel out and cut up a quilt in your room to use for bandages to stop the bleeding, but she lost a great deal of blood."

Neela was glad that the engineer was alive, but she felt a misplaced moment of sorrow at the asari's words. The quilt had been given to her by her mother when she left for her pilgrimage. It had been given to her mother by her grandmother, and her grandmother by _her_ mother. She shook her head, angry at herself for even thinking of the loss of the heirloom in a selfish light. Her mother was a physician. It was somehow right that if she had to lose the gift, it should be lost to save someone's life.

"Do you think there's any chance we could wake her? We could really use her expertise now." Neela finally managed to work the last of the fittings free, and she pushed the access panel off of its moorings, watching it float off into the cargo bay beyond.

"I doubt it," Selura shook her head. "I think she lost too much blood. But we can try."

"We may have no choice. She has the most intimate knowledge of the systems in engineering and the cargo bay. If we're going to have any chance-" she broke off, her eyes widening in response to a sudden thought.

"Is something wrong?"

"I just had an idea," Neela started to grin.

* * *

**En Route to the Mu Relay, Three weeks earlier…**

Neela stepped from the decontamination airlock to the safety of her room, her fingertips brushing across the panel that activated the interior lighting. Disengaging the environmental seals on her suit, she pulled off her mask and shoved her hood back, uncoupling the locks that held her helmet closed so that she could pull it off. She set both pieces of her headgear on the desk anchored at one side of her room and shook out the long, dark hair that crowned her head.

On the flotilla, her people wore their suits almost constantly, even among family. There was something about being without her suit that made Neela feel vulnerable and a little afraid. However, having her own sterile environment on the ship was also strangely freeing, as there was no risk of being exposed to outside contaminants of any kind. She enjoyed the simple things that she imagined other races took for granted, like the softness of bed sheets against her skin, or the gentle breeze of the air recycling vents wafting across her flesh. She almost never wore her suit in her quarters.

Removing a quarian enviro-suit was an involved process, and as she worked to extricate herself from the protective gear, her thoughts drifted to the young scientist that had joined them.

She didn't quite know what to make of Selura. The asari's personality was a strange mix of traits that simultaneously fascinated and irritated her. At times, she found the scientist's humor to be amusing, and found herself laughing more frequently around Selura than anyone she'd met during her pilgrimage. On the other hand, the girl occasionally managed to say something that was offensive, whether she intended it to be or not. Neela hadn't considered herself to be a terrible singer, and yet the asari's comments on the bridge that night had left her feeling horribly embarrassed and a little resentful of the apparent enjoyment the girl had derived from making fun of her.

But then the asari had been so sweet afterward, asking about her family and her interest in music. While the thought had crossed her mind that Selura was only asking in an effort to make up for the teasing, she had seemed so sincere about wanting to learn more about Neela's family and her life.

Neela had watched Selura sleep for hours after she'd nodded off in her chair, and had to smile at the peaceful look that had settled over her features. Even in her slumber, there had been a hint of that lopsided smile on the girl's lips, and she mumbled frequently while she slept. Neela had tried to make out what she was saying, but the sounds had been little more than murmured gibberish. The scientist had still been asleep in the chair when the captain walked onto the bridge that morning. The captain had frowned, but neither of them made any attempt to wake her.

Finally pulling her suit off, Neela hung the gear up on brackets installed in the wall for just that purpose, and she sat down on the edge of her mattress, reaching down to open a storage drawer set into the base of the bed. She grabbed a brush from among the contents of the drawer and started brushing out her hair, her gaze wandering to the easel that stood near the foot of her bunk.

More than anything, Neela wanted to be a pilot, but everyone had interests beyond their career. For the quarian, her second-greatest love was painting. She was far from a master artist, but she had been told by her parents and numerous friends that she had talent. A number of her paintings were displayed on the walls of her chamber. The _Fiandila_, the _Norezgal_, the _Rannora_… All paintings of the ships she had imagined herself serving on when she returned from her pilgrimage. All three were part of the Patrol Fleet and all three had small squads of fighters aboard. When she was younger, she had painted scenes of space. Since the start of her pilgrimage, she had been painting ships. However, as she stared at her easel now, she was imagining painting something very different. She'd never tried to paint an alien before, and Selura was an interesting subject. She thought that the girl's smile and her eyes in particular would stand out in a portrait if they could be captured well.

She dropped her brush into the drawer beneath her and pushed it closed with her heel. After a quick trip across the room to deactivate the lights, she returned to her bed, climbing in and pulling the sheets over herself. The feel of the soft and cool fabric against the warmth of her flesh was soothing. She curled up on her side, drawing her knees up to her chest, and activated her omni-tool, cycling through the image captures of her family, her friends, and the sights she had seen on her pilgrimage. She stopped when she reached her most recent capture, and she felt herself becoming flushed with embarrassment as she studied the holo. She could only imagine what someone might have thought if she had been spotted capturing that image.

It was Selura. Her eyes were closed, and she was wearing that charming little smile while she slept peacefully in the co-pilot's chair on the bridge. Neela wasn't even sure why she had taken the picture at the time. It was something she did on impulse. She just liked the serene feeling she got from seeing the young scientist looking so… content. And perhaps the thought had been in the back of her mind that she could tease the asari with the image later. However, as her eyes shifted from the capture to her easel, she thought about the possibility of trying a portrait. That capture might make a good reference for the attempt.

With a sigh, she deactivated her omni and set it on the floor beside her bed. She wasn't expected to be back on the bridge for twelve hours. It would give her plenty of time to get some sleep and then perhaps start on her first portrait attempt before she took her shift in the pilot's seat.

* * *

**Above Terra Nova, Now…**

Pain surged through Julisa's nervous system as she gathered a warp field in her hand and hurled it at the mess hall's door. It felt as if each rush of biotic energy through her nerves cleared the way for an especially potent wave of agony to follow. It was extremely uncomfortable, but far preferable to the sensation caused by the edges of broken ribs grinding together while she tried to physically force the access open. The door was already warped and shearing apart in places, and with a few more warp fields, she would have access to the mess hall. From there could get to the infirmary, where she might be able to patch herself up at least a little bit with some medigel, and could escape with the evacuation pod located in that room.

Pain, injury, blood loss and exertion had pushed her to the very edge of her endurance. She didn't know how much she had left in her. The desire to lie down and die was almost overpowering. Only the thought of meeting her daughter face to face so that she could attempt to apologize one last time kept her going.

One final warp field accomplished the task. The door was sheared apart under the effect of the accumulated damage, the shredded remains floating out in a cloud when the biotic effect collapsed. Julisa climbed through the jagged hole created by her efforts, and paused on the other side, resting on her hands and knees, trying to catch her breath without inhaling too deeply. She was afraid to start coughing again; the last fit had almost been too much to bear.

_I have to keep moving. I cannot rest yet…_

The simple act of standing up was agonizing, even though there was no gravitational pull to complicate the task. When she was finally upright, she pressed a hand to her side, her gaze rising to the ceiling. A massive tear ran the length of the room overhead, exposing almost the entire mess hall to the emptiness of space beyond. Through the hole, she could see the blue and green surface of Terra Nova, and chunks of debris drifting serenely in space between. The view was almost beautiful, and she might have enjoyed it if not for the sickening knowledge of what the bits of twisted metal floating outside had once been. She took a step toward the door leading to the infirmary.

She never got a chance to take a second one. A crimson burst of weapon fire struck the deck just in front of her, and the shockwave of its impact propelled the former commando backward with tremendous force. When she hit the wall, the breath exploded from her lungs in an agonized grunt, and she felt herself teetering on the precipice of unconsciousness. She shook her head vigorously in an attempt to keep herself awake.

Forcing her eyes to focus, she saw one of the oculus drones descending into the room through the fissure in the ceiling, orienting itself to face her. In that moment, she knew with certainty that she was going to die. Even as she fought through her exhaustion, manifesting a barrier and grabbing her shotgun from behind her back, she was grimly aware that she didn't have a chance of beating the massive machine in her condition.

_Is it the humans or the turians who have the old saying 'the captain goes down with the ship'?_ Her expression hardened._ No matter. I will go down with mine. But I will not go alone…_

The rising tide of adrenaline allowed her to block out her pain and her fatigue and concentrate on what was necessary. She knew that what she was about to do would be painful, but now that she had resigned herself to fighting, she no longer cared. She cocooned her body in a bubble biotic force and braced a foot against the wall, propelling herself into a biotic charge with incredible speed and force. In a flash she covered the distance and impacted against the exterior plating of the machine. While her biotic field absorbed much of the kinetic impact, the collision still rattled every bone in her body. Her teeth clenched, and she raised her shotgun, firing directly into the aperture at the front of the machine then executed a quick biotic dash to her right to dodge the retaliatory blast that she knew was coming.

She hurled a warp field at the drone and watched its plating began to twist and bend under the assault. The oculus turned, trying to track her movement so that it could finish her, but she quickly settled into a defensive rhythm that was keeping her out of the line of fire. She would hit her foe with a blast from her shotgun and dash several meters to the side, fire again and dash again, repeating the pattern over and over. The boost of energy she'd received from the rush of adrenaline was dissipating rapidly, but her shots and the effects of her warp field seemed to be doing some damage.

The machine finally managed to get her in its sights long enough to fire a burst of energy at her, and she was driven back by the force of the impact with her barrier. The strain was immense, and she quickly wrapped herself in a biotic field and charged to the far end of the room to escape from the line of fire. The instant she stopped, she turned and hit the machine with another warp, then executed another charge, propelling herself directly into the spot where the biotic orb had connected.

She staggered. She couldn't breathe. The impacts and the strain of using her biotics were only exacerbating her injuries, and the pain was too great to continue. She figured she had one last biotic charge in her before she collapsed. The plating at the back of the drone was severely cracked, and the flash of sparks from the circuitry beneath was visible, but the machine rapidly turned around to press its attack. Julisa raised her shotgun. She didn't even attempt to move out of the enemy's sights.

Time slowed to a crawl.

The drone's 'eye' brightened as it powered up to fire.

Julisa pulled the trigger twice in rapid succession, aiming at the heart of the machine's structure, right where the beam would be emitted. The second shot overheated the shotgun; she could see the red warning indicator light up.

She blanketed herself in a biotic field and transferred her weight to the balls of her feet, prepared to charge.

There was a flash as the oculus fired its weapon. At the same instant, Julisa hurled herself into the center of the machine's eye like a biotic mass accelerator round.

The streak of blue that marked her path pierced straight through the machine's heart and exited through the plating at its back. Her limp form impacted with the wall behind the machine, and consciousness mercifully fled, freeing her of the pain.

Julisa never saw the oculus tremble after she tore through it. She didn't see it drift helplessly to the side. She didn't see the red light of its eye darken to black. And she didn't get to witness the spectacular explosion that showered the room with debris when the drone's sundered power systems detonated.

* * *

**Approaching the Mu Relay, Three weeks earlier…**

Julisa paced back and forth across the bridge, arms folded over her midsection. The quiet and solitude of the flight deck was a welcome respite for the captain during the periods in which she allowed her pilot to enjoy some free time. If anyone had entered the bridge at that moment, they might have supposed she was agitated. In truth, she was merely lost in thought.

Since the young scientist came aboard her ship, her thoughts had been pulled time and again to the past and the mistakes she made. She had been oscillating between the desire to contact her daughter and try to make amends, and the fear that in doing so, she would only be opening old wounds for Eleira and casting a shadow over the happy life she'd created for herself.

Her heart and her mind were at war. Each time she made up her mind to leave her daughter be and let her be happy on her own, she felt like it crushed her heart. The thought that she might never speak to Eleira again brought her to the edge of tears. But when she resolved to follow her heart and make contact with the girl, her mind refused to stop tormenting her with the idea that she could be bringing long-buried resentment to the surface, casting a pall over all of the wonderful things her child was accomplishing.

Going through the surveillance footage she'd paid the Shadow Broker to obtain, Julisa had learned a great deal about her daughter's present life. There were only a handful of videos. She frequently watched Eleira's debut performance with the Symphony. It brought tears to her eyes every time she saw it. She also had video of a rehearsal session where the symphony ensemble was working to master a new piece. Watching her daughter quickly learn and adapt, collaborating with her fellow musicians, filled Julisa with pride. One vid had footage of a day her daughter spent with friends on a Thessian beach. Seeing the girl socializing with her friends, swimming in the sea, playing games on the beach… it made her smile like she hadn't smiled in years. All in all, it seemed like Eleira had settled into a truly happy life.

The footage that most intrigued her, however, were the videos of her daughter in the company of a Raven-haired human girl. It was clear from the way the two behaved together in the captures that their relationship went beyond friendship. In every image featuring the two of them, they were holding hands, embracing, or just cuddling up together somewhere. While Julisa's heart ached over the fact that she missed any of the events in the recordings, these were the images that made her feel the loss most keenly.

Her daughter was grown up, and involved in a romantic relationship with a human. Julisa tried to imagine what this human girl would be like. She tried to conjure up a personality to go with the delicate features and the dazzling green eyes. However, her imaginings weren't enough. She desperately wanted to learn about the girl that had claimed her daughter's affection. It nagged at her so much, in fact, that she was considering hiring the Shadow Broker one more time, to obtain as much information about the human as possible.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the ping that alerted her to an incoming communication. She slid into the pilot's seat, disengaging the VI autopilot, and activated the channel.

"This is the _Sileya_," she announced. "Captain Nisaria speaking."

"_Julisa_," a familiar voice answered her. "_Been a long time…_"

The former commando still kept in touch with the women she had trained and fought with. Though many of them had felt betrayed when Julisa resigned to pursue her romance with Lethia, there were a few that had shown some understanding. One of them was promoted a few years later to the position of Spectre. They hadn't spoken in a century, but the captain recognized her voice immediately.

"Telinia! It has indeed. Is there something I can do for you?"

"_Actually, I am reaching out to do something for _you._ I do not have much time, so I will get straight to the point._"

Julisa's brows rose. She was actually quite flattered that her friend would take the time to reach out to her, and was curious what could be so important. After all, a Spectre had better things to do with her time than worry about the welfare of a commando-turned-smuggler.

"You have my attention."

"_I am looking into certain matters on behalf of the Council, and was tracking a group of batarian pirates, who were accumulating weapons and armor in numbers that suggested they were outfitting an army. While I was hunting down their various suppliers, the name of your ship came up."_

"The _Sileya_?"

"_Indeed. I was planning to track your ship down, until my search for information on your crew turned up your name. I was not aware you had taken up smuggling. You smuggled crates full of refined eezo and portable shield pylons to a small docking facility not long ago. When I arrived there, the place was severely damaged. Your work?_"

"They tried to double-cross us," Julisa shook her head. "And I had no idea what was in the crates. We do not ask about the cargo when the client requests anonymity."

"_Based on the evidence I have been collecting, I believe that these pirates and smugglers have been working for Cerberus. They are operating through shell companies and intermediaries, but the weapons and equipment are all being routed to facilities that are suspected Cerberus fronts._"

"What are you getting at? The council suspects us of collaborating with terrorists?"

"_No. The Council has not been informed of your involvement. I know you well enough to know you would never intentionally assist a human extremist group. I wanted to warn you that Cerberus is cleaning house. They are gearing up for something big, and everyone who has ever dealt with them, directly or indirectly, is either being drafted into the army they have been assembling, or is being eliminated._"

"You mean Cerberus is going to send someone to deal with me and my crew," Julisa's expression hardened.

"_You need to be ready for them. I have crossed paths with a few of their operatives. Their technology has taken a startling leap forward. Shields, weapons, armor, training… all top of the line. Whatever they are about to do, they have put all of their resources into it._"

"I appreciate the warning. Take care of yourself," Julisa said softly. "When you settle this business with Cerberus, we should meet somewhere. I would love to see you again."

"_Same here. We will definitely meet when I have a chance. And Julisa…,_" there was a pause. "_I was sorry to hear about Lethia. Had I known about it at the time, I would have been there for the memorial service._"

Julisa bowed her head, feeling her heart contract painfully. When she spoke, her voice was heavy with sorrow.

"Thanks Telinia… For everything."

"_Take care_."

In the silence after the transmission ended, Julisa pondered what she had just been told. Cerberus was not a group to be taken lightly, and if they were gunning for the _Sileya_ and her crew, she would have to be ready. Unfortunately, with the exception of Prathus, she had a crew full of civilians. She wasn't sure that they would stand much of a chance in a real firefight. Their brief skirmish with the batarians had ended well, but if Cerberus was as well-trained and armed as Telinia said, she wasn't so optimistic about their chances. She would have to give some serious thought to what she should tell her people. Perhaps when the current job was finished, she would disband the crew and tell them to disappear…


	7. Chapter 7: Mistakes

**Author's Note: I continue to be a bit manic in writing this story, which I think is good since I'm currently getting a lot done. When the convention of muses in my workroom moves on to someone else, I hope the rate at which I put new chapters up won't drop too badly. Thank you all for your comments and your support. It keeps me motivated.**

* * *

.

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Seven: Mistakes

.

**Above Terra Nova, Now…**

Selura ran for the storage locker near the cargo bay doors, as Neela had instructed. She found a number of pistols inside, as well as a few sets of environmental gear and some other equipment. The protective suits were left behind for the moment; Neela said they would need two of the guns from the compartment and all of the thermal clips for her plan to work. She cradled the weapons and ammunition in one arm and closed the locker – she didn't want the outfits inside to be damaged by a stray bullet – and then hurried back to the quarian.

Neela had activated her omni-tool and was busily working on it. Selura was about to ask what she was doing when a large section of the cargo bay wall suddenly swung outward, revealing the ship's cargo drone. The loader floated out of its niche and immediately rose to the ceiling, drifting toward the back of the chamber.

The puncture in the cargo bay's wall from the earlier attack by the fighter drone was growing larger by the second. The machine was systematically demolishing the wall around the breach, working to create an entryway spacious enough for its bulk. Neela and Selura took cover behind the closer of the two prototype fighters. Under the direction of the quarian, the cargo drone settled above the hole, and it waited there for further input.

"I already see where this is going," Selura whispered, "and it is _brilliant_."

"Thank you."

"But what are the pistols for? The plan is to crush the drone with the cargo loader, correct?"

"No," Neela shook her head. "I'll certainly try. But I'm guessing that the enemy fighters are heavily armored. The cargo drone can exert a lot of pressure, but I don't think it'll be enough to do any real damage."

"Then what is your plan? I thought you intended to squish the thing like a berry."

"I'll use the loader to grab the drone and keep it in place. If I can, I'll keep its eye off of us. Your job is to keep shooting it with those pistols until it stops moving or you run out of thermal clips."

"Me?"

"I have to control the drone," Neela turned to look at her. "I don't see anyone else here to do it."

"Right. Of course," Selura fell silent. She was a scientist, not a soldier. She turned the weapon over in her hand, examining it closely. She'd never held a pistol in her life. Finally, she cleared her throat. "Uh… how do you reload it?"

"_Please_ tell me that was a joke," Neela did not sound at all amused.

"I wish I could say it was," Selura sighed. "I have been working in a laboratory for the last year, remember? I have never fired a pistol in my life."

"Keelah," Neela's head bowed, and she sighed in resignation. "I was hoping you could use them both simultaneously… But now I think it best if you stick to just one at a time. Give one to me. I'll show you how to reload."

Selura paid close attention while the quarian gave her a crash course in firing and reloading the pistols. Their time was limited, so she knew it was important that she absorb the information quickly. Even so, she found herself wondering why Neela had developed the skill that she was now teaching. She didn't think that starship pilots needed to be trained to use a sidearm. But the quarian clearly knew what she was doing, and the young scientist was glad to see that the thermal clips were easy to fit into the pistols. She imagined that a skilled soldier could eject a thermal clip from this particular model and slap in a new one in about a second.

"Get ready," Neela warned, handing the second pistol back to her.

Both of them watched as the huge spherical form of the enemy fighter started to squeeze its way through the gap in the wall, apparently unaware of the cargo drone that lurked above it. Once it was halfway through, Neela activated the loader, and the massive floating clamp descended upon the oculus from above. Its arms closed in on the side of it, trapping it firmly.

Selura started firing immediately. She could see small flashes – sparks perhaps – where the bullets were striking the carapace of the fighter and ricocheting off of its armored plating, but the majority of her shots were missing. The oculus was moving around, trying to free itself of the vice-like grip of the cargo drone. Occasionally it unleashed a crimson beam, tearing holes in the ceiling or walls of the bay. The wrestling match between the two machines was making precision terribly difficult for the untrained scientist. She imagined that Prathus or Captain Nisaria would have been doing a much better job.

Selura was ejecting her second thermal clip by the time she realized that her shots were doing next to nothing. The pistol was probably perfectly effective against a humanoid figure, even in armor, but the machine's defensive plating was too durable for the pistol to penetrate. She tossed the weapon aside.

"What are you doing?" Neela shrieked. "We have to destroy it!"

Selura didn't answer. There was no time for explanations. She activated her omni-tool and cycled through the few bits of combat software installed on the device. Unfortunately, she had never imagined being attacked by synthetics, so she didn't have any EMP Overload functions installed. She had to make do with the programs at her disposal. She brought up the incendiary-dispersion routine and raised her arm, initiating the attack sequence with a quick press of her thumb against the holographic trigger.

An orange trail streaked outward from her hand, curving up and striking the struggling oculus from below. It exploded in a fiery burst, and glowing droplets of smoldering thermite clung to the machine's armor. Selura glanced at her omni-tool, watching the indicator that served as a countdown to the completion of minifacturing for the next incendiary drone. She knew that her omni didn't have the power to construct and fire the incendiary bursts for long, but she hoped that after a dozen or so, she would have done enough damage to disable it.

Neela kept her attention on controlling the cargo loader, ordering it to change direction frequently, pulling and tugging and turning with the oculus in its grasp, preventing the thing from getting either of them in its sights. Selura continued to pelt the target with incendiary blasts every time she was able to do so. It wasn't long before the exterior plating of the Reaper drone was glowing with the heat of the accumulated attacks.

"Shoot it! Shoot at the armor! The heat may have softened it!"

Selura nodded in response to Neela's suggestion. She readied the second pistol and ran toward the struggling machines, firing one more incendiary burst at the underside of the oculus as she approached. While she would have expected to be terrified, in the excitement of the moment, she felt no fear… only exhilaration at the prospect of destroying their enemy.

Once she was almost directly beneath it, she started firing at the glowing underbelly of their synthetic foe. From her closer vantage, she could see holes in the plating where it was melted away entirely. She wasn't accurate enough with the pistol to hit the gaps intentionally, but she hoped that the hail of gunfire might manage to score a few lucky shots.

Her incendiary assault had caused much more damage than she realized. The bullets from the simple Predator pistol sheared right through the superheated plating, penetrating deep into the heart of the machine. She fired the pistol until the thermal clip was at capacity, ejected it, snapped in a new clip and resumed her onslaught. So intent was she on destroying her foe that she didn't even hear the warning Neela shouted at her.

The oculus suddenly exploded, sending pieces of debris hurtling in all directions. The force of the detonation also destroyed the cargo drone, scattering its remains across the bay. A massive chunk of twisted metal hurtled directly toward Selura, who was standing below the two machines. Her reflexes were sharp enough that she was able to turn, intending to dive out of the way, but she never got to complete the dive. The hunk of wreckage came down upon her right shoulder just as she was starting to leap, taking her off her feet and driving her into the deck. Pain exploded through her entire torso and lower back. By contrast, her right arm instantly went numb.

Her mind barely had enough time to register the two conflicting sensations; the pain was too intense. Darkness quickly descended upon her.

* * *

**Ilos, Three weeks earlier…**

Selura, Illitha and Prathus stood together in the cargo bay, waiting for the ship's internal pressure to equalize with the atmosphere outside. Selura cradled her datapad against her chest, fidgeting in anticipation of seeing the Ilos landscape. It was a landmark moment for the young asari scientist. The planet she was about to see was something new and alien… her first taste of travel outside of asari-controlled territory.

She knew very little about Ilos. The data her company had given her warned that all information regarding the planet was classified by the Council and should not be discussed with anyone. The only details provided for her aside from that warning were the relevant facts regarding her company's facility on site. The installation was tasked with the study of Prothean ruins and artifacts, with a focus specifically on Prothean technology.

She understood why the council would restrict as much information about the planet as possible. If rumors of relatively undisturbed Prothean ruins became public knowledge, the planet would see an influx of activity. Every researcher, businessman and pirate within a thousand light-years that was looking for a quick profit would rush to claim whatever they could from the planet. The fact that she had been given clearance to visit the site at all was a great honor.

When the bay doors opened, she was greeted by the sight of docking platforms and surrounding structures that were unmistakably asari in design. They were made of bronze steel-polymer blends and had rounded edges, vaulting decorative arches, and floor-to-ceiling windows, just like the buildings on Lusia and Illium. She was intensely disappointed. Her imagination had been filled for days with images of ancient stone ruins, perhaps with bits of Prothean artwork or sculpture nearby. She sighed softly.

"Not exactly what I was expecting," Prathus echoed her thoughts.

"Nor I," Selura murmured.

The three of them descended the ramp to the platform. The docking area and the main facility were perched atop a cliff face, overlooking the landscape below. The instant Selura caught sight of the view, her disappointment evaporated, and she ran to the railing to get a better look. Spread out below her were crumbling buildings of stone, overgrown with vines and moss, surrounded by a verdant carpet of green flora. She grinned excitedly. The vista was much closer to what she had imagined.

"Beautiful, is it not?" a rich female voice called to her. "Prothean ruins, undisturbed since before the Rachni Wars… more or less."

Selura turned toward the sound of the voice, and saw a small retinue approaching. The group was composed of five asari, four of which were dressed in gray and blue uniforms identical to those of the guards employed by her company on Illium. Each of the guards was holding a rifle in her hands. The only standout from the group was the woman leading the way, who wore a pair of white slacks and a bright red shirt, with a white lab coat over it. She smiled pleasantly as she approached, walking directly up to Selura.

"I recognize you from the personnel file logistics sent over. However, protocol must still be followed. Can I see your authorization permit?" she held out her hand expectantly.

"Hello," Selura greeted the woman as she activated her datapad. She scrolled through the files for a moment, quickly retrieving the requested information, which she then handed over. The other asari examined the display briefly before handing it back.

"Welcome to Site T-133. Around here, we refer to it as 'Destiny Facility'." The asari's gaze wandered to each of them in turn before settling on Selura. "I am Vulera Aesiri, head researcher."

"It is an honor to meet you," Selura smiled and bowed her head in greeting. "I am Selura Leneur. This is Prathus Ganarius, the executive officer of the _Sileya_," she gestured to the turian, who shook the woman's hand. "And Illitha T'Zari, chief engineer," she gestured to the girl in question, who bowed slightly in greeting. "We are here to steal one of your discoveries," Selura joked.

Several of the guards raised their weapons. Selura felt her heart skip a beat.

"Are you insane?" Prathus shouted, quickly raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. "She's joking! She has a terrible sense of humor! Don't shoot!"

Illitha backed up several steps, turning as though she was going to run for the ship. It was Vulera that diffused the situation, putting her hands on the arms of the guards closest to her and calling for her people to stand down. With some reluctance, the guards lowered their rifles.

"I would avoid any more jokes like that," Vulera warned. "I apologize for the scare, but we take security seriously. It is a pleasure to meet you all," her smile was warm, if a little strained. "I hope you will take the opportunity to enjoy the view while you are here. Unfortunately, I can only allow company employees into the main facility. I hope you will forgive the discourtesy," her eyes lingered upon Prathus and Illitha.

The turian merely nodded, slowly lowering his arms. Behind him, Illitha slumped to the ground, putting her hand to her chest. Prathus whirled at the sound and hurried to her side, crouching and asking after her well-being.

"It was only a joke," Selura said weakly. She felt awful. The joke had just slipped out, and if it had prompted the guards to shoot all three of them, it would have been her fault. "I do not always think before I speak…"

"Miss Leneur-"

"Please, call me Selura," the young scientist cut in.

"Selura," the researcher amended. "Please make an effort to choose your statements more carefully while you are here."

"I will. I am sorry," Selura hung her head.

"Now if you would follow me into the research wing, I will brief you on the contents of the cargo containers you will be transporting. Of course you understand that your non-disclosure agreement covers everything you see or hear in this facility?"

"Of course," Selura smiled sheepishly and fell into step with the elder asari, as did one of the four guards in her detail. She kept glancing over her shoulder at the guard, who was glaring at her. Beyond the glowering asari, she saw Prathus doing pretty much the same. The remaining guards lingered on the docking platform, watching over the _Sileya_ and its crew intently.

"Destiny Facility was constructed almost three years ago, after the Alliance uncovered the location of the Mu Relay and found the ruins here. There were no records of this settlement in any Prothean data cache the council races ever discovered, though it was referenced in certain historical texts and artwork. The Citadel Council placed a high priority on recovering any information and technology that could be obtained from this site."

While Vulera explained the background of the facility, the three of them entered the largest building adjoining the docking area. They moved down a long corridor, past dozens of doors that led into decontamination airlocks. Selura had seen similar sections in the laboratory complex where she worked on Illium. Many projects used clean rooms for research purposes.

"There is an extensive series of catacombs beneath the surface, with Prothean technology spread throughout. We have found databanks, VI interfaces, and dozens of other artifacts. Most were damaged, and the data was degraded beyond recovery, but it has still been humbling to study these discoveries. However, we are most excited by the artifact we are sending to the Thessian facility."

"The one I am responsible for delivering?"

"Yes," Vulera said softly.

They stopped at a heavy metal door, and Vulera pressed her hand against a scanning grid. Selura had seen similar bio-locks in the facility on Illium. It analyzed the DNA of an individual and compared it to a company database to confirm identity and level of clearance. There were a series of loud clicks as the locks disengaged, and then a drawn-out hiss when the airtight seal was broken and the portal opened.

Beyond the threshold was an observation deck with a transparent floor and walls. Selura stepped out onto the clear polymer surface, looking down through the floor in wonder. Below her was a deep pit, obviously constructed by intelligent life rather than natural erosion. The walls were made of stone, and the hole was perfectly round. Lights and scaffolding lined the surface, and she could see cylindrical objects protruding from the stone at regular intervals.

"This is the entrance to the catacombs?" Selura crouched, just to get a slightly closer look at the vista below.

"One of many," Vulera nodded. "The catacombs seem to have been designed to hide the Protheans from a great danger. You see the cylinders protruding from the walls?"

"Yes."

"We thought at first that they were some form of sarcophagi. When we broke a few open, we found the bodies of Protheans inside."

"You said 'we thought at first.' Something happened to change your mind?"

"We found one that was empty, deep in the tunnels below. After carefully extracting it and bringing it up to our laboratories for study, we discovered scanners and temperature monitors within. We have come to believe that these pods are some sort of cryogenic freezers. The Protheans may have intended to wake after the danger had passed so they could return to ruling the galaxy."

Selura stared down through the floor in silence, trying to imagine the desperation that would drive a race to such a plan. She could think of a half-dozen ways the scheme could have unraveled. The bodies discovered in the pods were a clear sign that the outcome wasn't what the Protheans hoped.

"You have heard the rumors of the Reapers?" Vulera asked.

"Everyone has. I am not sure if I believe them."

"I believe that the Protheans did. It is my hypothesis that the Protheans sought to put their people in stasis here because they believed the Reapers were going to wipe them out. The scarcity of information about their presence here on Ilos might have been a way to protect their plan from discovery. But some sort of failure caused the pods to lose power."

"A reasonable guess," Selura nodded.

"If the rumors about the Reapers are true, this technology could be the key to our survival. If we could learn the principles behind these stasis pods and replicate them, we could learn from the mistakes the Protheans made and put an emergency plan into action. We could put some of our greatest artists, philosophers, commandos and leaders into stasis. We could work up a more reliable power source and redundancy features, and could create a secret facility that no one outside of the project would be told about."

Selura said nothing. She wasn't convinced that the Reapers were real, and while the idea the elder asari was outlining made sense, she didn't really think it would be necessary. The idea that an army of synthetics would be able to wipe out all intelligent life was almost laughable. Machines could always be broken.

"We are hoping that a better-equipped facility might be able to learn how the stasis pod works. We do not have the appropriate specialists here to carry out the research."

"Even if the Reapers are not real, I can see the potential of the technology," Selura rose to her feet. "It could be used to put the terminally ill in stasis while cures are developed. And it would be a dramatic upgrade to emergency medical technology for military operations, when trauma centers are not close at hand."

"Exactly," Vulera's eyes were alight with excitement. Her passion for the discovery and its implications was obvious.

"I look forward to seeing what the experts on Thessia can do with it." Selura was grinning at the other asari's enthusiasm.

"We will have it loaded into a cargo container and brought out to your vessel soon. I need to get down to the lab and oversee the preparations," she gestured to the guard that had been accompanying them. "Jaila will escort you back to the docking area."

"Thank you for letting me see a little of your work here. I have been extremely eager to see some of our company's other facilities and hoped to learn a bit more about our projects. This has been everything I anticipated."

"You are welcome. Just avoid any further jokes about piracy or theft, yes?" Vulera's smile was playful, her tone light.

Selura glanced at the guard, who was still glaring at her, and she nodded. "I will. Believe me."

The guard escorted Selura from the room, always keeping just a step or two behind her. The young scientist was nervous, but more embarrassed than anything. She was certain that when she returned to the _Sileya_, Prathus was going to strangle her. And she knew she owed a huge apology to Illitha. The timid engineer had seemed on the verge of passing out.

When she emerged from the facility into the sunlight and fresh air, she saw Prathus leaning against the railing, looking down on the ruins below. Illitha was nowhere to be found, but Neela was standing at the foot of the _Sileya's_ docking ramp. She headed straight for Prathus, intending to apologize.

Prathus never even gave her the chance to open her mouth. He turned his head when she approached and fixed her with a stern glare.

"I know you're a guest on the ship, but if you _ever_ put us in a situation like that again, the guards won't have a chance to shoot you. I'll do it myself."

Selura's shoulders slumped and she nodded slowly.

"I'm glad we're clear," the turian turned his gaze toward the horizon.

"I am truly sorry," Selura said softly, heading for the ship. "Is Illitha in the cargo bay?"

"Stay away from her," Prathus growled. "She was pretty upset. She went to find Aida. Leave her alone."

Selura sighed and nodded. Her flippant comments had finally managed to land her in hot water. She found herself looking at Neela anxiously as she approached the cargo bay's ramp, wishing that she could see through the visor of the quarian's helmet well enough to read her expression. Without any visual cues as to what the pilot might have been thinking, Selura decided it was best not to say anything at all as she passed by.

"Did everything go pretty much the way you planned?" Neela murmured as she passed. "Illitha may never forgive you."

"I am sorry," Selura frowned. "It just came out."

"No need to apologize to _me_. It wasn't me that you almost got killed."

Selura was miserable. She managed to offend people from time to time with her sense of humor, but she was starting to think that one poorly-chosen comment had just turned her into a pariah on the ship. She was not looking forward to hearing what the captain would have to say on the matter.

"If anyone needs me, I will be… someplace quiet and out of the way."

"You don't get off that easy," Neela's voice brought her up short. "You need to be here to take possession of your cargo. I'm sure they'll want you to be present. To provide your employee ID number or something…"

Selura rubbed her eyes. Neela was right, of course. She sat down against the wall, waiting patiently for the Prothean stasis pod to be brought aboard. The first five days of the voyage had been wonderful. She hoped that her mistake didn't mean the remaining twenty-five or so would be awkward and uncomfortable.

"Don't worry too much," Neela said softly. "Prathus might threaten to shoot you-"

"He did," Selura sighed.

"Ah… Well, then that's behind you. The captain will almost certainly want to have a few words with you. And Aida and Illitha might be distant for a few days, but they won't stay mad for long."

"What about you?" Selura looked up at her uncertainly.

"I've already come to the conclusion that you'll say something dumb from time to time," Neela shrugged. "As long as you don't _actually_ get anyone shot, I can live with your witticisms."

A hint of a smile settled over Selura's lips. At least one member of the crew wouldn't be treating her like an outcast. She could live with a little ostracism from the rest as long as she had Neela to talk to. Still, she thought she might make herself scarce for a few days, just to give everyone time to cool off.

* * *

**Above Terra Nova, Now…**

When Aida dove through the hole in the door leading out of upper engineering, her gaze almost immediately fell upon the hatch to the escape shuttle. However, she could never have lived with herself if she abandoned her friends, so she didn't even briefly consider using it. Instead, she pressed her back to the wall of the corridor, waiting anxiously to see if the massive fighter drone was going to follow her, or if it would concentrate on Neela. She owed the quarian her life, so she hoped that the machine would choose her.

She was unsure how much time passed while she remained in the corridor, waiting. It seemed like an eternity. When there were no signs of pursuit or attack for what she felt was an adequate amount of time, she hesitantly left her position in the corridor and crept to the upper engineering doors, peering through the gap Neela had carved out of them. She saw no sign of the fighter drone, but she could see a massive hole torn in the wall where the access to the maintenance area had been. The breach was easily large enough for the drone to fit through. She slipped through the door into upper engineering, and peered through the sundered wall to try to get some idea what was going on.

Her eyes widened. Through the hole, she could see the drone thrashing around, and occasionally caught a glimpse of what she thought was the cargo loader holding onto it. Orange light flared repeatedly from beneath the oculus, and Aida could only conclude that Neela had come up with a plan to deal with the Reaper machine. If she'd been in possession of a weapon, Aida would have happily joined the attack. Since she was unarmed, however, she hoped that their plan would work without her. She imagined that Selura and Illitha were both down there with Neela, so that the quarian wouldn't have to fight alone. The thought was comforting.

She glanced around uncertainly, trying to decide how she could best help the remaining crew. The fighter drones were dangerous, and she was afraid that someone in the cargo bay might be injured during the fight. She was the ship's medic, and they might need her expertise if her fears proved valid.

_I need to get to the infirmary_, she told herself firmly. She needed to stock up on all the medical supplies and medigel she could carry, and then she would return to the cargo bay, perhaps with the captain and Prathus in tow. She knew that the elder asari would never have abandoned the ship without making certain the crew had evacuated first, and was sure the same held true for the turian.

Now that she had resolved on a course of action, Aida found herself thinking with a clarity that surprised her. In their previous brushes with danger, she'd repeatedly found herself at a loss when the severity of the situation increased. The same had been true this time, until that moment. Suddenly she felt calm and collected.

She headed for the access ladder that led down to main engineering, because she knew that from there, she could climb through the hole into the maintenance area where she and Neela had first come under fire by the oculus. The lack of gravity made it a simple matter to walk up the wall to the massive rent in the ceiling, and to climb through into the area beyond. From there she quickly ascended the ladder and followed the crawlspace to the hallway where she had been when the ship first lost power.

She slipped out into the corridor and hurried to the opposite end, where another maintenance hatch awaited that would take her to the upper deck of the ship. She'd seen Neela detach several of these access panels, and she quickly set to work with her omni-tool, copying the procedure as she remembered it. When the panel came free in her hands, she smiled to herself, pleased with the simple accomplishment.

It wasn't long at all before she was pulling another panel free of its moorings and scrambling out into the corridor on the upper deck. Once there, however, she stopped. She hadn't been on the upper deck since before the _Sileya_ came under attack, and she didn't want to walk into another enemy fighter or some other hazard.

She crept along through the corridor slowly, wary for any signs of an ambush. The door to the crew quarters was the first one she reached, and she found that it had been pried open about halfway. There was no light beyond, so she stepped up to the gap between the doors slowly, peering into the darkness. She didn't see any signs of movement or life, so she continued on down the hallway, quickly coming to the mess hall. From there, she would be able to access the infirmary.

The doors leading into the dining area had been shredded near their center, and Aida's pace slowed as she approached the breach. She crouched low and peered through the hole apprehensively. There was no sign of movement in the room beyond, but there was a tremendous amount of debris floating in the air. The blue emergency lights glinted off of the edges of twisted metal and polymer fragments, and shone upon the jagged boundaries of a huge tear that ran the length of the ceiling, providing an unobstructed view of space beyond.

Climbing through the hole, Aida started to cross the debris-strewn chamber, heading for the infirmary. However, something caught her eye as she swatted hunks of metal out of her path. At the far end of the mess hall, a shape was floating motionless in the corner near the ceiling. It stood out to her gaze because it was the only thing floating in the room that wasn't twisted and black. She took a few steps closer, and realized with shock that it was a person!

"Captain!" she shouted, stumbling as quickly as she could toward the inert form.

She grabbed hold of one of the elder asari's wrists and dragged her down toward the floor, activating her omni-tool's medical scanner. She ran the device along the length of the captain's body, and then anxiously waited for the holographic display that would highlight the results of the diagnostic. When the miniature representation of her patient's skeletal structure and internal organs came up, she felt tears sting her eyes. The captain was alive, but only barely. She quickly ran down the list of injuries, chewing on her lip as she took stock of the damage.

_Respiration shallow and uneven, pulse weak, blood pressure falling… Six broken ribs, fractured right femur, dislocated right shoulder, several herniated discs in her spine, several lacerated internal organs, some internal bleeding, severe concussion…_

Aida felt tears slide down her cheeks, and ground her teeth in helpless frustration. The entire ship was exposed to vacuum conditions. The captain required treatment as soon as possible, but Aida couldn't do anything for her unless she could get her to an area that still had an atmosphere so that she could get her out of the environmental gear. The minute she pried open the infirmary doors, the air in the room would be lost, so she wouldn't be able to treat her there. She sobbed, trying to figure out how she could save the captain's life.

_Neela's quarters!_

The idea came to her suddenly, and she closed her eyes and thanked the Goddess for the inspiration. After taking a moment to make certain the captain wouldn't drift out into space while she was occupied, Aida ran to the infirmary doors, grabbing a twisted piece of metal pipe from among the floating debris on the way. Using the scrap metal, she levered the doors apart, quickly squeezing through to the other side as the atmosphere trapped within vented into space.

Hastily, she dumped the contents of boxes and bins, stuffing anything she thought might be useful into one large plastic case. She made sure to grab all of the medigel, painkillers, artificial blood packets, anti-viral meds and antibiotics they had, and then took every piece of equipment suitable for emergency medical treatment and every roll of sterile bandages she could find. Once she filled the case to the top, she snapped it closed and dragged it out into the mess hall.

"Stay with me, Captain," she said softly, slipping an arm beneath the woman's uninjured arm and across her chest. "The path from here to the cargo bay is clear. Once I get you to Neela's quarters, I'll do what I can to stabilize you. Stay with me."

She headed for the doors as quickly as she could, making sure to hold the captain close in a protective embrace. She was _not_ going to lose Julisa. Not today. Not if she had anything to say about it.

* * *

**Ilos, Three weeks earlier…**

"What was she thinking?" Aida demanded, her hands clenched into fists. "I swear I am going to find her and shake her until I rattle some sense into her head…"

Illitha had been shaking when she walked into the crew quarters, and Aida was so concerned by the pallor of her friend's flesh that she'd hurried to the engineer's side, guiding her to the nearest seat. Once the girl was seated, the story had come pouring out. Their guest had made a stupid joke and nearly prompted the docking security forces to gun them all down. Aida was stunned at first. She thought that Selura was a bit odd, but likeable enough. After her initial surprise passed, however, she couldn't feel anything but anger toward the scientist. She rose from her seat and stalked toward the door, with every intention of finding their guest and doing… something. She wasn't sure what, but she would make sure it was something that would remind the girl that the lives of her friends were too important to be risked on stupid comments.

"Aida, stop," Illitha's protest brought her to a halt.

"Why? She might have meant her statement as a joke, but-"

"I-It _was_ a joke," Illitha assured her. She bowed her head, wringing her hands anxiously. "I just… I never meant… I-"

"How can you even think of defending her?" Aida demanded. She was furious, and she couldn't understand why the engineer wasn't just as incensed.

"I did not come to you so that you could defend me," Illitha said softly. "I just… For just an instant, I thought I was going to die. When the guards lowered their weapons I-I just wanted to… to be close to my best friend."

Aida watched the young engineer as she sat on the sofa, twisting the fabric at the bottom hem of her shirt into a ball, her head bowed. All at once, her anger evaporated, and she smiled fondly at her friend, crossing the room and sitting down beside her on the sofa. She slipped an arm around Illitha, and her smile deepened when the girl leaned into her, turning slightly and laying her head against Aida's shoulder.

"You are not mad at her _at all_?" Aida asked softly.

"Maybe a little," Illitha murmured. "But I am sure the captain will have a few things to say to her when she finds out what happened."

"Good point," Aida smiled. "I cannot imagine the captain will be pleased. Or Prathus, for that matter."

"So no lecturing her, okay? I think lectures from two people will be enough."

Aida sighed softly. She really had a few things that she felt needed to be said to the foolish young scientist, but she supposed that for Illitha's sake, she could refrain.

"You are too sweet," Aida shook her head. "You should let me yell at her. But I promise not to, since you asked."

"It was just a mistake. I have thoughtlessly said things that I wished I could take back. I imagine you have too."

"Of course," Aida nodded. "But I cannot promise not to be a little… distant to her."

Illitha said nothing, but she drew her legs up onto the sofa and turned into Aida's embrace a little more fully, slipping an arm across her midsection to give her a gentle squeeze. Aida took the small hug for a simple gesture of gratitude, and she closed her eyes, resting her cheek against her friend's scalp crests.

"Wait," she said suddenly. "If you are up here, who is going to be loading the cargo?"

"I called Neela down to the bay to do it."

"You should have stayed to do your job. You could have 'accidentally' dropped a container on Selura's foot," Aida joked.

"If I wanted to injure her, I would have called _you_ down to operate the drone. Then she would _definitely_ have been squashed."

"Hey!"

Aida playfully shoved her friend away, drawing laughter from the engineer, who fell over onto her side on the cushions. Aida punched her lightly in the thigh, prompting the other asari to scramble for the far end of the sofa. Unwilling to let her escape so easily, Aida grabbed her ankle and pulled her back.

A wrestling match ensued, during which she wedged herself between Illitha and the back of the sofa, while her friend tried to keep her place. It wasn't the first time they'd engaged in this particular contest, and it ended this time as it had all of the previous ones, with Aida finally shoving the smaller asari unceremoniously off of the sofa and onto the floor. She grinned victoriously, and then grabbed Illitha's plush Krogan and threw it at her. The stuffed animal bounced off of the girl's head and landed on the floor.

"Growf!" Illitha picked up the stuffed toy and hugged it to her chest protectively. "No using my childhood friend as ammunition!"

"Who names a stuffed krogan 'Growf' anyway?"

"I was a child! I think it is a cute name."

Aida watched her friend pout for a moment, and then finally nodded. "I guess you could have picked something worse."

"Thank you," Illitha's tone was one of sincere appreciation, and Aida knew that she wasn't being thanked for the comment about the toy's name.

"Feel a little better now?" she smiled at her friend.

"Much," Illitha nodded.

"Wish I could say I did," Aida frowned.

"I know what will make you feel better…"

Illitha activated her omni-tool and dimmed the lights in the room, after which the vid screen flashed to life. Aida watched as the selection bar scrolled down past dozens of romance and action vids, finally settling on 'Blasto: The Jellyfish Stings'. She had to grin at her friend's selection. They both had a great fondness for the Blasto movies.

"I will even refrain from picking apart the misrepresented tech," Illitha grinned. "Can I sit with you? Or will I end up on the floor again?"

Aida patted the seat beside herself. When Illitha sat down, she pulled her friend close and gave her an affectionate squeeze.

"What would I do without you, Lith?"

"Stare at the captain's posterior a lot more?"

Aida shoved her friend off of the couch amidst a gale of giggling.

* * *

**Rapidly Approaching the Surface of Terra Nova, Now…**

Prathus stared at the scanner display that showed the surface of Terra Nova rushing up to meet his shuttle, glaring at the warnings that were flashing across the screen. Apparently the escape pod had suffered some minor damage, because the screen repeatedly displayed the words 'Auto-landing sequence offline,' and 'Rate of descent exceeds safety parameters.' Strapped into the harness, he could do nothing but wait for the inevitable impact. To give outlet to his frustration, the turian kicked the console.

The only consolation he had was that the projected course of the shuttle's descent led directly to a sizeable lake. The fact that the shuttle wasn't going to smash into the ground at high speeds was a small piece of favorable news, even if the water wasn't much better. The flip side of the coin, however, was that the shuttle was going to land in _water_. Prathus didn't know how to swim. Not many turians did.

"Emergency braking thrusters firing," a synthesized voice announced.

"Thank the spirits," Prathus growled.

The was an audible roar as the propulsion system engaged to slow the rate of the pod's descent, and Prathus was jerked forward in his harness by the sudden decrease in velocity. Seeing on the display that impact with the water was imminent, he closed his eyes and braced himself. Even with the braking thrusters engaged, the pod was still coming in at high speed.

When the shuttle impacted with the surface of the water, the sudden stop jarred every bone in the turian's body. His head snapped forward so violently that it sent a shooting pain through his neck and down his back, and for a moment he was stunned by the force of the journey's end. When he came to his senses, his eyes returned immediately to the holographic display to see what was going on outside. His heart sank.

The pod was sinking to the bottom of the lake. Worse, the display was flashing the words 'Hull breached. Foreign material detected.' No sooner did he finish reading the words than water started trickling into the cabin through a crack near the ceiling. Prathus fumbled with the release on the safety harness with one hand, the other rubbing his aching neck. When the restraints snapped free, he dropped from his seat to the opposite wall, which was oriented downward.

Prathus had been terrified when he thought he was going to die aboard the _Sileya_ in space. That panic was now returning in full force. Dying submerged in a lake on some human world was just as bad. In fact, he was starting to realize that he just didn't want to die. The location didn't seem to make much difference in the vehemence with which he objected to death.

"I didn't even grab my helmet," he muttered.

When the _Sileya _came under attack, the captain had ordered him to the cargo bay to help prep the prototype fighters for use. He hadn't taken the time to grab his helmet from the crew quarters. If he had it, he could have engaged the environmental seals and perhaps walked to shore. Now he didn't have that option. In fact, he didn't know if he had _any _options. The water in the pod was already ankle-deep, and before long the shuttle would fill entirely and he would drown. If he opened the hatch and tried to swim to shore, there was a strong likelihood that the same fate would befall him…

"Think," he told himself. "There has to be a way out."

Looking around frantically, he spotted a locker in one of the walls. He tore it open, quickly rummaging through the contents. There were several asari environmental suits, a few pistols, a first aid kit, and some field rations, but no turian protective gear. He took one of the pistols and the thermal clips and secured them to his armor, and grabbed the first aid kit as well. On impulse, he grabbed the box of field rations and flipped it open. There was a store of dextro-based rations among the other varieties inside. It was the first bit of luck he'd had. Without some dextro-based food, he would have had to pray that there was a store somewhere on the planet that stocked food he could eat, and that a Reaper hadn't stepped on the store in question.

However, the issue of edible food was secondary. First he had to figure out how to avoid drowning. It wasn't an easy dilemma to solve. He searched the escape pod thoroughly for an answer, but he found nothing. In fact, the water was almost up to his knees before he gave up his search and contemplated admitting defeat. He didn't see any option but to simply open the hatch and try to swim to the surface. It was a terrifying idea, but there didn't seem to be any other choice. He reached for the hatch…

…and stopped. His eyes were drawn by the padding that covered the seat on the wall that was oriented downward. As the water level rose, the padding was lifting away from the seat, remaining on the liquid's surface.

"I'll be damned," he chuckled. "Perhaps this is my lucky day after all."

He pulled one of the asari environmental suits out of the locker and stuffed his rations and first aid kit inside of it. Then he pulled the cushions off of all the seats and stuffed them into the enviro-suit before he sealed the suit up, snapping the helmet into place to keep all of his supplies safe and dry. With all of the buoyant cushions inside of the suit, he hoped that it would be a simple matter of holding on and holding his breath while the makeshift floatation device carried him to the surface of the lake.

He put his hand on the release lever for the hatch and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly in an attempt to calm his racing heart. He was optimistic about his chances, but opening that hatch to let the water pour in was still a monumental undertaking. He waited, steeling himself for what was to come, and when he felt he was ready, he yanked the release lever.

* * *

**Leaving Ilos, Three weeks earlier…**

Prathus stood in the corridor outside of the mess hall, listening to the muffled voices coming from within. He'd informed the captain immediately after the cargo was loaded about the idiotic comment that their guest had made to the security forces on the dock, and was not surprised when the captain's expression darkened with anger. Aida and Illitha were in the crew lounge, so the captain had ordered the young scientist into the mess hall so that they could 'talk'.

It had been a number of years since the turian last had a weapon pointed at him, and it wasn't an experience he ever particularly enjoyed. In truth, he had been hoping to hear the captain yell at their guest a bit, but the voices in the next room never increased in volume. He shouldn't have been surprised, he supposed. The captain rarely lost her cool.

The door opened, and a very subdued-looking Selura stepped out into the corridor. She met his eyes briefly and then turned away, trudging down the corridor toward the bridge with her head bowed. The captain emerged a moment later, regarding him in silence briefly before gesturing for him to join her in the mess hall. He nodded and followed her into the room.

"I think in the future, she will choose her words with greater care," the captain informed him. "I made it very clear that contract or no, I will not hesitate to maroon her and her company's cargo on the nearest habitable world if she puts my crew at risk again."

"I figured that's how you would feel," Prathus nodded, watching as the asari opened the refrigeration unit and removed some leftover cake from inside. He shook his head slightly. The former commando did love to indulge her sweet tooth from time to time.

"Speaking of risk, there is a matter I wanted to discuss with you."

"Oh?"

Julisa seated herself at the table, so Prathus pulled out the chair opposite and settled into it, rubbing his scarred leg absently once his weight was off of it. He watched her take a bite of her treat, waiting patiently for her to come to the point.

"An old friend of mine passed along a warning," she finally said.

"About the scientist?"

"No," Julisa shook her head. "She is harmless. The warning was actually in regards to our last job. As it turns out, we may have been smuggling tech on behalf of Cerberus."

Prathus's expression hardened. He didn't like humans, and the thought that he had assisted a human supremacist group – knowingly or not – didn't sit well with him. The idea that Cerberus would use batarians as a front for their operation seemed strange, however, and he couldn't help being a little skeptical.

"Cerberus? In league with batarian pirates?"

"I was given the impression that this is a case of multiple intermediaries working without knowledge of their true employer," the captain nodded. "But my friend would not have contacted me if she was not sure. She says that Cerberus is tying up loose ends in their operation. They are eliminating all of the middlemen and couriers so that nothing can lead back to them."

"Meaning…" Prathus trailed off. He was starting to see the picture in greater detail, and was uncomfortable with the conclusions he was drawing.

"I believe Cerberus will eventually try to track us down and deal with us."

"Wonderful," Prathus shook his head. "So what do we do?"

"After this job is complete, I think I may disband the crew and hide my vessel somewhere," Julisa said softly. Prathus, watching her, could tell that she wasn't happy about the idea. "If we fall off their radar for long enough, they may forget about us."

"And if they strike before our current job is finished?"

"It is a possibility," the captain fixed him with an intense gaze. "I want you armed whenever we go ashore from here on out. Our next stop is Noveria, where Cerberus could have some kind of presence, given the anonymity offered by the local government to business interests. And then we will be traveling to a human world…"

"Where Cerberus is sure to have a few agents," Prathus nodded. "A little caution is prudent. Don't worry, captain. I'll make sure to keep a sharp eye on our surroundings from here on out."

"Please do not mention this to the rest of the crew," Julisa glanced toward the door. "I would rather not worry them unless we have good reason. Cerberus cannot possibly know where we are now, so they cannot ambush us. Any confrontation with them would be the result of mere happenstance."

"The schedule you forwarded said that we would be spending several days on Noveria. Shouldn't we cut our stay short to limit the risk that Cerberus will become aware of our presence?"

"It is a part of our contract, so it cannot be helped," the captain shrugged. "That scientist will be spending a few days with her company's outfit on Noveria. They did not say why."

Prathus only grunted in acknowledgement. The involvement of Cerberus in his future wasn't something he particularly relished. However, there was a small part deep inside of him that was eager for the chance to perhaps gun down a couple of humans. He supposed it wasn't very practical to hold a grudge against humankind for as long as he had, but he couldn't help the way he felt. Humans didn't deserve all of the advantages they'd taken from the galactic community. His hand lingered idly upon his crippled leg at the thought. Humans had almost been the death of him. Even after all of the years that had passed since that day, he still wanted to return the favor… with interest.


	8. Chapter 8: Concerns

**Author's Note: I continue to be appreciative of all my readers and reviewers. You guys are keeping my motivation at an all-time high, and I'm working through new chapters at a good pace. So thank you! Here's hoping I can keep it up!**

* * *

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**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Eight: Concerns

.

**Above Terra Nova, Now…**

Neela tried to warn Selura that the oculus was showing signs of severe instability, but the scientist either hadn't heard her, or didn't care. When the Reaper drone exploded, destroying the cargo loader in the process, pieces of the two massive machines rocketed in all directions. Neela watched in horror as one large chunk of wreckage came down on Selura just as the asari turned and started to dive out of the path. The twisted hunk of metal slammed into her shoulder with enough force to drive her brutally into the deck plating.

"No-no-no-no-no," Neela wasn't even aware she was speaking as she rushed across the bay to the fallen scientist. There was an almost unbearable pain in her chest, as though someone was sitting on it, and she found it difficult to breathe.

The asari was floating motionless just above the deck, with the hunk of metal hiding her right arm from view. Neela braced herself against the floor and pushed the piece of debris up and away from the young scientist's inert form, wincing at the pain her knee registered over the exertion. Queasiness assailed her over what was revealed. Selura's arm was bent at an unnatural angle just below the shoulder, and the polymer casing of the environmental suit was crushed to a width that could not possibly have accommodated an undamaged limb.

"Keelah," Neela breathed, feeling the sting of tears in her eyes. "Hold on, Selura. I'll get you to safety."

The quarian lifted the scientist in her arms and went directly toward her quarters, since she knew that was where Illitha had been taken. It seemed that for once, the sterile environment was a benefit to more than just herself. Her room had become the unofficial hospital wing for the crew of the _Sileya_.

She carefully placed Selura in the decontamination airlock of her chamber, and then ran to the supply locker, grabbing both of the environmental suits and the first aid kit from within. With the needed supplies in hand, she hurried back to the decon antechamber and pulled the heavy door closed.

Ordinarily, the quarian found comfort in the length of the cleansing cycle that sterilized her before she entered her room. At that moment, however, she was more than a little tempted to override the cycle and hurry into the safety of her bedchamber, so that she could see to Selura's injury. Only the fear of bringing something in with them that could result in an infection for one of the injured asari stayed her hand.

When the door to the inner chamber snapped open and swung inward, Neela carefully lifted Selura and carried her inside. Illitha was tied down on the bed – a sight that briefly gave the quarian pause – so Neela carried the scientist to her desk, settling her carefully against the surface and holding her there for a moment to be sure she wouldn't float off.

Neela had no medical scanning functions installed on her omni-tool, and she frowned to herself, wishing she had a way to detect just how severe the asari's injuries were. Her omni had dozens of programs that interfaced with her own suit for self-diagnostics and care, but she'd never even imagined she might need to diagnose someone else's injuries one day.

She activated her omni-blade and carefully used it to cut through the protective suit at the asari's shoulder, working to get her arm free of the crushed sleeve so that she could see how bad the damage actually was. She was forced to shear through the material from the shoulder all the way to the wrist, simply because it was impossible to draw her arm through the crimped exterior protective molding. When the outer shell and the underlying fabric came away from the upper arm, Neela felt her stomach lurch.

Selura's arm sported a deep laceration across her bicep at the point of impact, all the way to the bone, which was undoubtedly shattered. Blood was pouring from the wound, and the interior of the sleeve was soaked with it. Neela was certain that if there had been gravity present to add proper weight to the force of the impact, the debris that struck her would have severed the arm entirely. She pressed her hand firmly over the wound, fishing through the medical pack with her free hand. Removing a packet of medigel, she stared at it in frustration for a brief moment.

Ordinarily, she might have balked at the thought of removing her mask in the presence of another living being, but she couldn't let Selura die. Just the thought of it caused a crushing weight to settle over her heart. She released her hold on the medigel packet, allowing it to float idly in place, and she pulled her visor off, casting it aside. After using her teeth to tear the packet open, she squeezed the gel out over the wound, making sure to cover it from one end to the other. After adding a second packet to be certain there was an adequate seal, she stood back, gazing uncertainly at the blood that stained her glove.

_I need to find Aida_, she realized suddenly. _The medigel will keep her from bleeding to death for now, but if that wound isn't treated, she might lose her arm._

Neela's gaze shifted to Illitha, whose torso was cocooned in strips of the heirloom quilt that had once decorated her wall. Selura's condition was serious, but Illitha was in bad shape as well, and hadn't had any medigel applied to her wounds to help combat infection. Neela removed two more packets of the medical bioplasm from the first aid kit, and she hurried to Illitha's side, carefully removing the bandages so that she could replace them with a more efficient form of sealant.

It was a struggle for the quarian to keep her tears in check while she worked. It felt like everyone she cared about was on the verge of death. Once Illitha was taken care of, she would concentrate on finding Aida. She only hoped that the delay wouldn't lead to further complications for either of her patients.

* * *

**Leaving the Refuge System, Three weeks earlier…**

The fingers of the _Sileya's_ pilot danced across the holographic inputs as she guided the ship away from Ilos and set course for the Mass Relay. In less than an hour, they would be in the Hawking Eta cluster, and then on their way toward Noveria. Neela's gaze settled on the distant light of the relay, and she drew her knees up to her chest, heels resting on the edge of the seat.

It had been a little awkward to see their guest so downcast after her mistake briefly put the crew in danger. Neela could tell that the girl was genuinely upset and embarrassed by the whole situation, and she felt for her. She knew very well how a simple mistake could place someone in an extremely uncomfortable position, and that mistakes could have long-lasting consequences.

When the quarian had passed the crew lounge, she'd heard the unmistakable dialogue of a Blasto movie and a good deal of giggling, so she knew that Aida and Illitha were making a concerted effort to put the situation behind them. Prathus, on the other hand, had done nothing but glare at the young scientist while their latest cargo was being loaded onto the ship. She wished that the turian would lighten up a bit on Selura. But then, she supposed if she had been the one in the turian's place with a gun pointed at her, she might have been a bit less forgiving.

The swoosh of the bridge doors interrupted her musings, and uneven footfalls announced her guest's presence immediately.

"Hello, Prathus," Neela greeted the turian.

"Xara."

The turian collapsed gracelessly into the copilot's chair, turning it to face the console. He brought up the holographic display and studied the information on the ship's current heading and systems status. Neela watched him quietly for a moment, trying to decide whether to bring up the situation on the planet's surface or not. For some reason, she just couldn't put Selura's obvious unhappiness out of her mind.

"You were a little hard on Selura," she said softly.

"She almost got us shot," the turian shook his head. "She's lucky all I did was scold her."

"You threatened to shoot her," Neela pointed out.

"Was I carrying a weapon? No. It was just words."

"So was her joke. Maybe words can do more harm than we intend."

Prathus snorted in amusement and turned to look at her, studying her for a moment in silence. Neela fidgeted under his gaze, suddenly uncomfortable with the contemplative look in his eyes.

"Alright," the turian said at last. "Maybe I was a bit harsher than I needed to be. But it was necessary. Between me and the captain, I think we've given the girl enough grief to be sure that next time she won't make any flippant comments that end with us at gunpoint."

"Why? What did the captain say to her?" Neela was concerned, and even as she asked the question, she wondered why the scientist's treatment was such a great source of anxiety.

"I believe it was something about marooning her on the nearest world if she ever did anything like that again," the turian shrugged. "Unlike my own comment, I think the captain actually meant hers. I don't think she likes the girl much."

"I just don't think she likes strangers on her ship," Neela frowned. She wondered if the captain would really do something like that. She wanted to think that she wouldn't, but she'd never known the asari to make false threats.

"Can you blame her? We were fine with just the five of us aboard. The introduction of this girl just adds unnecessary drama."

"She's only here for another couple weeks," Neela pointed out. For some reason, the thought filled her with disquiet. Maybe it was just because she felt like she had a new friend and would be losing her soon. "I wonder where she is now."

"Who cares?"

"I do," Neela glared at the turian from behind her visor. "I like her. She's… quirky."

"That's one way to put it," Prathus chuckled, unaware of the hostile gaze she was directing toward him.

A soft ping from Neela's omni-tool interrupted the conversation. Neela's brows rose when she activated it and scanned the information displayed, finding a secure transmission from the Flotilla incoming. She slipped out of her seat and headed for the door.

"This is important," she announced. "Take over for me. I'll be back before we hit the mass relay." She stepped out of the bridge and into the corridor without waiting for Prathus's answer.

"Hello?" she greeted the person on the other end of the comm channel once she was alone.

"_Neela,_" the familiar voice of her mother immediately brought a smile to her face.

"Mother!"

"_It's been too long since we've heard from you. You should contact us more often. We worry about you._" Her mother's tone was warm, but there was an undercurrent of concern that made Neela grin. She missed her family terribly.

"How are you? How is father? Is everything alright?"

"_We're both well, and we miss you,_" in listening to her mother's voice, Neela could clearly hear how happy she was to be talking to her daughter. "_Your father is here. I'll link him in._"

"_How is my little girl?_" her father's voice joined the channel after a brief pause. "_Have you been keeping yourself safe? Are you maintaining your suit properly?_"

"Yes father," Neela rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "I'm safe. It's good to hear your voices. I'm sorry I didn't call after our last job. There were only a few hours between our last run and this one. But I'm curious… Why use an encrypted channel to contact me?"

"_Neela, we're calling at the request of the Admiralty Board_," her mother said softly.

Neela's mouth was suddenly dry. She didn't think she'd ever heard of someone on pilgrimage being contacted at the behest of the Admiralty Board. Somehow, she didn't think this could possibly be an indicator of good news.

"What does the Admiralty Board want with me?"

"_They are recalling all of our people from their pilgrimages. You are to report back to the Ganaza at the first opportunity,_" her mother informed her.

"W-What?" Neela was stunned. Her pilgrimage was cancelled? "What's going on? Why am I being ordered home? I don't have a presentation gift for a new captain yet! Have I done something wrong?"

"_No, child… It's not like that,_" her mother assured her. "_What we are about to tell you cannot be repeated to anyone. Not even your current captain._"

"Okay…"

"_The fleet is preparing to strike Rannoch. We're retaking the home world. The Admirals want every quarian to be here on the fleet to assist._"

"We're going to war with the Geth?" Neela couldn't believe what she was hearing. There had been talk on the Flotilla for as long as she could remember about retaking the home world, but she had never imagined they were so close to actually attempting it. "When I left, this was just a fantasy. How did we come to this so quickly?"

"_The Admiralty is keeping most of the details classified,_" her father answered. "_Rumors are circulating that Admiral Xen has developed a new weapon that will disable the Geth ships. And Admiral Zorah's expertise on the Geth will be a great help. The Board must have some kind of plan. I'm just glad that we'll be retaking the home world in my lifetime. That I'll be able to see my daughter with a home on Rannoch… It's all I could ever have dreamed of. It will be a historical moment. It's only right that our sons and daughters all be here to be part of it._"

"Admiral Rael'Zorah? I got the news eight months ago that he had been killed by the Geth just before Tali'Zorah's trial for treason. He survived?"

"_No,_" her mother cut in. "_The Admiralty Board appointed Tali'Zorah to fill his position last month._"

"I definitely need to call you guys more often," Neela put a hand to her head. She felt very confused and out-of-touch. "I thought Tali'Zorah was serving on a human ship with Commander Shepard."

"_She returned to the Fleet when Commander Shepard was arrested by the Alliance,_" her mother's tone was sympathetic. "_Don't worry about feeling like you are out of the loop._"

"_Your mother's right,_" her father assured her. "_We all lose touch a bit during our pilgrimage. We've both been there. All of us have at one point or another. We'll do our best to bring you up to speed when you return home._"

"This is a lot to adjust to," Neela admitted. "How can we do this? Even with some kind of new tech to assist, it's a big risk. Where will the civilian fleet hide during the assault?"

"_The civilian fleet will be joining the fighting. We're working feverishly to retrofit all of the civilian vessels with mass accelerator cannons_," her father answered.

"What? That's crazy!" Neela was starting to think her people had lost their minds. Arming the civilian fleet? The geth would tear them apart!

"_Have faith in our leaders, Neela_," her father scolded. "_They wouldn't do this if they didn't think we could win. We're not gambling our entire race on a whim_."

"Sorry," Neela muttered. "I just… It's…" she sighed and decided to drop her protest. She knew what her father was like when his mind was made up about something.

Her mother rescued her from the awkward silence that followed. "_How soon can you come home?_"

"I… I don't know," Neela frowned. "We're in the middle of a job. Our next stop is Noveria. I suppose I could try to find passage from there on another ship, but it's not exactly a colony world…. It's a corporate installation. I doubt there will be any passenger transports coming or going. I'll probably have to wait until we reach Terra Nova. I need to inform the captain that I'll be leaving…"

"_I'm glad that you'll be on the Ganaza for the assault_," her father's voice radiated warmth. "_I would have worried too much if you were on another vessel during the fighting_."

"If this has to happen, there is no place else I'd rather be," Neela smiled. She still didn't think an assault on Rannoch was a great idea, but she would always support her people.

"_Contact us when you have found a ship that can bring you near us. We'll send you the coordinates of the rallying point for the Fleet,_" her mother said softly. "_And Neela…_"

"Yes?"

"_We really miss you. Be safe._"

"_I can't wait to see you again_," her father added before she could even open her mouth to respond. She swore she could _hear _him smiling. "_Until then, take care of yourself._"

"I will. I love you both. Keelah se'lai."

"_I love you too. Keelah se'lai,_" her mother's voice was heavy with emotion.

"_Be well, child_," her father added. "_Keelah se'lai._"

Neela stood silently in the corridor after the comm channel went dark, trying to make sense of what she'd heard. Retaking the home world was simultaneously the most exciting and terrifying prospect she'd ever been faced with. There was every possibility that the geth would decimate their entire fleet and her people would become extinct. On the other hand, she wanted to believe that her father was right: The Admirals wouldn't make the attempt if they weren't sure of victory.

Still, arming the civilian fleet was insane! The geth were machines, after all, and cold logic would dictate their actions. If the civilian fleet was unarmed, they would undoubtedly see the vessels as tactically irrelevant and leave them alone. By arming them, the geth would probably make them priority targets instead, since they were soft targets with weapons, and hence the easiest and most efficient targets to destroy.

Another thought was gnawing at her as well. As exciting as the idea of retaking the home world was, she didn't want to settle there as her father had said he hoped to see. She wanted to pilot a starship. She would be proud to see her people reclaim Rannoch, but she would not be staying there. Her people would almost certainly be maintaining some amount of orbital presence, and she would be signing up to join the fleet. Whether her people had a world to call home or not, she wouldn't abandon her dream of being in the pilot's seat of a quarian vessel.

She supposed now she would have to talk to the captain about her impending resignation. And she would have to break the news to the crew as well. And Selura. As happy as she was to be returning to her people, the feeling was bittersweet. She would miss the _Sileya_ and the people aboard.

* * *

**On the outskirts of Scott, Now…**

Zaeed wove his way through the dense undergrowth of the forest, his rifle always at the ready. While it seemed unlikely that the Reapers would deploy their ground forces into the wilderness before they had a firm hold on the capital, he was taking no chances. The terrain had been steadily rising for the last several kilometers, and they had been moving through patches of strange, thorny shrubs that resembled balls of tangled barbed wire. He was glad he was wearing armor.

He glanced back at the rest of the group, to make sure they were keeping up. The two vorcha showed no signs of tiring, even though one of them was armed with a flamethrower, and was consequently lugging a bulky fuel tank on his back. Zaeed had no love for vorcha, but he had yet to find a reason to complain about their presence.

His employer was likewise moving along without complaint or difficulty. Prior to their departure, the salarian had suited up in sleek black armor with green padding underneath. His eyes were now hidden behind the subtle blue glow of a holographic visor, and he was armed with a pair of pistols… one Carnifex and one of a design the mercenary had never seen before – it was roughly triangular, with rounded corners, and the handle was at the rear of the gun instead of the underside of it.

The only member of their squad that was having difficulty keeping up was the other human. He was carrying the portable power generator, and as a result, had tired significantly over the course of their ten kilometer hike. Their employer had suggested that he hand the generator off to another member of their team, but the man stubbornly refused. As Zaeed watched him huff and puff his way up the hillside to join them, the urge to leave him behind was almost overwhelming.

The strange, horn-like bellow of the Reaper craft echoed across the countryside, drawing his attention away from his companions. It looked like the brush thinned out ahead of him, and he held up a hand to signal the others to wait. Without looking back, he crept through the brush toward the hilltop ahead. Once there, he crouched, scanning the scene laid out before him.

The hilltop overlooked the city of Scott… or at least what was left of it. The settlement was laid out very much like most major human settlements. A number tall skyscrapers were spread throughout the heart of the city. The massive buildings tapered to near points at their upper edges, with row upon row of windows filling much of the surface from the top to the bottom of the each structure. Smaller buildings were spread throughout the space between the various skyscrapers. There were roads and raised highways for ground vehicles, landing pads for shuttles and skycars, and a raised tramway that stretched off into the distance.

Unfortunately for the residents of Scott, while their city might have been beautiful once, the Reapers were systematically demolishing their infrastructure. Instead of glittering glass shining in the windows of the skyscrapers, there were only gaping holes left after some force had shattered them. The highways were collapsed in sections, and the remains of several of the skyscrapers had crushed huge swaths of the city as they toppled, leaving lines of twisted metal and rubble across the neighborhoods below. Zaeed saw no lights in any of the buildings. The roads were cluttered with debris, and smoke rose in thick plumes from structures all across the skyline. There were two Reapers moving through the city, destroying buildings as they traveled. Zaeed saw signs of resistance; the glowing trails of weapons fire rose from the city around the massive machines, and unknown ordinance occasionally detonated against the hulls of the massive monsters.

Zaeed motioned for the others to move up, but kept his eyes on the city below. There were swarms of dark figures moving through the streets. He couldn't tell from this distance what they were, but he had seen husks move, and not all of these moved like husks. Many were slower and more deliberate in their advance, rather than sprinting in a mindless charge after anything mobile.

"Second Reaper has landed," Salik commented as he moved up beside Zaeed. "Both human and batarian husks are moving through the streets. Reaper ground forces will work to round up any indigenous population they can find, dead or alive. Living prisoners likely to be indoctrinated. Reaper use for corpses unknown."

"They'll probably grind them up into paste like they did in the collectors' base," Zaeed muttered. "Bastards."

"Never received any such intel on Reaper or Collector activity," Salik looked at him askance. "Would ask for further information regarding the purpose of such an activity, but answer is irrelevant to our intent here. Perhaps later you would fill me in on this information? Reaper-related intel highly sought after by STG and other salarian security groups."

"Later," Zaeed nodded. "You said something about batarian husks?"

"Batarian home world was the first hit by Reaper armada. Without allies, Reapers quickly conquered the planet. Logical to deduce that Reapers will repurpose members of any species they obtain for use as shock troops. Demoralizing for various cultures to see their own species turned against them. Also, efficient resource management on behalf of Reaper forces. Training and transportation of troops largely irrelevant. Simply employ captured resources against their sources."

"Glad you're so impressed," Zaeed muttered.

"Simple evaluation of the efficiency of enemy forces. No admiration or condemnation involved."

Zaeed had to bite his tongue to keep from telling his employer where he could shove his critique of Reaper tactics. Instead, he cleared his throat and gestured with his rifle toward the city. "Where's the destination? We should try to get there before a Reaper steps on the damned place."

The salarian activated his omni-tool, uploading a local map and nav-point coordinates to each member of the team. Zaeed looked over the map and the destination as soon as his omni received it, nodding in satisfaction. The facility was located in the north end of the city, which was still largely intact, though it seemed to be without power, judging from the lack of lights in the gathering gloom of dusk's approach. He didn't want to know how the salarian had gotten such detailed scans of the city's layout.

Rising to his feet, he took the lead, carefully picking his way through the brush and down the hillside. His eyes constantly strayed to the Reapers as they moved through the city. He'd never seen anything quite so large from the ground before.

_How the hell are we ever gonna beat these things?_ His expression hardened as he wondered. Overcoming such an overwhelming force was a daunting prospect. He hoped that someone, somewhere, had a plan.

* * *

**Bekenstein, Two weeks earlier…**

For three days, Zaeed had been lurking in Milgrom, the capital city of Bekenstein, performing reconnaissance. While he was a better soldier than information-gatherer, mercenary work occasionally required a little bit of planning before an objective could be completed. Taking care of his final four targets was a perfect case-in-point.

A few bribes and some legwork led him to one of his targets within a day of landing on the planet. Trailing the man from his job as a med-tech to his home led him to the other three; all four of his marks were residing in the same apartment complex. It was a small, two-story building surrounded by a high wall, and it held eight apartments, three of which belonged to the individuals on his list. Two lived alone, and the other two lived together.

It was easier to track the group down than he would have expected. The only conclusion he could draw was that these four didn't realize that their work with Cerberus had come to a conclusion, just like the woman on Lorek.

The problem Zaeed now faced, however, was that the small two-story building in which all of them were staying was in the middle of an extremely busy section of a very large colony city. If he tried a frontal assault on their apartments with his rifle and some grenades, he was liable to be locked down by the colony's security forces before he could successfully escape the area. There were surveillance cameras on all of the nearby streets and frequent patrols by law enforcement.

Even now, as Zaeed sat at a table near the window of a small café, he watched a skycar with the colony security logo soar by at ground level. His gaze went to his omni-tool, checking the local time, and then returned to the apartment complex across the street. A security detail passed by every twelve minutes, like clockwork. It was a very small window in which to operate. He couldn't resort to a bomb or a sniper rifle because he needed the remains to be relatively intact for scanning with the Illusive Man's device, and he had to be close enough to scan them.

"Can I get you anything else?" a pleasant voice interrupted his thoughts.

"No," he said gruffly, swirling his coffee around in the mug he held. "How much do I owe?"

"Five credits," the waitress smiled at him.

He fished into the pocket of the battered jacket he was wearing and placed a handful of coins on the table. He always preferred to convert some of his credits to local currencies when he traveled, so that he wasn't using electronic transfers everywhere he went and leaving a trail for enemies to follow.

"Keep the change," he muttered, and then ignored her while she gathered up the coins and withdrew.

Zaeed returned to his brooding. The available options weren't attractive. If he wanted to avoid drawing security down on him, he was going to have kill the lot of them hand-to-hand. It was the only way to avoid tripping every security sensor on the block with the sound of gunfire. While he could try to get his hands on a noise suppression mod for his rifle, he didn't want to deal with any more people than was absolutely necessary. He toyed briefly with the idea of creating a diversion by bombing something else in the neighborhood – he could try to find a target that would result in minimal civilian casualties – but there was too great a chance that the Cerberus operatives would bolt at the first sign of trouble in the area.

In three days, only one of the four ever left their apartment complex. The young man he had trailed to their location left every day at approximately mid afternoon, and then returned six hours later, just after dusk. Zaeed watched from his seat as the blonde-haired young man exited one of the rooms on the upper floor of the complex and started his trek down the stairs, just as he had the three previous days. As for the others… the only reason Zaeed knew they were there was because he could see them through the windows from time to time. Killing the one man that had a job wouldn't be too hard. The other three… well, he could get rid of them with ease if he wanted to just storm in and get it done, but ideally he needed to do it without creating a scene in the process.

The sound of a chair scraping across the floor drew his attention to a figure behind him, though he did not turn his head. He had seen the same man several times in the last three days, and something about the way the fellow carried himself caught Zaeed's eye. A dark-skinned giant, the stranger had an impressive physique, a steely gaze, and his posture was just a little too rigid… He figured the man for ex-military. It was just a feeling, but Zaeed rarely doubted to his intuition.

All of his instincts told him he should abandon the job and get off the planet. Only his hatred and the need for revenge against Vido Santiago kept him from walking away. The possibility that he was being set up for a double-cross had first entered his mind on Lorek, but since arriving in Bekenstein, the feeling had been getting stronger. While the dark-skinned stranger wasn't following him constantly, he showed up too often for it to be coincidence. Zaeed fully expected that when he completed his assignment, the hulking ex-soldier was going to be waiting to take him out. The only part of the equation that puzzled him was why the Illusive Man didn't just task his enforcer to deal with the targets to begin with. If he had men in place on the planet, what was the point of hiring a mercenary to do the job? Deniability?

Zaeed gulped down the last of his coffee and set the mug aside, sliding from his seat. Perhaps he was going about this the wrong way. He was trying to figure out how to get into the complex and hit the four of them at the same time. Instead, he would try a different tactic. He left the café behind and headed for his rented skycar. His destination was a medical clinic on the opposite end of the district. The blonde man worked there, and threatening him would be an excellent starting point for getting to the rest of them.

Following the short flight, he settled his skycar on a rooftop carport a block from the clinic, and then took a quick walk through the area to see where the security scanners were positioned and what they covered. Once he finished with his reconnoiter, he stepped into an alleyway adjacent to the clinic, slumping to a seat in the shadows next to a dumpster. His target wouldn't leave the building for roughly five more hours, but he needed to be prepared when the man passed his way. Until then, it was crucial to avoid attracting any notice. No one paid much attention to vagrants, so he figured if he kept to the shadows and mostly out of sight, anyone who did happen to spot him would ignore him.

It was difficult to remain awake long enough for his target's return trip. Sitting in the shadows of the alleyway was boring, and the mercenary wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and nod off after the first hour despite the caffeine running through his system. By the fourth hour, impatience and boredom were really getting to him, and he was entertaining himself with idle thoughts of storming the clinic and gunning his target down then and there.

When his omni-tool's timer function beeped, alerting him to the fact that his quarry would be leaving the building momentarily, Zaeed quickly scrambled to his feet. He moved to the mouth of the alleyway and glanced up and down the street, just to be sure no one was in the area. Seeing no sign of civilian traffic, he pulled his knife from its sheath beneath his jacket, and he pressed his back to the wall, waiting impatiently for the moment to strike. He had a pretty good idea of what sort of protocols a secret Cerberus cell would put in place in case of discovery. He just had to ask a few questions to confirm his suspicions.

He heard footsteps. He saw a shadow, cast by the lights on the front of the building against which he was leaning, and it grew longer by the moment. A figure walked into his field of view. Zaeed hesitated just long enough to see the blonde hair and the dark blue jacket his target wore to his job every day… it wouldn't do to grab the wrong person. Once he spotted those two familiar sights, he sprang into action. He grabbed the young man by the hair, his other arm slipping around his quarry's shoulder to press the blade of the knife against his neck. He felt the lad go rigid as he yanked him into the darkness of the alleyway, dragging him well away from the street.

"Make a sound and I kill you," he growled. "Nod if you understand."

The young man nodded slowly.

"Good. Now I want you to either nod or shake your head in response to my questions. If you so much as twitch in a manner that isn't nodding or shaking your head, or if you make any sound at all, I'll cut your goddamn throat. Understand?"

This time the young man's nod was much more vigorous.

"You're Cerberus?"

A nod.

"There are three more of you living in the same complex?"

The young man hesitated, but when Zaeed pressed the knife a little more firmly against his exposed throat, he got another nod in response.

"I assume there is a meeting location you all go to if your operation is compromised?"

The man nodded.

"Is there a signal that'll alert the others that they're in danger?"

Another nod.

"Does it require a voice message?"

The captive shook his head.

"It's linked through the omni-tools?"

A nod.

"Activate your omni-tool. Slowly. Show me the location where you all meet if things go sideways."

The young man raised his arm and activated his omni-tool, bringing up a nav-point well outside of the city. Zaeed watched carefully to see which holographic keys his captive pressed to accomplish the task, so that he could duplicate the feat later. He slowly pulled the knife away from the young man's throat, just a little bit.

"Send the signal. You're compromised," Zaeed growled. "And let me see what you're doing, step by step. You do that, and I'll let you go. It's them I'm after. Not you."

He released his hold on the young man's hair and put his hand over his mouth instead. Then he pulled his knife away from his captive's throat, inching it around behind his back. The young man did exactly as he was told, no doubt believing that his only chance of survival was through cooperation. He activated each function slowly, letting Zaeed see precisely what he was doing. He scrolled through the omni-tool's functions until he reached one marked 'Charlie Protocol,' and moved his finger toward the activation trigger.

"If this does anything but send a signal, you're signing your goddamn death warrant," Zaeed warned.

The young man nodded slowly, and pressed the holographic key.

"Well done, lad…" Zaeed muttered.

He drove the blade horizontally into his victim's back, between his ribs, piercing his lung. Even if his hand hadn't been over the young man's mouth, the man wouldn't have been able to do more than wheeze. Zaeed tightened his grip over the doomed man's lips and pulled his head back, dragging the blade swiftly across his throat to finish the job, holding on until the body in his arms went limp.

He lowered the corpse to the ground and dragged it behind one of the dumpsters, wiping off his knife on the body's shirt. His hands were likewise stained with blood, and he did his best to clean them on the clothing of his victim, wherever he could find a spot that wasn't already soaked with blood. Once that was done, he removed the scanning device from his pocket and used it to scan the DNA of the body.

"Scanning…" the device announced. "DNA analysis confirmed. Doctor Scott Morton. Please confirm with retinal scan."

Zaeed positioned the scanner over the young man's eye and waited.

"Retinal scan confirmed. Doctor Scott Morton. Pupil fixed and unresponsive. Subject deceased. Prerequisite scan two of five logged."

Zaeed grabbed the omni-tool from the body and then removed an incendiary grenade from his pocket, turning the dial on the weapon to set it for a two-minute delay. He pressed the button and dropped it atop the corpse before sprinting toward the carport. He made sure to avoid the areas of the street that were under security scanner surveillance.

The mercenary was already climbing into his rented transportation when he saw the flare of light from the next block over and heard the explosion. Activating the omni-tool taken from the corpse, he repeated the inputs he had watched the young man make earlier, bringing up the nav-point for the rendezvous. He only hoped that he would get there before the rest of his targets did. He didn't want them to have the chance to run if he arrived late.

Luck was on his side. When he reached the nav-point, there were no other vehicles or signs of life. The rendezvous location was a small field at the base of a large rock outcropping, with a sizeable stand of trees nearby. Zaeed set his skycar down near the trees and climbed out, opening the storage compartment in the back of the vehicle to retrieve his armor and his weapons, which he took with him into the wooded area. He wanted his targets to think that their friend was waiting in the shelter of the trees. All he needed them to do was set down and get out of their transport.

_Easiest job I ever had,_ he told himself. However, he made sure to activate his shield generator. Somehow, he was positive that his shadow would have tracked him here. If Cerberus actually meant to take him out when the job was done, this would be their only chance. For that reason, he meant to be prepared. He removed a handful of flat metal discs from a compartment in his armor – antipersonnel mines – and tossed them into the bushes around him. Once they were in place, he activated his omni-tool, linking to the remote detonators housed in the ordinance, so he could trigger them with the push of a button. Once he felt he was adequately covered, he crouched beside a tree, taking aim with his rifle, and waited.

Minutes ticked by while he lurked, concealed in the brush, ready to finish the job and get on to more important matters… like dealing with Vido. There was no satisfaction to be derived from eliminating civilians. If it weren't for the prize, he would have bowed out after the first one and let the Illusive Man hire someone else to finish the task. As more and more time passed, he grew increasingly impatient.

"Stand up. Slowly," a booming baritone demanded from behind him.

Zaeed slowly rose from his crouched position, holding his rifle out to the side, keeping his hands in plain view. Turning his head slightly, he was just able to make out the muscular form of his shadow standing several meters back, aiming a rifle at him. The man was smart enough not to approach to within grappling distance. Clearly, he was no rookie.

"You're early," Zaeed pointed out. "I'm pretty sure your boss wanted you to wait until _after_ I eliminated his scientists."

When only silence followed his comment, he turned a tiny bit further, so that he could see the man's face. There was a hint of confusion in his eyes. As soon as Zaeed saw it, he realized he had miscalculated. His expectations of a double-cross had colored his perceptions.

"You weren't sent to kill me," he corrected. "You're guarding the scientists. You're a bodyguard."

"I don't know what you're up to, assassin," the man growled. "But I don't wanna hear another word out of you. Move. Into the clearing."

Zaeed nodded and started moving forward slowly. However, after a couple of steps, he hooked the toe of his boot on an exposed root from a nearby tree, using it as an excuse to fake a stumble. He fell forward on his hands and knees with a grunt.

"On your feet! No tricks!"

"Alright, alright," Zaeed nodded, turning his body so that his left arm was hidden from the bodyguard's view. He activated his omni-tool while he looked back at the merc. His right arm crept to the activation trigger for the mines; the ex-soldier was standing right next to one of them, ignorant of the danger he was in. "Goodnight, jackass…"

The concussive force of the explosions that ripped through the underbrush flattened Zaeed where he was kneeling and toppled several nearby trees. He was quick to roll to the side and draw a pistol, whirling to train his weapon where his enemy had been standing. However, the dark-skinned behemoth was no longer there. Scanning the woods around the three massive craters left behind by the detonations, he quickly spotted a mangled and blood-soaked mass lying in a bed of weeds.

He retrieved his rifle from where it had landed after the mines detonated, turning it over in his hands to inspect it. He snorted at the visible bend in the barrel of the weapon and tossed it aside. It wasn't the first rifle he liked and subsequently had to get rid of. It wouldn't be the last. He walked toward the skycar, intending to get the omni-tool he had taken from the target he had killed. The lad had pulled one over on him; he was sure of it. 'Charlie Protocol' had been a warning, but not the one Zaeed had wanted sent. He intended to find the one he _did _want to send.

He was just reaching the edge of the woods when a shot rang out, ricocheting off his kinetic shield. He drew his pistol and dove for the nearest tree, rolling to a crouch, and he risked sticking his head out just far enough to get a look at his surroundings.

Another shot rang out, and a shower of bark exploded from the trunk of the tree inches in front of his face. He quickly pulled his head back behind cover. He had seen the flash of the muzzle when the shot was taken, but hadn't been able to get a look at the shooter.

"Alright, you bastard," he muttered, pulling an incendiary grenade from the carrier at his side, "Let's see how you handle a little return fire…"

He rose to his feet behind the cover of the tree, and then stepped out to the side quickly, hurling the grenade toward where he had seen the muzzle flash. The moment he was out of cover, another shot rang out and was deflected by his shield. He was out of the line of fire in an instant, waiting behind the tree for the detonation.

A thunderous explosion was followed by several smaller ones, as the main charge spread the incendiary shrapnel across the area, each of which in turn detonated into intense thermite fires. Zaeed bolted from cover the instant he heard the first explosion, pistol trained in the direction of the shooter.

His enemy was already in motion, fleeing the area of the fires. Zaeed took several quick shots at the shadowy shape as it ran along the base of the outcropping of rock on the opposite side of the skycar, darting from tree to tree as he went. The mystery shooter took another shot in return, which was deflected by his kinetic barrier. Zaeed had to admit, the shooter had impeccable aim. Fortunately the lack of sustained fire meant that his shields were back at full strength in seconds.

He leaned out from behind the tree trunk he was currently using as cover and took aim where he had last seen the shooter. There was no sign of his opponent. He scanned the field slowly, always aiming where he was looking, waiting for an indication of where the assailant had gone.

There was a flash from the center of the field, in open space. The bullet sheared right through his barrier, which collapsed with a visible shimmer. It grazed the side of his head, carving a trail through the flesh. Zaeed had just enough time to see the shooter materialize before he ducked back behind the tree.

"Tactical cloak and disruptor rounds," he muttered. "Bastard brought some toys to the game."

Zaeed reached into the pouch at his side and withdrew three out of his four remaining incendiary grenades. He took a few steps back and then quickly sidestepped into the open, hurling the grenades out into the field, with about ten meters of space between them. As was his opponent's modus operandi, a shot rang out almost immediately. The bullet pierced Zaeed's armor and bit into his shoulder, but the protective plating absorbed most of the force of the projectile. The wound wasn't bad.

Explosions echoed through the field as the grenades detonated one by one, and then more than a dozen incendiary explosions spread throughout the field by the initial detonations followed. Billowing clouds of smoke and flame rolled through the area, and in the midst of them, Zaeed could make out a shimmering form, moving frantically.

"Gotcha, you son of a bitch," he growled as he took aim with the hand cannon.

The tactical cloak disengaged, overloaded by the thermite clinging to the shooter's arm and the frantic attempts to extinguish the flames. Zaeed had just enough time to register that the shooter was female before he squeezed the trigger for the first time. The multiple shots that followed ripped through the slender body of the sniper, and she pitched over into the grass.

Zaeed moved out into the field, intently searching his surroundings. If there were more shooters out there, he wanted to be ready for them. He couldn't see much through the smoke rising from patches of smoldering grass throughout the clearing, but the lack of further shots was encouraging. He moved to the side of the fallen woman and studied her face.

It was a face he recognized as one that had appeared in the windows of the apartment building several times over the past few days. This was one of the targets. He hurried to the skycar to retrieve the scanner from the pocket of his jacket where he'd left it, and then returned to her side, pressing it against the exposed flesh of her cheek.

"Scanning… DNA analysis confirmed. Doctor Eliza Fielding. Please confirm with retinal scan."

Zaeed quickly moved on to the required scan. He was getting used to this routine.

"Retinal scan confirmed. Doctor Eliza Fielding. Pupil fixed and unresponsive. Subject deceased. Prerequisite scan three of five logged."

"Two left in the apartment," Zaeed nodded to himself and grabbed the omni from the woman's corpse "If I can find the proper protocol on your omni-tool, I'll lay your buddies out right beside you…"

He activated her omni-tool and called up the recent alerts. As he had suspected, the last alert received on the omni-tool had been 'Charlie Protocol'. It had definitely been a distress signal of some kind. Now that he was thinking about it, they had probably tracked the young man's omni-tool right to him. Zaeed shook his head. He was making rookie mistakes. Two in one day now. A third might be the death of him.

He cycled through the various commands on the omni until he found a list called 'Work Contacts'. Under that heading were two functions: 'Charlie Protocol' and 'Delta-Delta Protocol'. He activated the second one and headed for his skycar, circling around the wooded area and hovering on the far side of it. If they answered the call and came to the meeting point, he would be ready to greet them…


	9. Chapter 9: Consequences

**Author's Note: Still cruising along in my writing, thanks in large part to the support and comments from my readers. I appreciate it more than I can say. Also, I know the escape from the ship has been running long, but I promise it is nearing its end. Bear with me just a bit longer. Also, my apologies on the length of this chapter. There was a lot I wanted to get in, and it ran just a bit longer than usual.**

* * *

.

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Nine: Consequences

.

**Above Terra Nova, Now…**

"Stay with me."

The voice was familiar to Julisa, but her mind couldn't grasp it and hold onto it. Consciousness was claimed only long enough to wonder who was speaking. When her eyes opened, she saw blurry images of conduits and fiber optic cable bundles above her. She was cold. Everything hurt. And she was very, very tired.

She closed her eyes.

_"Stay with me," Eleira pleaded, tears coursing down her cheeks_

_Julisa had seen the same heartbroken look upon her daughter's face for the entire two-week period since Lethia's memorial service. She couldn't bear it any longer. The ones responsible for her little girl's heartache would pay…_

_"It will only be for a couple months, songbird," she crouched and gathered the girl into her arms, squeezing gently. She held her child indulgently while she sobbed, but her thoughts were far away. She was mentally reviewing what she knew of the region in which Lethia's ship had been attacked. There were a handful of habitable worlds in easy travel distance._

_"How can you do this? I need you here! I cannot lose both my parents in the same month!" Eleira wailed plaintively. "Father, stay! I am begging you."_

_"You are not losing me," she said softly. "It will be a brief parting, and Neselia will take excellent care of you. Before you know it, I will be back."_

_"Why? Why do you have to go? Why are you abandoning me?"_

_"Eleira," Julisa sighed in frustration. "I am not 'abandoning' you. I am getting justice. For you. For your mother. For all of us."_

_"You should be here with me. You are just running away," the girl pushed away, stalking toward her room. She turned at the door, stomping a foot angrily. "You do not even care! This is not about justice. You want revenge!"_

_"Damn right I want revenge!" Julisa exploded, the anger she'd been nursing for weeks finally boiling over. "They took everything from me! They have to pay!"_

_Julisa winced as soon as the words left her mouth. She saw the look of betrayal and hurt that clouded her daughter's features, and she wished that she could take back every word she'd just uttered._

_"Everything?" the girl's voice broke. "Mother was everything? What does that make me?"_

_"Eleira... That was not what I-"_

_The girl cut her off by stalking into her room and hitting the emergency trigger to instantly close the door. The holographic display changed from green to red. Julisa stood there for a moment, covering her face with her hands. She knew she should stay. Especially after what she'd just said. Of course she cared about her daughter. She cherished the girl. Just as she cherished Lethia. But she couldn't stay in their home and carry on knowing that the ones responsible for Lethia's death were going to get away with it. Her gaze danced between the shotgun that was sitting on the sofa, and her daughter's door. She moved to the door._

_"Eleira? Please come out."_

_"Why?" the girl's voice was thick with tears and heavily muffled by the layer of metal between them. Julisa could barely hear her. "You just made it very clear that you do not care. Go. Get your revenge. I would hate to keep you from what matters to you."_

_"Eleira, I did not mean it like that. Of course you are important to me. But..." she struggled to find the right words. "Should the men who took your mother go free? They must be punished!"_

_There was no answer. She stood outside the door, listening to the silence for long moments. Finally, she put a hand to her brow, growling in frustration._

_"We will talk about this when I come back," she said at last. "Please try to understand. I am doing this for both of us."_

_She turned away and grabbed her shotgun, heading for the door._

Julisa's eyes fluttered open when a jarring pain assailed her. She was being pulled through a narrow access portal. All around her, machinery was smashed and bits of debris floated through the space. She struggled to make sense of what she was seeing, but her mind refused to cooperate. Everything seemed distorted and unreal. Her head swam. She closed her eyes and tried to shut out the pain.

_The forceful jerk of the shotgun in her hands as it fired made Julisa smile. She watched as another piece of human refuse fell back against the wall, sliding down to the floor, leaving a streak of red on the surface in his wake. She kicked the fallen man viciously even though he was past feeling it, and then set off in search of another foe._

_She stalked through the halls of the stronghold as she had prowled through a dozen others, rooting the pirate scum out of their hiding places. It took far too long to infiltrate one of these groups, gain their trust, learn their routines, and get access to their core systems. Newcomers were not often entrusted with mainframe access before they'd proven themselves. And this time, as with all the others, the months had been wasted. None of these pirates knew anything about the _Nusani_. Still, their fate was well-deserved. They might not have been responsible for the fate of Lethia's ship, but they were responsible for many others. Julisa had been forced to participate in raiding several to gain the group's trust. She would make them pay for that. Every one she gunned down or tore apart with her biotics was a tribute to the people they'd terrorized and killed._

_She entered the armory. It was the last room left to search, and as she'd expected, the final three members of the pirate group were holed up inside. When the door opened, they greeted her with a hail of gunfire, but her barrier easily deflected it. She shrouded her body in a field of biotic force and propelled herself into their midst, striking the leader of the group and knocking him backward into the wall. The moment she felt the impact, she summoned all of her power and let it explode outward, knocking the other two off of their feet and stunning all three._

_She pointed her shotgun at the face of the man that had fallen to her left. He gazed up at her in terror._

_"Please…" he croaked. He obviously meant the word as a plea for his life. She chose to take it in another context._

_"As you wish," she pulled the trigger and watched his head explode in a shower of gore._

_The leader of the group bolted to his feet and tried to push past her, but the former commando whirled as he passed and slammed a biotic punch into the small of his back. She heard a satisfying crack and an even more satisfying scream of agony, and he hit the deck face first, sliding across the metal surface. Without even looking, she hurled a warp field at the third man, leaving the shifting field to shred him into a pulpy mass. She stalked over to the pirate captain, forcing him onto his back._

_"Why?" he spat the word. "You're one of us!"_

_"No," she shook her head. "I _infiltrated_ you. To find out if you were the scum that killed my bondmate."_

_"So this is your revenge…" the man breathed in defeat. "I'm sorry we killed her-"_

_"You did not."_

_"Then… why…?" he was obviously in agony. Speaking was difficult._

_"How many have you killed? Dozens? Hundreds? Men like you killed Lethia. This is justice."_

_"We didn't kill your wife… Please, at least end it quickly…"_

_"Not a chance," she growled._

_She fired her shotgun into each of his knees before planting her omni-blade into his gut, leaving him to bleed out. As she walked through the silent halls of the hidden stronghold, she sighed. As much satisfaction as she got from ending the threat these bands of lawless men represented to the galaxy, the ache in her heart never dulled. How many, she wondered, would she have to kill before her grief was soothed enough to go home? Perhaps, when she finally found the right group…_

"Goddess, I hope Neela's suite still has power," the worried tone pulled Julisa from her memories.

She opened her eyes in confusion and stared at the massive breach in the wall far above her, trying to bring it into focus. Where was she? The cargo bay? Her disoriented mind finally placed the voice that was being broadcast to her aural implant. Aida's voice. But it seemed so far away. She was very cold. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so defeated…

_Julisa stood in the driving rain outside of the home of Lethia's closest friend, waiting for someone to answer the door. She was shaking, and it wasn't because her clothing was soaked through. Lessus was a warm planet even during the winter months. The tremors that ran through her were a result of pure nervousness. She'd spent too long chasing revenge. _Far_ too long. When she left, she promised her daughter she would be back in a few months. Instead, she'd spent a few months per group of pirates she hunted down and infiltrated, and a few months between each, tracking down the next group. She lost count of the number of pirate gangs she'd ended after twenty… Months had dragged on into years and she'd been too obsessed to stop._

_She'd gone mad. It was as simple as that. After the years that had passed, she wondered if her daughter would even speak to her. She wanted nothing more than to apologize, to tell her songbird how stupid she'd been, to listen to her play her _Illeuth_ and learn what was new in her life. She was prepared to face her child's wrath. She deserved it. And she would happily pay that penance to be with her again._

_The door opened, and Neselia, Lethia's best friend, stood in the doorway. The woman's smile quickly faded from her lips, and smoldering anger filled her eyes. Julisa met her gaze without flinching, accepting it as the reaction she was due. She cleared her throat._

_"Is Eleira here? I would like to see her."_

_"She's not here."_

_"I understand. Probably busy with friends. Do you know when she will be home?"_

_"She's not here," Neselia repeated with emphasis. "And I do not think she has any wish to see you, Juli," Neselia used the name Lethia had always used. Even after the years since her bondmate's death, anything that brought her to mind still caused the former commando's heart to contract painfully._

_"I cannot blame her," Julisa said softly. "But she is my daughter, and she deserves to hear my apology at least. When will she be home?"_

_"I thought it was clear when I said 'she is not here'," the other asari's voice rose angrily. "She is gone! And even if she were here, I would never let you see her again."_

_Julisa's expression hardened with anger. "You cannot keep me from seeing my daughter. I will wait on your doorstep all night if I have to."_

_"Hear me, and understand," Neselia said firmly. "You broke her heart when you left. Do you know what she did for the first month after your departure? She cried. Constantly. She would not eat. She barely slept. She lost her mother, and then her father abandoned her-"_

_"I did _not _abandon her," Julisa interrupted. "I am here! I came back!"_

_"She needed you. Her mother_ just_ died, and she needed to know she still had family who cared about her. She needed to know that her life would go on. She needed your support. She needed to feel loved!" Neselia was shouting at her now. "Instead, you left! Do you have any idea how crushed she was?"_

_"I…" Julisa bowed her head. What could she say, really? She hadn't given any serious thought to what her daughter needed at the time. She'd been so consumed with the need to make someone pay for Lethia's death that she hadn't been able to think of anything else. She could see clearly now that she'd made a terrible mistake… It hadn't been the murderers of the woman she loved that had paid. It was herself and her daughter._

_"She shut herself away in our guest room and cried for a month," Neselia continued to rant. "And even after that, she was just a shadow of the cheerful, vibrant girl she used to be. She gave up on her music! Her studies suffered. She abandoned her friends. We had no idea what to do for her other than support her and try to make her feel loved. We did _your_ job."_

_"I am sorry," Julisa whispered. "I was not thinking clearly at the time. I appreciate all you have done for her. But if I could just talk to her-"_

_"She left," Neselia snapped. "You cannot talk to her because as I said repeatedly, _she is not here_! She left because of you."_

_"Where did she go?" Julisa demanded. The urge to grab her old friend and shake her was overwhelming. "Tell me where she is!"_

_"We have no idea," Neselia informed her coldly. "One night, about a year after you left, she disappeared. She packed all of her things and ran away in the middle of the night. We contacted the Asari Embassy in an attempt to find out what ship she departed on, but they had no record of her. We spent years and a small fortune trying to track her down. She was just… gone."_

_"You let her leave?" Julisa shrieked. "Anything could have happened to her! She could have-"_

_"We did not _let _her leave!" Neselia screamed back at her. "_You_ abandoned her. You made her feel like there was nothing left for her here. No matter how much we supported and encouraged her, it was not enough. I loved her like she was my own daughter. I loved her like _you _should have. This is your fault. All of it."_

_"I have to find her…" Julisa turned away. She'd barely heard Neselia's accusations._

_"For her sake, I hope you fail," Neselia spat. "And do not ever come back here."_

_"How dare you-?"_

_The closing of the door cut off her indignant retort. She stared at it for a moment, feeling a familiar rage threatening to boil over. It had been her only companion for so long that she could barely remember what it was like to truly feel happy. Anger was the only thing she still had._

_And where had it gotten her?_

"Stay with me, Captain," Aida's voice returned to her. It was distant and distorted, as though she was shouting down a long tunnel. "You will be okay."

She didn't want to be okay. She didn't deserve to be okay. She deserved to be isolated and alone, as she had been for the past decades. She deserved to be in exactly the same state in which she'd foolishly left her child – her songbird – all those years ago. It was her penance, and she would not let it end until her daughter forgave her.

Or until she was dead.

* * *

**Fuel Depot N-113, Pax System, Horsehead Nebula, Two weeks earlier…**

A deep sense of disquiet filled Julisa as she stepped onto the bridge, sliding into the copilot's seat beside Neela. Every time her ship stopped in or passed through the Horsehead Nebula, she felt like she was returning to the scene of a crime. It had been in this very system that pirates had attacked the _Nusani_ and killed her bondmate, and it was here that she started her search for Lethia's murderers. This was the nexus around which her life had come unraveled.

"Ten seconds to position for fuel coupling," Neela announced, skillfully guiding the ship into proper position, so that the depot's automated systems could attach to the ship and begin dispensing fuel.

Julisa nodded, watching on the holographic display as the facility's docking arm extended to meet them, locking onto the hull with a resounding clunk. The sound made Neela's next statement almost unnecessary.

"We're docked."

"Well done."

Julisa opened a channel to the VI aboard the depot, authorizing a credit transfer in exchange for fuel. Once authorization was confirmed, she sat back in her seat, waiting for the dispensing system to do its job, her eyes upon the credit balance on her account. She felt a perverse fascination with watching her money drain away as the fuel was deposited.

"Captain?"

"What is it, Neela?" she asked, never taking her eyes from the screen in front of her.

"I have to leave the crew when we reach Terra Nova," the quarian said without preamble.

This statement caused the captain to look away from her monitor, her brows rising in a gesture of surprise. She knew that Neela loved being in the pilot's seat, and she had expected the quarian to remain in her crew for a significant span of time. She hazarded a guess as to the most likely cause.

"You do not have to leave the crew. This run will be over in a few weeks, and then that scientist will be off of the ship. I know that her stunt on Ilos upset the entire crew, but there is no need to make a rash decision-"

"Captain, that's not it," Neela cut in. "I received a communiqué from my parents last week. There is an emergency situation with my family that I need to be there to help with."

The captain wasn't fooled by her pilot's statement. There was a ring of truth to her words, but she could tell by the tone of her voice that Neela was being evasive. She didn't hear any undercurrent of anxiety she would have expected for a family emergency, to say nothing of the fact that she doubted the quarian would have taken a week to bring it up if something had happened to her family. She was sure she would have heard about it the minute the call finished.

"And you waited a week to tell me that your family needed you?" she decided to leave her skepticism at that, rather than to call her pilot out on the lie directly. "We can put you ashore on Noveria if you prefer."

"No, Captain," Neela was quick to respond. "I doubt I will be able to get a transport from Noveria any faster than I will if I wait until Terra Nova and depart from there."

"I would agree," she nodded. "I will be sorry to lose you. Having you at the helm has been a pleasure."

"Thank you, Captain. It has been a privilege." Neela's tone was sincere.

"I hope the situation with your family can be resolved well."

"Me too," Neela's voice was now laced with concern. Julisa wondered if she was wrong in her assumption that the quarian was lying. Her current anxiety seemed genuine.

"Let me take over," she prompted. "You have some things on your mind, obviously. Go and enjoy a little downtime. Try to relax for a few hours. I will bring the ship in to Port Hanshan myself."

"I can do it, Captain," Neela offered a mild protest.

"Go. Relax for a little while. I will handle things up here," Julisa watched as her young pilot hesitated, and she decided to give a little verbal push, though she kept her tone gentle to counter the possible harshness of the words. "You are relieved."

"I… Uh, thank you, Captain," Neela stammered, sliding out of the pilot's chair. She left the bridge, and the door closed in her wake.

Alone on the bridge, the captain moved to the pilot's seat and brought up her private interface, quickly logging in the password to bypass the encryption. She accessed her personal files, and opened her newest downloads. In moments, the sound of applause filled the bridge via the sound system. When the fanfare died down, the moving melody of the South Serrice Symphony filled the void. Julisa sat back in her chair, closed her eyes, and listened to the music intently, concentrating on the dancing tones of the _illeuth_ among the varied instruments, smiling at her daughter's virtuosity. The captain was now the proud owner of a recording of every performance the group had done since the date of her daughter's debut.

A bittersweet mixture of immense pride and overwhelming sorrow filled her whenever she listened to them, which she did frequently. In her mind's eye, she could see the beautiful face of her songbird… both the adolescent she had been and the woman she was now… standing on the stage.

* * *

**Above Terra Nova, Now…**

The whirring sound of the decontamination systems in the airlock startled Neela as she was snapping her mask back into place. She spun around and stared at the door, wishing for the first time that there was a window in it, so she could see who or what was coming in. Hope filled her that Aida, Prathus and the Captain would walk in when the cycle was complete. She feared it would be something much larger, spherical in shape, and hostile.

She cast about for something that she could use to defend her patients. She hadn't had time to get either of them into the fresh environmental suits she had grabbed from the locker, and if another drone was in the airlock, she knew they were all going to die. She had no weapons in her quarters. She grabbed the only dangerous instrument nearby – a knife she used for food prep – and activated her omni-tool's defensive suite, preparing to deploy an incineration burst if necessary.

The seconds that passed while the cleansing cycle worked were filled with the sounds of her heartbeat thundering in her ears. She waited to see the door swing open and find an angry red eye glaring in at her. Her thumb inched closer to the holographic trigger that would prompt her omni to shower her guest in fire.

The door opened and Aida stumbled in, dragging the inert form of the captain with her. Through the visor of her helmet, Neela could see that the girl's eyes were bloodshot and glistening, and her cheeks were wet with tears. Neela dropped the knife and deactivated her omni-tool, hurrying to help Aida get the captain inside. The door closed on its own once they were clear.

"Keelah! What happened?"

"I found her in the mess hall… She… she… she is dying. I grabbed everything I could from the infirmary. But I… I do not think I can… She is going to…"

Neela put a hand on her shoulder and shook her gently. "Aida, you can't fall apart. You're the medic! If you lose it, who will help her?"

Aida looked around the room for the first time, and noted the other two patients. She closed her eyes and bowed her head. Neela didn't think she'd ever seen the effervescent asari look so defeated. She took hold of the captain by the shoulders, gently pulling her from Aida's embrace and guiding her to the floor.

"Aida, focus! Illitha seems stable. But Selura lost a _lot_ of blood, and her arm is mangled. I don't think the medigel will be enough to save her. She needs you. What's wrong with the captain?"

"Goddess, what is _not_ wrong with her? Broken bones, internal injuries and bleeding, a concussion, dropping blood pressure..." she trailed off, and Neela could see the fear in her eyes behind the visor. "Neela… I am not sure I can do anything for her. I brought all the supplies I could grab, but I am not a surgeon, and she has suffered serious trauma."

Neela sighed. Her mother was a doctor, so she'd spent a bit of time when she was younger in a med bay, watching her work. She knew that doctors couldn't always save everyone, especially when things got bad. Her mother had always concentrated first on the ones with serious injuries, but who she thought she could save. Triage, she believed was the word.

"If you can't help her, then you have to help Selura. You can patch her up and save her arm. I'll monitor the captain, and do what I can to help you with her once you've stabilized Selura."

Aida seemed frozen. Her gaze moved from the captain to Selura to Illitha and back again. Neela was starting to think she was going to have to hit the asari over the helmet with something to jar her back to reality when the girl suddenly turned and hurried back to the airlock door.

"Where are you going?"

"The box of medical supplies is still out here," Aida answered, quickly stepping through the door when it opened and dragging the container into the room. She fished through it and tossed a package to Neela, who bobbled it in surprise before getting a grip on it.

"Cover her up with that to keep her warm. Monitor her with your omni-tool to make sure her blood pressure and respiration do not fall below critical-"

"I don't have a medscan function installed," Neela interrupted her.

"Illitha does. Use hers," Aida's eyes strayed to her friend. "You said she was stable. What is wrong with her?"

"She has wounds across her entire back, but none of them seem deep," Neela explained while she limped over and relieved the engineer of her omni-tool. "Selura bandaged her up, and when I got in here I applied medigel to the wounds in place of the bandages."

"Did she lose a lot of blood?"

"I… I don't know," Neela admitted. "She seems a little pale, but her breathing is good."

Aida was critically examining Selura's arm, and Neela couldn't tell from her expression whether the damage was as severe as it looked or not. She was just glad that the asari seemed to be focusing. She turned her attention to the captain, removing the contents of the package Aida had hurled at her, which turned out to be a thermal blanket. She spread it out over the asari and tucked the edges beneath her to keep it in place with the lack of gravity. Once that was accomplished, she activated Illitha's omni-tool, searching through it until she found the medscan.

"The medigel has stopped the bleeding for the moment," Aida finally announced. "Her arm can wait while I do what I can for the captain."

Neela nodded, her eyes straying to the unconscious scientist. She was more than a little worried. She just hoped that Selura wouldn't wake before her arm was treated with more than just a generous application of medigel. The thought of her returning to consciousness just to endure intense pain was maddening.

Neela's attention was recalled to her work when the omni-tool beeped. It had finished its analysis, and a simple readout of the results was displayed for her. Heart rate, blood pressure and respiration were all approaching critical levels.

"Aida! The captain is in trouble!"

Aida hurried over and knelt beside the elder asari, her eyes on the readout displayed over Neela's hand. She shook her head, and her voice took on a somewhat desperate tone.

"I… have to try to evacuate some of the blood. She has several lacerated organs from the broken ribs, and my earlier scan was detecting traces of hemothorax buildup. The bleeding must be worse than I thought. Maybe dragging her down here caused the wounds to tear further. Cut this armor off of her," the medic ordered, while she delved into the box of supplies.

Neela nodded and activated her omni-blade, only to have Aida hand her a pair of crooked scissors. She took the tool without comment and lifted the fabric at the shoulder away from the captain's body, shearing away a portion of it with ease. With a starting point, she cut across the front of the padded section of her armor above the chestplate, and then sliced through the multi-layered padding along her flanks, efficiently removing the chest piece. She cut the shirt beneath straight down the front and pulled it away. The captain's torso was heavily blotched with purple bruising, some of it so dark as to appear almost black. She swallowed heavily.

"I need to get to her arm too," Aida said softly, arranging her supplies on the floor next to herself, being careful not to let any of it float away.

Neela cut open one of the armored sleeves and pulled it off, tossing it aside. Aida leaned over the unconscious woman, deftly inserting an IV port into her arm, which she then secured in place with a small squirt of medigel. With that done, she connected a bag of synthetic blood substitute and handed it to Neela.

"Hold onto that. The automatic systems in the IV will supply her with blood at a steady pace, but when the bag is empty, I need you to disconnect it and replace it with another," Aida told her, handing her a second packet of artificial blood. "Can you do that?"

"I think so," Neela nodded, trying to control the queasiness she felt at being involved in the process directly. When she'd applied the medigel to Selura's arm, she'd been too worried to focus on her own discomfort. Now, sitting there while someone else was going to do the work, she wasn't sure she would be able to handle it.

"I never reached my internship as a trauma assistant," Aida said softly. Her expression was filled with uncertainty. "I hope I can get this right. If she dies because of me…"

"You'll do fine," Neela assured her, trying to sound confident. "She's in good hands."

Aida handed over her omni-tool. "Here. Illitha's medscan is too basic for this. Use mine and engage the Thorassic Mapping function. I need you to hold it over her chest and keep it steady so that I can see the holographic image clearly."

Neela nodded and hurriedly found the requested function, still holding the blood packet in her other hand. Once she activated it and positioned the omni-tool over the captain's chest, she could do nothing but wait and watch.

"What are you going to do?" she asked curiously.

"I have to insert a tube and drain the blood pooling around her heart and lungs. Once that is done, I need to find the source of the bleeding and apply some medigel internally to seal it. I cannot risk trying to suture or cauterize the lacerations myself. I do not have the training for it, and I could make the wounds worse. We will have to get her to a proper medical facility for care."

Neela steeled herself for what she was about to witness. She hoped that Aida was up to the task, but it sounded complicated to her. She just prayed that her stomach was up to the sight of all that blood.

"Once the captain is stable, you'll patch up Selura's arm?" she felt compelled to ask.

"Yes," Aida nodded. "Once the captain is stable."

"Okay. I'm sure you'll do fine," Neela said softly. Her eyes were drawn to the unconscious girl resting atop her desk. More than ever before, she wished her mother was there at that moment. She felt guilty for even thinking it, but she wasn't as confident that Aida was up to the task as she'd forced herself to sound.

* * *

**Horse Head Nebula, Two weeks earlier…**

A tour of the ship had turned up no sign of Selura. Neela found Prathus in the crew lounge, watching the latest installation of Battlespace, Aida and Illitha together in the cargo bay, and Neela had just been on the bridge after talking with the captain about her departure. She wasn't sure where the young scientist could have gone. For the last week, their guest had been avoiding them all as much as possible, and Neela felt bad about that. The girl made one poorly chosen joke, and found herself a virtual outcast on the ship. Neela knew very well what it was like to make a mistake that left one feeling like a pariah.

Still, as she returned to the upper deck, she was puzzled. The Sileya was not a large ship, and there were only so many places a person could go. She'd actually been tempted to search her own quarters, though she doubted that the asari would be so thoughtless as to contaminate her room just to find a place to hide. She was also tempted to check the maintenance tunnels, but that idea was just as outlandish.

She returned to the crew lounge, staring at the door to the restroom curiously. It was the one place she hadn't checked, simply because she didn't want to walk in on the girl while she was bathing, but it was starting to seem as if it was the only remaining place the girl could be hiding. She glanced at Prathus, trying to decide if she should ask him. Every time she'd mentioned the scientist to him in the last week, he always had some scathing remark to make, and it was irritating her to no end. But she wasn't sure she had any other option if she wanted to find her friend.

"Is anyone in the bathing area?"

"Why? Thinking of taking a shower?"

Neela knew that he was joking, since he knew well that she didn't use the bathing facilities for the crew. She braced herself for the snide comment that was undoubtedly coming.

"I can't find Selura."

"She's been hiding in her crew bunk for the majority of the week. It's been nice, hasn't it?"

Neela scowled. Apparently their last conversation about the asari's mistake on Ilos hadn't made the impression on the turian that she'd hoped. In fact, it seemed that everyone's reaction to the whole situation was far out of proportion to the offense. The only one that seemed at all forgiving was Illitha, and she was the one most shaken up when it happened. Neela decided to bite her tongue and keep quiet. She headed for the sleeping quarters.

Just as Prathus said, one of the bunks was apparently occupied; the soundproof dome was pulled closed. The thought that the young scientist was asleep occurred to her, but she wanted to check in on their guest, so she decided she would risk waking her. Using her omni-tool, she linked to the intercom system in the bunk. Each bunk had an intercom speaker inside in case of emergency.

"Selura?" she kept her tone quiet, in case the girl was actually asleep. "Are you awake?"

There was an audible click as the niche's dome was unlocked, and the barrier rose. Selura was seated inside, reclining against one of the concave walls, with a datapad in hand. She regarded the quarian with a curious expression.

"The captain relieved me from the pilot's seat for the next couple of hours. I was looking for you. I've barely seen you for the last week and I thought you might like to talk."

"Uh… sure. If you would like," Selura seemed surprised. "Would you mind climbing in here?"

"Into your bed?" Neela's hands settled on her hips. "That wasn't the sort of… conversation… I had in mind."

Selura laughed, and then that playful smile of hers surfaced. "Well, tongues could have been involved, at least," she grinned.

Neela found herself growing warm with embarrassment, even though she knew the scientist was only teasing her. "I was thinking we could have a seat in the mess hall and talk for a while. We should be arriving at Noveria in about two hours, and I'm free until then."

"I…" Selura seemed hesitant.

"You don't have to talk to me if you're not in the mood," Neela assured her.

"I am just concerned that someone else might walk in. My pod here is quiet and soundproof. There is no chance of anyone glaring at me if I just stay here."

"I know some of the crew has been cold…"

"Prathus threatened to shoot me. Captain Nisaria said she would not hesitate to maroon me on the nearest habitable world. Aida does nothing but glare at me."

Neela sighed. She could understand why the young scientist preferred to avoid them all. Still, she found herself curious. "What about Illitha?"

"She… Actually she was very gracious when I apologized to her. But there is an… awkwardness between us now that was not there at first."

"They'll all get over it," Neela assured her. She had to acknowledge that she could be wrong, however, because she actually had assumed they would have gotten past it already.

"Maybe," the asari seemed downcast.

Seeing the girl's obvious depression prompted Neela to a decision. She climbed up into the sleeping niche and reclined against the wall opposite Selura, pulling the dome closed as she settled. Once the pod was sealed, she felt like she was trapped inside a huge bronze egg with nothing but a mattress and a few pillows. And an asari.

"What are you doing?" she gestured toward the datapad in the young scientist's hands.

"Oh, this?" Selura deactivated the interface. "I was just examining the classified tech from our last stop. Trying to decipher the power systems and see if they could be adapted to… uh… other things," she trailed off. "Sorry. I am not trying to be rude. My company has a strict policy about discussing their projects with outside personnel."

"I understand," Neela nodded, though she was intensely curious. "My people approach the safety of the Flotilla in a cautious manner. I understand the need for secrets to maintain security."

"What is it like? To live in your fleet?"

Neela considered the question. "Life on the Flotilla can be hard. Resources are scarce, ships are crowded, and we are not welcome in many places. We're forced to scour every system we pass through for supplies and technology. Some of the ships in the fleet are extremely old. Keeping everything working is our top priority. But we're used to it. It's comfortable. The crew of a ship is like a family."

"I think it sounds nice, the way your people depend on each other. And at least when you are there, you can get rid of the suit," Selura smiled. "It must be hard when you're away, to wear it all the time."

Neela smiled at the girl's assumption. It was obvious that she really didn't know anything about the quarian people. "Actually, we wear them even among family. Being exposed to the suit environment of another quarian often leads to a brief period of mild illness. Not that it is common. It's a gesture of supreme trust. There are very few places where it is safe to take off our suits."

Selura was obviously nonplussed. "You wear them all the time? Do you sleep in them?"

"Well," Neela hesitated, shifting position uncomfortably. "Normally, yes. I admit that on this ship, however, I've indulged in the luxury of sleeping without mine. Since my quarters are sterile and self-contained, I can remove it without the risk of sickness or infection, since there's no one sharing the space. It has been… liberating in a way… to feel cold metal and soft fabric against my skin, rather than through the tactile emulators."

"What about bathing? Surely you must take the suit off to bathe…"

"The suit's functions include a chemical wash to keep us clean. Of course there are more traditional bathing facilities on the flotilla, but they are a luxury. They must be thoroughly sanitized between uses, and with the scarcity of resources, it's a rare indulgence."

"How do you…?" Selura's cheeks darkened with a hint of purple, and she shook her head. "Nevermind."

"What?"

"I just cannot imagine being confined to a suit my whole life. Do you ever tire of it?"

"Our suits are a part of our culture. There is a celebration of sorts when a quarian is fitted for her first suit. It's an important landmark in our lives. I'll admit there are times when I get jealous of other races. They can hold the hand of a friend and feel the warmth of their skin, or enjoy the caress of the breeze when they visit a planet. Maybe when we…" she trailed off. The liberation of Rannoch was not something she could discuss. "Perhaps someday, we will find a planet of our own and I can experience these things."

"I am trying to picture spending all my time in an environmental suit. It is difficult to wrap my head around the idea."

"Our suits aren't simple environmental gear. There is an advanced network of processors, sensors and functions installed in them." Neela held out her omni-tool. "Take a look. The functions in a typical suit number in the hundreds."

Selura took the proffered omni-tool and activated it, scrolling through the functions attached to the suit. Neela guessed from her expression that she was as amazed by the variety as she was curious. The quarian appreciated the girl's interest in her people and her lifestyle. It was quite flattering, actually.

"A lot of these look like diagnostic programs, medical functions, scanning and vision enhancements, or safety features," Selura commented after a moment of silence. "What is 'Nerve-stim Pro?' A massage function of some kind for stress relief?"

Neela felt her cheeks burning. "It's… Uh… Well, not exactly. It… It is for relaxation and… uh," she stammered. She wasn't embarrassed to have the function installed… she was an adult, after all, and certain needs had to be met from time to time. But it was a private matter, and having attention called to it was awkward.

"Relaxation? That must be nice from time to time. Here, let me turn it on for you. You can relax while we talk." Selura's finger drifted toward the holographic key.

"N-no! Don't!"

Neela reacted by instinct, scandalized by the idea of that particular function being activated while she was in the presence of another person. She lashed out with a foot, kicking Selura in the shin, drawing a started yelp from her companion. Selura stared at her in hurt astonishment.

"What was that for? I was only trying to help."

"It… Well… You shouldn't mess with a quarian's suit functions," Neela hedged. "The processors have multiple encryptions and an omni-tool access recognition code for a reason… Someone taking control of our suit processes is… well… it would be terrifying."

"Yeah," Selura regarded her skeptically. "A sensible cover, but I am not buying it. Why the panic when I threatened to engage this program? I may have to engage it to find out…" Her finger strayed toward the holographic key again, but there was a playful little smirk on her lips this time.

"You… You're blackmailing me into answering?" Neela stared at her with wide eyes, torn between being offended and finding the insistent curiosity oddly endearing.

"I would never blackmail the only friend I have left on the ship. I am employing scientific theory! I have formed a hypothesis as to the nature of this function, and now I need to test my hypothesis! Unless someone can offer a better theory…" Selura grinned.

"Bosh'tet," Neela muttered, but the word was softened considerably by her growing amusement. Looking into Selura's eyes, she didn't believe the girl would press the button even if she refused to answer. It was a tease and nothing more.

"I think my translator experienced an error. What did you call me?"

Neela smiled behind the visor and shook her head. "You can look it up somewhere later," she suggested. "I don't suppose I can convince you to drop this particular line of questioning?"

"Not likely. Your reaction has piqued my curiosity."

"Fine," Neela sighed, her embarrassment returning in full force as she regarded the asari. She was tempted to refuse to answer, but given how hard the last week had been for the scientist, she felt that showing some trust was the perfect thing to do. The girl's interest in her was flattering, after all, and she didn't see the harm beyond a little awkwardness. "Nerve-stim Pro is for… well, it stimulates certain areas… for the purpose of pleasure…," she trailed off, feeling herself blushing.

"It is for… _Oh…_" A deep purple spread through Selura's cheeks, and her hand moved away from the omni-tool. "So if I activated it, you would have felt-"

"Yes," Neela shifted uncomfortably.

"And the idea of it happening with me here was why you-"

"Exactly," Neela nodded.

"Oh," Selura looked down. "I would definitely have kicked me too."

"It's alright. You didn't know."

A moment of silence passed between the two. It was somehow awkward and comfortable at the same time. Neela was comfortable confiding in the young scientist, even if she was a bit embarrassed by the subject matter in question. Selura looked up at her, and Neela tilted her head when she saw the corner of the asari's lips curl upward in the mischief-filled smile she was getting to know so well.

"So can I activate it now?" Her hand darted toward the holographic key.

"No!" Neela snatched the device from the girl's hand, leveling a playful glare from behind the tinted surface of her visor.

"I can see your eyes a bit, you know. Glaring is rude," Selura grinned at her, and then her expression sobered. "Thank you for trusting me enough to answer," she said softly. "It means a lot."

"The others will come around," Neela smiled. "But I think you've had a hard week, and I _do_ trust you. I thought you should know it."

Selura's smile blossomed into something the quarian found dazzling. She'd seen the asari's playful smile, her teasing grin, her mischievous smirk, and a soft and almost bashful one from time to time since she'd met her, but she didn't think she'd ever seen such a smile of simple joy on her before. It seemed to transform her whole expression. The girl crawled over and sat beside her, hip-to-hip with her, and activated the datapad she was using earlier, holding it out where Neela could see it.

"I trust you too," she said softly. "Would you like to see what I was looking at when you came in? It's a Prothean medical stasis pod of some kind."

The mutual trust the scientist was demonstrating warmed Neela's heart. She focused on the datapad, listening to the girl's explanation of what she had figured out by studying the schematics, though much of it was beyond her. Neela was adept at repairing and employing various technologies, but she was no scientist. Still, sitting there side-by-side with her friend, a comfortable warmth filled her, and she let the girl talk without interruption, amused by the way Selura's speech grew faster with each passing minute. It wasn't long before the rapidity of her speech sounded positively salarian.

* * *

**Scott, Capital of Terra Nova, Now…**

"On your nine!" Zaeed shouted, prompting his fellow human to turn to his left and fire, gunning down a husk just as it leapt over a fallen slab of concrete. A grenade exploded nearby, the force of the blast rocking the mercenary, and small chips of concrete and chunks of dirt rained over the battlefield. The sound of gunfire echoed all around him.

Progress toward their destination was slow. While the Reapers themselves were still stomping their way through the southern portion of the city, their ground forces had spread throughout the northern neighborhoods. Despite making an effort to avoid attracting notice, they were repeatedly assaulted by roving bands of husks and their batarian equivalents. Zaeed lined up the head of another of the batarian monstrosities in his sights and squeezed the trigger several times in succession, grunting in satisfaction as its bloated cranium burst and it slumped to the ground. Several others nearby immediately abandoned their assault and ran to the fallen corpse, tearing off chunks of it and devouring them.

"Goddamn cannibals," Zaeed growled, unleashing a hail of gunfire on the huddled group. The first few shots got their attention, but he managed to put most of them down before they could return fire. The last one got off only a few shots before it joined its fellows on the ground. He scanned the surroundings, checking on the welfare of the group.

The vorcha were gleefully leaping over abandoned vehicles and other impediments, one of them using an omni-blade to gut husks and cannibals in a frenzy while the second sprayed everything in sight with gouts of fire from his flamethrower. The other human, Robert, was handling himself with skill, firing on targets with precision when they presented themselves. And the glowing orange sphere of a combat drone drifted around the combat, discharging electrical bursts at any enemy that came within range. Zaeed wasn't sure to which of his companions that particular piece of equipment belonged.

"Where's Salik?" He demanded suddenly, realizing that the salarian was gone.

Robert looked around briefly, and then shrugged, turning and unloading several shots into the chest of a husk as it rounded a nearby corner.

"Damn it," Zaeed growled.

He turned back with the intention of retracing their steps to find his employer, only to find a group of three cannibals shuffling up the street. He drew down on the trio and his finger was just starting to tighten on the trigger when the resounding clamor of a hand cannon discharging rang through the street, and one of the cannibals' heads burst. The slender form of the salarian shimmered into visibility just steps away from the other two, and he quickly fired a round through the eye of each of them. Zaeed lowered his rifle.

"Could have warned us you had a tactical cloak," he pointed out. "I was about to fire on the three of them. I might have hit you."

"Please," the salarian sniffed. "Not an untrained amateur. My position was one meter to the right of the firing lane of any individual in this entourage. Only an exceedingly poor marksman could conceivably aim so wide. Based on observations from the time of first hostilities, no member of this team could be defined as a 'poor marksman'," his gaze shifted to the vorcha with the flamethrower, who was roasting fallen husks and cannibals now that there were no mobile targets left in the vicinity, seemingly content to spray waves of fire over anything in range. "Well… Term might apply to the vorcha," he amended.

Zaeed, following his gaze, scowled. "Hey! Knock that shit off! Save the goddamn fuel!"

"You no talk to us that way!" the vorcha shouted back. "We burn you!"

"Try it. Give me an excuse to execute both of you ugly bastards. It'll make my day."

"Enough posturing!" the salarian interrupted. "And lower your voices. Have suffered a multitude of delays already. Your continued shouting only guarantees the attention of any surviving groups of Reaper shock troops in the vicinity."

"Good! We like destroying Reapers," the vorcha with the flamethrower growled.

"You aren't being paid to destroy Reapers," the salarian pointed out evenly. "Go find Reapers to kill if it pleases you, but should you walk away, there will be no payment forthcoming," Salik's eyes roamed over the rest of the group. "Statement applies to everyone. Leave and serve as a distraction elsewhere without pay. Or remain with this group and concentrate on the assignment for which you were hired. Decide now."

"I'm here for the job," Zaeed didn't hesitate. His menacing gaze never wavered from the vorcha, and he waited for their answer, hoping they would opt to go kill Reapers.

"We stay. Money is more important," the omni-blade-wielding vorcha answered for the both of them.

"Right then," Zaeed's expression never changed, but he couldn't deny the disappointment he felt. "Let's get moving."

"Indeed. Still sixteen blocks from our destination. Cannot afford any more unnecessary delays," Salik activated his omni-tool, and the combat drone flickered and vanished, the projector returning to him.

Zaeed shouldered past the vorcha, taking point on the journey toward the facility, warily scanning their surroundings as he advanced. The buildings and alleyways gave enemies a thousand potential places to hide, as they'd quickly discovered after entering the city.

Behind him, he heard the vorcha growl and shout, "Stupid human! I break you!"

"Shut up!" Salik snapped.

Zaeed snorted.

* * *

**Bekenstein, Two weeks earlier…**

Zaeed's gaze anxiously scanned the skies for signs of a transport shuttle or skycar while his vehicle hovered just above the treeline. His hope was that his remaining two marks would answer the call he sent out and that the signal meant what he was assuming it meant. He was well aware that if they showed up, he would need to act fast. Though night had fallen, the moon was almost full, and it cast enough light to allow them to see the terrain once they were close enough. When they spotted the scorched grass throughout the fields and the lingering tendrils of smoke from the incendiary grenades, they would likely flee.

He would have preferred to take cover on the ridge and use a grenade launcher or other heavy weapon to disable their transport as it arrived, but the Illusive Man's scanning device needed a retinal scan, so he couldn't risk an explosion or fire that damaged both eyes. He was damned lucky that he hadn't suffered that setback with the sniper, since he hadn't been aware of the shooter's identity until he'd peppered the entire area with thermite.

He tightened the straps that secured him in the seat, and when he returned his gaze to the horizon, he thought he saw a dark shape pass in front of the glowing orb of Bekenstein's moon. He strained to spot the shape against the darkness of the night sky, but he'd lost sight of it. So he waited and watched.

A dark silhouette floated in from the west, descending toward the field. When Zaeed spotted it, he cursed. They had apparently circled around to approach from a different direction, and he had only seconds to act before they would notice the signs of the earlier battle and flee. He shoved the throttle to full power, gunning the engine and speeding toward the inbound craft. He was glad to see as he approached that it was another skycar, and not an armored shuttle. The coming impact would have been a lot more unpleasant if he was forced to ram a shuttle.

"Surprise, you bastards…" he muttered as the other vehicle started to turn. They'd obviously spotted the scorched earth and were getting ready to flee.

They never had time to do more than start to turn. Zaeed's skycar dove on them from above the trees at full throttle, striking the rear section of their vehicle with tremendous force, driving both vehicles down into the earth below. The impact rattled the mercenary's entire body. Even though he was firmly strapped in, the moments following the crash were a bit hazy. When his head cleared, his transport was resting upside down in the field, and he could see the silhouette of the other transport just a few meters away, with clouds of smoke pouring from the drive area at the rear. He reached for the emergency release for his restraints and snapped them free, drawing his pistol as he dropped to the ceiling. The doors on most skycars swung upward, so he fired a handful of shots through the windshield, and then shattered the transparent polymer surface with a few forceful kicks.

By the time he crawled out of the twisted remains of his vehicle, there was a figure stumbling out of the other vehicle as well, dragging an inert form along. From the shape and height of the silhouette, he assumed it was a man, which made the other one the remaining female. He never gave the man a chance to run or fight. He took aim and fired two shots into the man's chest, and his targets fell over in a heap. He hurried around the wreckage of their transport and trained his pistol on them, studying their faces in the moonlight. He recognized them both as the last of the four individuals he'd been watching. Blood was trickling from the man's mouth, and the woman had a nasty head wound and was unconscious.

"Please…" the man gasped, "whatever your reasons…" he coughed, and his voice was almost inaudible after the spasm had passed, "Spare… my… wife." His head lolled to the side.

"Sorry," he trained his pistol on her. "Your lives for Vido's. That's a deal I ain't passing up out of pity."

Two shots rang out, and silence descended over the scene.

The two were scanned with practiced efficiency – Zaeed was getting used to the routine – and he waited anxiously after the scanner announced that all five scans were confirmed. His revenge was in his hands, and the seconds while the device reconfigured itself stretched on for an eternity.

Blue light shone out of the scanner end, slowly coalescing into the image of the Illusive Man, seated in a chair. He held a glass in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

"Well done, Massani," he greeted the mercenary. "The device has just uploaded proof of your success. You don't disappoint."

"What about Vido's location?" Zaeed prompted.

"The device is decrypting it as we speak. However, I wanted to make you another offer. Our victory against the Reapers is imminent. I can always use loyal and dependable people. I am now in possession of the best armor, weapons and upgrades the universe has to offer. Join Cerberus. Together, we will guide humanity to its proper place at the pinnacle of galactic civilization."

"And let Vido walk? Forget it."

"Not at all, Massani. I can supply you with weapons and equipment, and a full Cerberus strike force to assist you in dealing with your old friend. Afterward, you help me to attain _my _goals."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then the scanner gives you the reward you are due and we part ways. But you'll be missing out on the greatest victory humanity has ever achieved."

"It's a generous offer, but I'm better on my own."

"The decision is yours, Massani. But that's an unfortunate mistake. With us, you could have gone on to greater things than you ever imagined. Stand by for your payment," the hologram vanished.

"Initializing," the drone's synthetic voice announced.

Zaeed was scanning his surroundings, waiting for the ambush he had been so sure was coming when he reached this point. But he saw no signs of shuttles or troops in the area. He set the scanner down on the hood of the wrecked skycar and started toward his own, intent on retrieving his gear. It would be a long walk back to Milgrom.

He'd taken about two steps before he got his payment, though not the one he was expecting. The scanner detonated with tremendous force. The blast wave swept the mercenary off of his feet and drove him into the side of his vehicle with bone-crushing force. His head swam and his vision dimmed to an indistinct gray haze.

"Bastard…," was the last word to pass his lips before consciousness fled.


	10. Chapter 10: Assistance

**Author's Note: Thanks again to everyone who has commented, followed/favorited or otherwise taken an interest in my story. It means a lot to me. Also, because my friend pointed it out when he read the chapter yesterday, I am aware that leaving something "laying" around is incorrect and the proper word is "lying" around. But the speaker in that section isn't old enough to speak perfectly, so yes... it's deliberate.**

* * *

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**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Ten: Assistance

.

**Scott, Capital City of Terra Nova, Now…**

After the few initial skirmishes that hampered the journey into the city, Zaeed and his companions found the streets eerily empty. Given the lack of enemy movement, the mercenary would have expected to see signs of civilians packing up their things and fleeing, or at least the odd roving husk or cannibal. While he had been alert and ready for action when they were still running into enemy bands, he felt more edgy walking amidst the abandoned buildings and silent streets than he had when he actually felt like they were in danger.

As he reached an intersection, he stepped close to the wall at the corner, holding up a hand to signal the others to stop. He peered around the edge of the building for a second, expertly surveying the road ahead with just that brief look, and then he silently motioned for the group to advance. Another deserted street. Were it not for the distant echo of gunfire and the occasional horn of the Reaper ships, he doubted there would have been a sound to break the unnerving stillness of the area.

He slowed his pace, falling back to within a few steps of his employer.

"What the hell is going on?" he demanded in an undertone. "At first, they were all over us. Now there's not a goddamn thing in sight."

"Uncertain," the salarian murmured. "Difficult to fathom the tactical choices made by an intelligence so incomprehensible to our own. Perhaps Reaper forces are massing in ambush somewhere ahead, since small groups failed to impede our progress to any significant degree."

"Husks aren't that smart," Zaeed muttered. "Hard to believe they'd get much brighter, even with their masters just a few klicks away."

"Reapers are occupied in the southern reaches of the city. Perhaps resistance is more concentrated than they anticipated and their forces have been recalled to place additional pressure on defending forces."

"Maybe…"

A shadow fell over the group, and four of the five members of their contingent immediately scattered, finding cover wherever they could. The salarian, on the other hand, simply hit a trigger on his omni-tool and vanished in a brief shimmer of light under the concealment of his tactical cloak. Zaeed peered out from behind the vending machine he'd chosen as cover, watching as a massive… thing… soared over the street. He wasn't even sure how to describe it. It looked like a winged worm of sorts with legs. Some sort of Reaper air support. The creature banked in the air and circled around, and then its wings beat to hold it in place, hovering over the street ahead. Zaeed brought his rifle up, ready to fire if the creature detected them and decided to engage.

The creature had a huge open maw at the front of its head that reminded him of the front aperture of an oculus. He wouldn't have been surprised if the beast fired some form of artillery from the port. Seconds stretched on while it hovered, and he tensed, certain that it was about to strike. However, just when he was positive it knew they were there, the winged abomination settled to the street, turned, and leapt back into the air, vanishing over the buildings toward the southwest.

"Why it no attack! Want to burn Reapers!" the pyromaniac vorcha growled.

"Right. It wouldn't have annihilated you before you got into range or anything," Zaeed shook his head. "Idiot."

"Rraaaah! Hate you, human!" the vorcha snarled.

"I'm crushed, Jackass."

"Enough," Salik cut in, disengaging his cloak. "Proceed toward the destination. Critical that we reach it while the path is unobstructed."

"What the hell was that thing?" Robert wondered aloud.

"Reminds me of something I saw on Tuchanka once," Zaeed answered him. "Reapers obviously made some modifications though. Not sure what it was called."

"Harvester," Salik supplied. "Found on numerous worlds throughout the galaxy. Theoretically kin to Klixen. Reapers apparently decided to repurpose them as air support. Thankfully unable to detect us or uninterested in trying."

"That makes no sense," Robert shook his head. "By the time its shadow fell over us, it should have spotted us clear as day in the street. Even if it didn't, you'd think with all the tech implanted in that thing, it could have detected us via infrared or something."

"Agreed," Zaeed nodded. "I'm starting to feel like something is very wrong. Like we're being left alone for a reason."

"Reapers are machines," Salik sniffed. "Simple mathematical logic dictates that our unassuming group of five prowling through zones far from Reaper capital ships would be evaluated as low-priority targets in comparison with the active resistance effort to the south. Surmise that additional harvesters will fly by on occasion to track our progress, but deem it unlikely that further harassment will be incoming unless we prove ourselves a threat to the Reaper objectives here prior to reaching our destination."

"I don't buy it," Zaeed scoffed. "If we're a threat, low-priority or not, that thing should have taken the two minutes it would have cost it to wipe us out. One less variable in their arithmetic. Something else is going on here."

"Have several ideas, but Reaper motivations irrelevant," the salarian gestured vaguely. "Keep moving. Regardless of tactical purpose behind lack of resistance, our path remains unobstructed at present. Keep wary of possible ambush, but must push on toward the objective."

"Care to share these 'ideas' of yours?"

"Unimportant at present. Will divulge relevant details if and when such disclosure becomes necessary. Frustrating to repeatedly reiterate the purpose of your presence here. Escort and protect. Leave analysis and implementation of overall mission progress to me."

Zaeed frowned, but turned and resumed his position at the front of the group, keeping close to the buildings that lined the street. The salarian was right that they needed to move on while the way was clear, and that he hadn't been hired for his insight into Reaper tactics, but he didn't like operating without all the facts. These machines had supposedly wiped out all intelligent life in the galaxy before. They had to be intelligent enough to pull it off. Somehow, he got the feeling that they were walking into an ambush, as Salik had warned to be wary of. Either that or they were being used as pawns for some other purpose…

A thought occurred to him. He stopped and turned toward the salarian.

"Any chance Cerberus holds the facility we're headed to?"

"Exceedingly likely. If Cerberus came here for the Prothean ruins, logical to assume they would attempt to mine data from company that discovered them, to determine what information had been gathered regarding the site. Was expecting to find a token force of Cerberus personnel at minimum."

"When were you gonna fill us in on that fact?" Zaeed scowled.

"When it became relevant," the salarian responded with unusual brevity.

"Maybe the Reapers already know what's waiting for us. If the bastards are as smart as they're supposed to be, letting us and Cerberus fight it out and then swooping in to mop up the leftovers seems like an efficient plan."

"Indeed. Efficient and calculated. Much like Reaper repurposing of conquered planets' occupants and other demonstrated proclivities. Was one of many possibilities I was considering for lack of interest in attacking our group."

"Alright, I know we're supposed to leave the plotting to you, but how about filling us in on any other goddamn theories like that one?" Zaeed demanded. "Knowing we're headed into entrenched Cerberus forces falls squarely into the category of 'information we damn well better know before we get there'."

"Reaper forces may simply be attempting to ascertain our destination; Illogical to assume they can predict it based on our progress through the city thus far. In such a case, leaving us unmolested would enable them to discover the goal of our trip. Could then wipe us out and investigate the site to determine potential threat to their operations. May not be aware of Cerberus presence at facility at all."

Zaeed's expression hardened with anger. The more information the salarian held back, the more he was feeling like an expendable pawn. After the situation with the Illusive Man, he didn't like feeling like he would be used and discarded for the second time…

"Have additional theories regarding absence of resistance, but none pertain to possible threats awaiting us at our destination. If all curiosity has been assuaged, perhaps we can now proceed? If not, will be happy to subject the lot of you to neural shock and proceed alone. Number of inquiries made thus far is perplexing. Do not recall offering bonus pay as incentive for incessant interrogation."

Zaeed glared at the salarian, more than a little tempted to tell the amphibious bastard to shove the job up his ass, or whatever term the salarians used for the orifice. Cloaca? He was forced to remind himself that he was here to shoot some Cerberus goons and maybe get a few answers. Grudgingly, he turned and raised his rifle, resuming the lead. If Salik expected to double-cross him, he would deal with it when it happened. But the salarian was going to need more than a Tactical Cloak to survive the reprisal.

* * *

**Bekenstein, Two weeks earlier…**

A krogan was dancing on Zaeed's head. At least, that's what it felt like when awareness returned to him. He put a hand to his forehead and groaned, pushing himself up to a seated position. The scent of smoke and melted polymers was heavy upon the air, and he started coughing almost the moment he was upright, inhaling a lungful of the noxious fumes.

The mercenary winced when he got to his feet; it felt like he'd pulled every muscle in his body, and then had been used as a punching bag from the back of his head down. It wasn't the first time he had been exposed to the concussive blast of explosive ordinance, but it never got any more pleasant. He imagined he would be bruised for the next couple of days. Turning to peer through the smoke at the twisted wreckage that had been the Cerberus skycar prior to the detonation, he swore viciously. Because the Illusive Man had tracked Vido down once, he'd taken the man at his word this time. It was perfectly clear now that he'd been a fool. He didn't like feeling like one.

_That son of a bitch is gonna regret crossing me,_ he vowed. _And when I find him, I'll take my goddamn time with him before I put him out of his misery._

He turned and staggered over to his skycar, cursing the stiffness that had taken hold of his joints while he was unconscious. Crawling through the shattered windshield, he made his way to the back of the interior, opening the hatch to the storage compartment. Grabbing his duffle, he pulled it out with him, tossing the bag into the grass once he was back outside in the night air.

_Someone, somewhere, has to know where that bastard hides_. _I think it's time to start tracking down his flunkies and squeezing them until they squeal. Eventually one of them will give me what I want to know._

With vague plans for revenge rolling around in his head, he set up his portable transmission booster, hoping that he'd be able to reach a reliable uplink from his current location. Once the equipment was unfolded and the miniature transmission dish had power, he activated his omni-tool and designated all of his contacts as recipients before recording the message he planned to send off to them.

"This is going out to every contact I ever took a job from. If any of you have jobs that will involve shooting at Cerberus, I want to hear about it. The first one that gives me a solid lead can have the entire payment for the job. I just want to be in the same place as those Cerberus bastards at the same time."

Activating the encryption suite in his omni-tool, he coded the message and sent it off. Then he sat down in the grass and started removing his armor so that he could finally check the wound he'd received hours earlier. Of course the automatic trauma systems in his armor had squirted medigel all over the wound the instant it occurred, but he wanted to make certain that the medigel would be enough. Fortunately, it appeared to be a through-and-through flesh wound and nothing more. The armor's systems had already done everything that could be done without surgical help. Satisfied, he applied a bit of medigel to the cut on the side of his head, and then closed his eyes, trying to give his headache the chance to fade away while he waited. He still felt a little groggy.

_Probably a concussion…_

He frequently checked the chrono on his omni-tool while he waited, noting with impatience that no one seemed to be in a great hurry to get back to him. He knew that Cerberus operated in secret, but he had connections all over the known galaxy. He was sure someone would have a lead. He was contemplating sending off another message when he received an incoming signal.

"What have you got?" he demanded without preamble.

"_Good to hear from you too, Massani,_" a deep voice answered. He recognized it as his contact on the Citadel, a man named Karl Wensler. "_Looking to take a shot at Cerberus? What'd they do to you?_"

"They crossed me. That's enough. Now give me the bloody info," Zaeed growled.

"_Alright, alright,_" the man chuckled. "_Got a salarian on the Citadel looking for mercs with both skill and discretion. Not many details on the job save that the muscle may have to do some heavy fighting. Rumor has it, however, that Cerberus_ might _be the target._"

"Might? Is that the best you've got?"

"_Cerberus doesn't exactly advertise their activities,_" Karl sounded amused. "_Not many terrorist organizations announce their plans before execution. A 'might' is the best I can give you. Would you prefer I lied and said 'definitely'?_"

"I'll take what I can get," Zaeed muttered. "I'm right next door to the Citadel anyway. What's the meeting point and timeframe?"

"_A shithole in the middle of Zakera Ward called 'Jack's Coffin'. My info says the salarian will be there every night this week in private room four. At the end of the week, he moves with whatever help he's managed to pick up._"

"Right," Zaeed nodded to himself in satisfaction. "Can't hurt to hear the details."

"_My standard ten percent finders' fee would be sufficient, Massani, if you agree to owe me a favor on top. You sure you want to give up the whole payment? It's a substantial payday._"

"Unusually kind of you, Karl. But I can't owe you on this one. If it works out like I plan, I have to be free to move on to the next job without stopping. The Illusive Man won't know what hit him by the time I'm done."

"_Fair enough,_" his contact sounded resigned. "_I'll pass along a nav-point for Jack's Coffin. And I _won't_ pass along the payment when the job's done._"

"Thanks, Karl."

Zaeed waited until he received the nav-point upload and then disengaged the channel. After collapsing the portable comm booster and packing it away, he shouldered his duffle and set off toward Milgrom. It was going to be a hell of a long walk back to town, and he had a feeling he'd be stewing in his anger the entire way. The sooner he could gun down some of the Illusive Man's people the better he'd feel.

* * *

**Above Terra Nova, Now…**

Neela had tried to keep her eyes open and help Aida perform her work on the Captain. She truly had. However, it wasn't long before the laser incisions, the blood, the glimpses of internal musculature and the like had caused her stomach to heave. She managed to choke back the urge to vomit, but she had to close her eyes and concentrate on anything but the sights and sounds of Aida's work. She spent the time rocking back and forth, humming to herself, doing her best to block it all out. She was sure that she hadn't been much help to Aida, who really needed her to hold the display of the thoracic scan still, but she'd done what she could.

Now, she had her back turned to the young medic while Aida worked on Selura's arm. Neela still felt ill, and on top of the queasiness, it seemed that the room was becoming awfully cold. Her knee ached, and she felt like she was shaking because of the low temperature of the room. She activated her omni-tool and ran a quick diagnostic on her suit's internal environmental controls, wondering if the heating units were offline. Ordinarily, her suit maintained a comfortable internal temperature. When she found them working properly and the internal suit temperature to be normal, she frowned.

After risking a quick glance at Aida's work, she was forced to look away and swallow the bile that rose in the back of her throat. Aida was studiously mending the torn muscle tissue, using the ultrasonic emitter to remove the medigel centimeter by centimeter, in order to control the bleeding as she worked. She'd used the majority of their supply of synthetic blood while working on the Captain. Only one packet remained, and the medic had opted not to use it unless she had to.

"Will she be alright?" Neela inquired.

"I do not know, Neela," Aida sounded both frustrated and tired. "I have done my best to bind the fragments of broken bone in place, and I will stitch the wound closed, but like the captain, she will need a proper surgeon to see to her, or there could be lasting damage. At least I can stabilize her. The captain still may not…" her voice broke, and she bowed her head.

"You did your best," Neela said softly.

"My best," Aida repeated. "My best is not good enough."

Neela saw a tear slide down Aida's cheek, and she was about to say something further when a soft groan drew the attention of both women. On the bed, Illitha was stirring, and Neela hurried over to her. She put her hands on the engineer's shoulders to hold her relatively still and crouched to bring herself to the asari's eye level, wincing when the motion caused a twinge of pain in the side of her knee.

"Try not to move," she warned. "You've been injured. How do you feel?"

"Wha-? Wh-where am I?" Illitha asked groggily. She tried to move her arm, tugging against the bed sheet that held her in place. "Why is my arm tied to the bed?"

"I think that's Selura's doing. She bandaged your wounds to stop the bleeding, and I'm guessing she needed to make sure you weren't floating around while she worked. You are in my quarters."

"Wounds?" Illitha looked confused. Her gaze was abstracted.

"Don't you remember? You were injured somehow."

"Lith, focus and try to remember," Aida spoke up. "Do you recall how you got in here?"

The engineer closed her eyes. When she didn't open them again, Neela was starting to think she'd lapsed back into unconsciousness, but after a moment, the girl suddenly nodded.

"I remember," she murmured. "There was an overload in engineering. I shielded Selura from the blast, but we both got driven into the wall and she passed out. I carried her in here because it was the only place I knew would be safe."

"You saved her life," Neela smiled.

"I-I guess…" Illitha fell silent.

"Lith, have you seen Prathus since the attack started?" Aida asked.

"No," the engineer should her head. "Has no one seen him?"

"No," Neela sighed. "Once everyone is stable in here, I'll go out and search the ship for him. He may be injured."

"Maybe he evacuated," Illitha suggested, and then sighed. "Can you untie me please? My back feels numb and I want to get up."

"I'm not sure you should move around," Neela glanced toward Aida, waiting to hear the medic's opinion.

"The medigel should keep the wounds closed," Aida said distractedly. "You should get into fresh environmental gear, Lith."

Neela released Illitha from the makeshift restraints, and as she did so, she frowned at the girl's suggestion from a few moments before.

"I'm not sure that Prathus would leave the ship without knowing the crew is alright."

"Neela is right," Aida muttered. "He would not-"

"Yes he would," Illitha cut her off, rising slowly to a kneeling position on the bed. "He would trust us to get off the ship safely. If he got to an escape pod, I am positive he would leave."

"We still have to look. If he was injured or trapped somewhere, he might not have been able to reach a pod," Neela pointed out.

"True," Illitha murmured. She was looking around the room for the first time, and Neela could see worry in her expression. Her eyes went back and forth from the captain to Selura. "What happened to Selura? She was unconscious when I got her in here, but I thought she was otherwise uninjured."

"It's a long story," Neela shook her head. She still felt chilly, and she activated her omni-tool, adjusting her suit's thermostat up a few degrees. "It's so cold in here. Must be the lack of heat in the cargo bay without atmosphere…"

"What?" Illitha looked at her strangely. "It is not… It… It is actually very warm in here." The engineer peeled off the remains of her environmental gear, and then pointed to the ones Neela had salvaged from the locker outside. "Could you hand me one of those?"

Neela nodded and limped over to where the protective outfits were floating near the floor, retrieving one of them for the engineer, holding it out with a trembling hand.

"You are shaking," Illitha pointed out. "Are you hurt?"

"What?" Aida turned to look at the quarian when she heard Illitha's statement. "I saw you limping, but I thought you were okay. Are you injured?"

Neela was scarcely aware of the attention. She was staring at her outstretched hand, and starting to put together the signs she should have seen earlier. She activated her omni-tool and triggered the suit's medical diagnostic suite, frowning at the information displayed there. She was running a fever. Now that she was thinking about it, perhaps her persistent queasiness was only partially the result of what she'd seen Aida doing.

"Damn," she muttered. "I wrenched my knee, but I'm not otherwise hurt. It's just…"

"Just what?" Illitha prompted.

"When I brought Selura back in here, she was bleeding so badly. I had one hand pressed on the wound to slow the bleeding, but I couldn't get the medigel packet open with only the other hand. So… I took off my mask to use my teeth. Now I'm running a fever…"

"…from exposure to an unclean environment," Aida finished for her.

Illitha smiled at the quarian despite the news. She was pulling on her new environmental suit, but her gaze rested speculatively on Neela.

"You risked exposure to outside contaminants to save her," the engineer said softly. "The fever is not life-threatening, is it?"

"No, no." Neela shook her head. "I can't contract any diseases that one of you might be carrying. I just may feel a bit under the weather for a few days."

Illitha was still smiling knowingly at the quarian, and Neela found the strange smile somewhat uncomfortable. She wasn't sure why. She fidgeted under the slender asari's gaze for a moment, and then finally had to say something.

"What are you smiling for?"

"No reason," Illitha's smile remained. "I just think it is nice that you care so much about her."

Neela glanced at the inert form of the scientist. Aida was just resuming her work on the girl's arm, apparently satisfied that the quarian didn't require treatment. The young pilot kept her gaze on the face of her friend, rather than her wounded arm. Illitha was right; she _did _care what happened to Selura. They were friends, after all. But as she stared at the face of the unconscious asari, she felt warm inside. It was a pleasant change from the chilled sensation the fever provoked in her.

"Damn fever," she muttered.

"Will the captain be okay?" Illitha asked suddenly. "She… Uh, she looks awfully pale."

"I cannot say," Aida's voice was thick with emotion. "She is very unstable. We need to get her to a surgeon on the surface. But she may not… survive-" her voice cracked, but she continued. "-long enough to get there."

Illitha was almost immediately by her friend's side, putting a hand on the medic's shoulder and giving a reassuring squeeze. There wasn't much she could say, but Neela knew that she was always there to support Aida.

Neela turned to look at the captain. The woman had always seemed so imposing, so regal. And now, watching her float just above the floor, pale and bruised, the quarian was seeing her in a whole new light. She looked fragile, in a way, without the aura of authority she carried when she was awake. The young pilot frowned. She couldn't imagine how she would feel if the captain was dead. Or how heartbreaking it would be to see Aida's grief if the elder asari passed on.

"The Prothean stasis pod!" she suddenly cried.

"What?" Illitha stared at her. "W-what are you talking about?"

"Selura showed me some data on it. Her company sent a Prothean stasis pod from Ilos," Neela explained. "If you can wire in a power source and figure out to how activate it, maybe it would keep the captain alive long enough to get her to a surgeon!"

"Are you serious?" Aida was staring at her with a look of desperate hope.

"Yes," Neela nodded. "It is in the crate we loaded on Ilos."

"Wait," Illitha shook her head. "We should… I think… Even if I can wire in a power source, this is technology we know nothing about. What if something goes wrong? What if it reacts differently to our physiology t-than the Protheans? What if it is damaged and explodes… or… or something," Illitha frowned. "Th-there are a hundred things that could go wrong. I-I don't think we can take the chance."

"We have no choice," Aida's voice was firm. "I keep saying that she _may_ not make it to the surface," Aida frowned. "But that is only because I could not bring myself to speak the truth. She will _not_ survive long enough. The turbulence of atmospheric entry, being jarred by landing… she is already too unstable. If we take her into an escape shuttle as she is, it will kill her."

"Then we'll use the stasis pod," Neela was filled with resolve. She was glad she'd thought of it. It had been weeks ago that Selura had told her about it. "While you finish working on Selura, we will go and gather what we can from engineering: Fuel for one of the fighters, and any components you need to power the stasis pod. I will also search the ship for Prathus. Once we know where he is and we have the stasis pod working, we can put the captain in stasis and evacuate the ship."

"Why do we need fuel for the fighter?" Illitha asked.

"If the Reaper fighters target the escape shuttle, we will need a distraction. I can use the fighter to draw them away while you all get to the surface safely," Neela was smiling at the thought of piloting one of the fighters. Still, in seeing the worry etched across Illitha's face, she added, "Hopefully it will not come to that."

* * *

**Port Hanshan, Noveria, Two weeks earlier…**

Neela stood in the airlock with the majority of the remaining crew, waiting while the ship adjusted to outside conditions. While they waited, the captain was filling them in on the situation regarding their current stop. As much as Neela loved piloting the _Sileya_, she was looking forward to getting off of the ship for a while, especially after she'd been denied the opportunity at Illium, and then had only been able to get off of the ship for a few minutes on Ilos.

"We will be docked here for the next eight days," the captain was saying. "Selura's company has some issues they need to go over with her on-site for the next week, and then they will be loading their cargo on the eighth day. Correct?" the elder asari glanced at the young scientist, who nodded.

"So we have a week of shore leave?" Aida seemed excited. "What sorts of things are there to do locally?"

"Noveria is a corporate planet. There is not much to do here. I understand there is a lounge and a local hotel, and some sort of ski resort at the equator, but it is mostly scientific complexes and offices," the captain explained.

"Oh," Aida sighed. "Still, maybe I could try skiing."

"Oh, I _have_ to be there for that," Prathus chuckled.

Neela wasn't actually sure what 'skiing' was, but judging from the turian's response, Aida's smile, and the way Selura was snickering, she was starting to think that she should be there as well. The captain interrupted her musings when she continued.

"You are all free to go wherever you wish. You can get a room in the hotel if you prefer, but I want everyone to check in with me on a daily basis. I want to know precisely where each of you is in the case that Prathus or I need to contact you."

The captain's gaze shifted to Prathus, and Neela saw the turian give an almost imperceptible nod.

"That goes for me too," the turian added. "Check in with both of us."

"Where is Illitha?" Neela had noticed when she entered the airlock that the engineer wasn't present, but she'd expected the girl to show up by now.

"Illitha volunteered to stay aboard the ship and keep an eye on it," Julisa informed them. "She is going to be doing some work on the drive core while it is offline. And of course I will be spending my nights here, rather than ashore."

Neela glanced at Aida, but judging from the asari's expression, she'd already been aware that her friend was staying aboard. The quarian wasn't surprised. The two of them shared everything. She'd actually never seen a closer relationship between friends. The airlock door opened, admitting a blast of frigid air, and the captain offered a rare smile to her crew.

"Enjoy your week. Just remember to check in."

The crew filed out of the ship, and they walked down a narrow walkway that hugged the left-hand side of the docking bay. There were several other bays, some with ships docked, and all of them connected to a security checkpoint at the back of the bay, where glass doors led into the interior of the port station. As the group approached the checkpoint, a pair of turians and a human woman moved to block their path. Neela had seen her fair share of humans on her pilgrimage, and believed the one standing before them was what was called 'Japanese'. The captain stepped forward, holding up her shotgun, still in its portable mode, for the woman to take.

"Hello, Miss Matsuo," she greeted the woman.

"Captain Nisaria, isn't it?" the human smiled at her, taking possession of the weapon. "What brings you back to Port Hanshan?"

"Cargo run for a new client," the captain shrugged, and then turned to the rest of the crew. "This is Maeko Matsuo, captain of the local security forces."

"You'll have to hand over your sidearm too," one of the turians spoke up, gesturing toward Prathus, who Neela noted for the first time, had a pistol at his hip.

"Captain?" Prathus looked to the woman in question, and when she nodded, he handed the weapon over.

"My name is Selura Leneur," the young scientist stepped forward, addressing the human woman. "There is supposed to be a representative of Calyrius Industries here to meet me."

"Yes, Miss Leneur," the human woman nodded toward the doors. "She is waiting at the processing desk for you. You'll all have to proceed to ID processing before you will be cleared to enter the base," her eyes fell upon Neela, and there was a subtle shift in her expression.

Neela felt her stomach tighten. She knew what the human was going to say before she even opened her mouth.

"I'm sorry, Captain Nisaria, but the quarian will have to stay aboard your ship."

"No!" Neela protested, shifting her gaze to the captain, "Captain please…"

"Neela is a trusted member of my crew," Julisa stated in her defense. "May I ask why she cannot come ashore?"

"I'm sorry, Captain," Miss Matsuo shook her head. "A few quarians were caught here several months ago trying to mine data from some of our member corporations. Administrator Pitik instituted a new policy stating that no quarian would be allowed past processing without specific clearance from a member corporation's board of directors."

Neela felt like she was going to cry. All she wanted was to get off the ship for a while, stretch her legs, maybe find a store and see about getting some upgrades for her omni-tool… and she was being forced to remain on the _Sileya_ yet again? She waited, praying that the captain would be able to do something for her. Unfortunately, those hopes were quickly dashed… just as they had been the last time.

"Sorry, Neela," the captain sighed. "If this is the new policy, there is nothing I can do about it."

Neela turned and stalked away angrily, fighting back the tears she felt threatening to escape her control. She heard footsteps hurrying after her, but she didn't slow until she felt a hand grab her arm, pulling her insistently to a stop. She turned to face the owner of the hand, and found Selura regarding her with a mixture of sympathy and concern.

"Neela… I am sorry," she said softly. "Is there anything I could do for you while I am in there?"

"No," Neela said sullenly. Despite her best efforts, she felt a tear trail down her cheek. She was glad the asari couldn't see it. "You should go in. Your company is waiting."

"I would stay out here and keep you company if I could," the scientist released her hold on Neela's arm, but only so she could take her hand instead, giving it a squeeze. "Unfortunately, my job is the entire reason we are here, and I have to go meet with the development team. But I will be aboard the ship every night… if you would like some company."

Neela was touched by the girl's obvious concern. She was still upset that she would be confined to wandering the docks if she wanted to be off the ship, but it did make her feel somewhat better to know that Selura was willing to come back to the _Sileya_ each night just to keep her company. She hesitantly squeezed the asari's hand in return and nodded toward the doors.

"You should go. You don't want to be late for your meeting," her voice was soft.

"I do not want you to get your hopes up," Selura paused, seeming almost hesitant to continue, "I have no idea if my company is a member corporation here or if we just rent laboratory space, but I will see about getting clearance for you," Selura promised.

Neela's eyes widened. She hadn't even thought of the possibility. Given her luck over the past month with her trips ashore, she wasn't going to hold her breath, but she was more grateful than she could ever have expressed that Selura was willing to try.

"Thank you," was all she could think of to say. But her gratitude was clear in her voice.

"Either way, I will see you tonight," Selura smiled at her, hesitating a moment, and then finally released her hold on Neela's hand and turned, hurrying toward the doors.

Neela pivoted in the opposite direction and started walking toward the _Sileya_. She supposed that even if she were confined to the ship, a week of free time would still be a good thing. She could spend some of it finishing her portrait of Selura. And the scientist would be around at night to talk to. For some reason, while she was picturing Selura's smile and thinking about the obvious concern the asari showed for her feelings, the docking bay didn't seem as cold as it had when they first disembarked.

* * *

**Lake Everclear, Terra Nova, Now…**

Prathus held the floatation-filled enviro-suit in a vice-like grip as he rose to the surface of the lake, his heart pounding in his chest and his pulse racing so fast that he felt lightheaded. In his head, he pictured the escape pod lying in the depths of the massive lake, hundreds of meters below the surface. Therefore, it surprised him when he reached the surface in an extremely short span, and he gasped for air the instant his head rose out of the water. He struggled briefly to right himself and keep his head out of the liquid. Hugging his makeshift life preserver to his chest to counteract the weight of his armor trying to pull him down, it was barely in his power to keep his head out of the water and in the fresh air and the fading light of day.

Looking into the clear waters of the lake, he could see the outline of the escape pod below, barely five meters down. The pod had landed in an extremely shallow area of the lake, just fifty meters or so from the shore. He silently thanked the spirits that his imagination had been so far off, and started kicking his feet and pulling with an arm, trying to get to land. While he was doing his best to emulate the actions he'd seen in vids when someone was swimming, in reality he was just flailing wildly. He barely made any headway. Only the continued assistance of the cushions in the suit kept him from sinking.

When he finally reached the shore of the lake, he was exhausted, soaked, frustrated, and his leg was aching terribly, but he felt an enormous sense of relief overshadow everything else. He stumbled onto the grass a few strides from the water, and there he collapsed to the ground on his hands and knees, luxuriating in the feel of solid land beneath him, even if it was human-controlled.

"Never seen a Turian swim before," a high-pitched voice startled him. "_If_ that's what you'd call it…"

Prathus shot to his feet and spun to face the source of the voice, finding himself confronted with a young human girl – a child near adolescence, he guessed – with long blonde hair and large blue eyes. The girl had a fishing rod resting over one shoulder, and a clear container filled with fish in the other hand, and was smiling up at him cheerfully.

"You're a horrible pilot," the girl pointed out. "Grassy fields on all sides of the lake, and you decide to land in the water?"

"It was on auto-pilot," Prathus muttered, irritated by the girl's comments. He'd never spoken to a human child in his life, and wondered if they were all so blunt in expressing their opinions. He opened the seals on the enviro-suit and tossed the cushions aside, retrieving the gear he'd salvaged from the escape pod.

"You gonna leave that stuff laying in the grass? You should take it with you," the girl pointed out.

"Shouldn't you be going home?" Prathus suggested, "With the invasion and all?"

"What invasion? You mean those big ships I saw way off in the distance?"

"Yes," Prathus was surveying his surroundings, trying to get his bearings. "Which direction was that, anyway?"

"I'm Candice," the girl informed him.

"What?" he blinked. "Oh. Right. Nice to meet you. Now, if you could point me in the direction in which the ships were landing?"

"What's your name?"

"Do you need to know my name to answer my question?" Prathus demanded in exasperation.

"Yup."

"Prathus," he snapped, quickly losing what little patience he had, "Now which direction?"

"That way," the girl set down her box of fish and pointed. "Are we really being invaded?"

"Yes. So hurry home."

"You should come," Candice suggested. "You're limping. Did you hurt your leg when you crashed your ship like a dummy? Maybe my mom could do something for your leg."

"Humans have done quite enough for my leg already," he scowled at the child. "And I didn't 'crash' my ship. Which way is the nearest town or city?"

"That way," the girl pointed, and was indicating the direction of the Reaper ships once again.

"Okay, is there something else in the area? Someplace I could go to access an extranet terminal? Or a communications relay?"

"My house is that way," the girl pointed her thumb over her shoulder. "We're having fish for dinner. You should come."

The urge to strangle the child was becoming more pronounced by the second, though Prathus resisted it. He couldn't have eaten the fish even if he were inclined to accept the invitation. He supposed the girl was trying to be helpful, but he wasn't interested in her hospitality. He wondered if she even understood the implications of an invasion. She seemed more concerned with dinner than with the possibility of impending doom.

Glancing around briefly, he tried to figure out what other option he had. Either he headed for the nearest settlement – and the Reapers – or he would have to go to the girl's house and see if he could get a signal out to alert someone to the danger and request evacuation. The high command on Palavan had to be warned about the Reaper threat, if they weren't already aware of it.

"Do your parents have extranet access from home?" He assumed that most human families would, but if they lived so far from the nearest settlement, he had to accept the possibility that they might not.

"Of course. Who doesn't?"

Prathus swallowed the distaste he felt toward asking a human for help… even a human child. He was on a human world, so there was really no choice. With a small sigh, he nodded his head in what he thought of as a gesture of defeat.

"Fine. Let's go to your house."

"Okay. Pick up your garbage, Mr. Prathus," she gestured toward the discarded enviro-suit and seat cushions.

"What? Are you serious?" he regarded her with a mixture of astonishment and irritation.

"Sure am! You can't leave your junk next to my lake."

The urge to tell her that she couldn't possibly own the lake was strong, but he refused to get into some sort of childish argument with a little human brat. Mandibles twitching in annoyance, he picked up the cushions and stuffed them back into the enviro-suit, bundling up the protective gear and tucking it under an arm.

"Was that so hard?" the girl smiled up at him, and then picked up her box of fish, turning to lead the way toward her home.

"Yes," he muttered under his breath. Heading toward the Reapers instead of the girl's home was sounding like a better option every second.

* * *

**Port Hanshan, Noveria, Two weeks earlier…**

Getting through ID Processing was a simple affair, since the arrival of the _Sileya_ was expected and it wasn't the first time the captain had been there. Although the previous times, they hadn't been spending any time in Port Hanshan itself; they simply loaded some cargo and left. Selura met with the representative from her company and was escorted off to whatever facility they had on the planet, and the rest of the crew spread out to pursue whatever interested them.

Security was tight inside the facility. There were automated defense drones floating in most hallways, and a fair number of security personnel patrolling the area. Once Prathus reached the courtyard that lay beyond the access elevator, however, he finally saw signs of life. There was a huge, multi-tiered courtyard with still pools of water surrounding rock formations, and a number of people moving around the area. A shop called simply 'Opold's' was located immediately on the right as he entered the area, and he saw posted directions to a hotel, a mezzanine, and a garage area, among others. Many of the guards in the area, he noted, were turians. He was greatly pleased at seeing some of his own people.

He headed directly for the nearest turian guard.

"Excuse me," he nodded a greeting to the other turian. "Do you know if the hotel has public extranet terminals?"

"Yeah," the turian gestured with the barrel of the rifle he held. "The elevators are on the top tier, far end. There's a bar there, and some extranet terminals on the upper level."

"Appreciated," he nodded, heading in the direction the guard had indicated.

Most of the people present were dressed in formal business attire or utilitarian laboratory wear, and as he walked, he found himself thinking with a touch of amusement that Aida was going to be bored out of her mind for the next week. He just didn't picture the easygoing and cheerful asari fitting in well with the researchers and executives that seemed to populate the place.

He was riding the elevator up to the hotel bar when his omni-tool alerted him to an incoming transmission. He activated the channel.

"Yes?"

"_Prathus, it is me… uh, Illitha,_" the soft voice of the engineer was unmistakable. He really wouldn't have needed her to identify herself.

"What can I do for you, T'Zari?"

"_While you are ashore, can you… W-would you find out if there is a supplier of starship parts in the port somewhere?_"

"I can look into it," he nodded. "What do we need?"

"_Six ten-meter or longer gel-conduction thermal conduits,_" came the reply. "_I-if it is a problem, it can wait. I cannot imagine I will have the chance to upgrade our current ones until we reach Thessia._"

"It's not a problem," he chuckled. "I'll see if there's a supplier on site. I have to imagine any docking port will have materials needed for starship repair."

"_Thanks, Prathus_."

"Anytime, kid," he deactivated the channel.

Of all the members of the crew aboard the _Sileya_, Illitha was the one he liked most. While he did his best to distance himself from all of them, he knew that when he finally left the ship, he was going to miss the engineer. He appreciated her efficiency and her quiet demeanor.

The elevator door opened, and he stepped out, traversing the short hallway to the hotel's bar area. It was very much what he expected… A simple, utilitarian room with a handful of tables spread throughout, a rock sculpture sitting at the center of a pool of water in the middle of the room, and stairs leading up to an upper deck that he couldn't see from the ground floor. It was quiet, orderly, and uninteresting… precisely what he imagined from a bar in a corporate setting.

Since he'd been told the extranet terminals were on the upper level, he headed directly for the stairs, limping up the steps. He was just reaching the top when a turian heading the other way blocked his path. Startled, he looked up, and found a familiar face staring back at him.

"Prathus! It _is_ you. Spirits, I didn't think I'd ever see you again," the turian held a hand out.

The other turian was an old friend; they'd served together aboard the _Talikan_, the ship on which he'd been injured during the Relay 314 incident. When Prathus left the service after his injury, he'd cut ties with all of his former shipmates, afraid that they wouldn't understand why he couldn't bear to serve aboard military vessels any longer. He'd been terrified that his fellow soldiers would brand him a coward.

"Vettius," Prathus took the proffered hand and shook it. "Been a long time."

"No kidding," the other turian chuckled. "When your term of service ended, you vanished. What happened?"

"Ah, well…" Prathus hesitated. "With my injury and all, I didn't see a future in the military. I decided to get off world and see some of the galaxy."

"Big place. Lots to see," Vettius nodded. "Still, it would have been nice to keep in touch. Have you kept in touch with any of the others? Tranek, Thideus, Renoras?"

"Afraid not," Prathus shook his head. "Moved around a lot for the first several years. Lost touch with just about everyone," he shifted uncomfortably, looking his friend over and noting the logo branded on the shoulder of his armor for the first time. "Working for Elanus Risk Control Services now? How's that going?"

"Working security here is too easy. No excitement," Vettius turned, gesturing toward the tables on the upper level. "Let's have a seat. I'll buy you a drink. What brings you to Port Hanshan?"

Prathus nodded and followed his former squad mate to one of the tables, slumping into a seat.

"Still drinking Thanis Whiskey? This one is on me." Vettius keyed his choice into the holographic interface at the table.

"Spirits," Prathus chuckled. "I haven't had any in years. I can't believe you remember that."

"Come on," Vettius laughed. "I remember you drinking an entire bottle and then challenging Lieutenant Asellas to a hand-to-hand contest. You couldn't even stand up straight!"

"Thankfully I don't remember that fight at all," Prathus shook his head ruefully. "Though you guys never got tired of rubbing it in," he added.

"I never saw anyone take such a beating and just keep getting back up. You didn't land a single punch… I still think you were swinging at the wrong image, since you must have been seeing double," his friend teased. "But you got back to your feet every time he floored you. I was sure he was going to have to kill you to keep you down."

A waitress walked over and placed two glasses on the table, smiling at each of them before walking away. Vettius raised his glass, and Prathus picked the other one up, swirling the liquid around idly.

"Here's to the most stubborn turian ever to serve on the _Talikan_."

Prathus snorted. "And to the only one that would put up with me on a daily basis," he raised his glass in return salute.

Both drained their glasses, and Prathus found himself coughing at the bite of the strong liquor. Vettius laughed softly.

"So, what brings you here?" the turian repeated his earlier question.

"Ah. Working on an asari cargo freighter. We're in port to pick up a shipment."

"Asari?" Vettius repeated. "That's got to be interesting."

"It's been an experience," Prathus nodded. "But it's quiet and simple work, and it pays well. I hope to be able to retire by the year's end."

"Hard to picture you retired," the other turian admitted. "You always had to be doing something. Working, training, fighting, drinking, gambling…"

"I was a restless youth," Prathus chuckled. "Speaking of gambling…"

"You read my mind," Vettius nodded. "A bunch of us get together on payday to gamble away some of our salary. We'll be meeting for a game in one of the rooms at the hotel to play tomorrow night."

"Not at one of your homes?"

"ERCS rooms us in the company's barracks complex, but there's strict rules about gambling or drinking on site. We have to go elsewhere to have any fun."

"Well, I'm in port for a week. It would be nice to clean you out. For old times' sake."

"You're welcome to try, old friend," Vettius laughed.

"I hate to derail the reunion with business, but since you're working security here, I have to ask…"

"Name it."

"Have you heard any rumors of Cerberus operating here?"

"Nah," the other turian shook his head. "With the anonymity granted to companies who pay well enough, it wouldn't surprise me, but I've never heard any whispers about Cerberus presence here. That doesn't necessarily mean they aren't around though. Why?"

"We may have crossed paths with Cerberus on our last shipping run," Prathus scowled into his empty glass. "Word is… they want to see us disappear."

"Well, if I hear anything while you're here, I'll let you know."

"I appreciate it," Prathus nodded and activated his omni-tool. "Here's my contact key. You can reach me on this channel any time."

"How about a few more drinks?" Vettius suggested. "And you can tell me a bit about what it's like to be surrounded by asari all day."

"Why the interest?" Prathus inquired, though he already knew the answer. It was an old joke between them. Vettius always had been attracted to asari.

"Do I really have to run down the list again?" his friend joked.

"I'd rather you didn't. Never did get the appeal."

"That's because you have no imagination!"

"I may have to give you that one," Prathus laughed. "This round is on me."

The turian settled into his chair. A night drinking with an old friend sounded like the perfect start to his week on Noveria. If the rest of the stay was as pleasant, he would consider it the best turn of chance he'd enjoyed since becoming a smuggler. All he had to do was get through the week without Cerberus finding out he or the crew were on the planet.


	11. Chapter 11: Escape

**Author's Note: Henceforth, my author's notes will be moved to the end of the Chapters. There are things coming up in future Chapters that I might like to comment on without risking spoilers for those of you who are following the story. Thank you all once again for your interest and support.**

* * *

.

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Eleven: Escape

.

**Above Terra Nova, Now…**

Illitha stared in disgust at the line of hose that stretched off toward the door to engineering. It was an ugly, mismatched combination of tubing sections from a dozen different subsystems in the ship's drive core, melted together and sealed with binding gel. She was embarrassed to have to admit, even to herself, that it was her work. When it came to her job as the engineer, she was a perfectionist, and if it wasn't imperative that she get the job done quickly, she would have tossed the entire length out the airlock and started anew.

"Good job, Lith," Aida complemented her.

Illitha bowed her head, running a hand along her scalp crests. She loved Aida dearly, but the girl didn't know capacitance gel from thermal convection gel. Her friend _certainly_ didn't understand how unhappy it made her to have been responsible for the ugly mess she'd just cobbled together. She simply nodded her head and sighed, working to seal a coupling to the end of the hose. Once she was satisfied with the seal, if not the beauty of it, she stood up and snapped the newly-installed connection into the fighter's fuel system.

The engineer had been hard at work for what seemed like hours. Her first task had involved pulling apart some of the Prothean stasis pod and puzzling out the inner workings of the power systems so that she could patch in a working power source. Accomplishing that, she then turned her attention to fabricating a makeshift hose that could be used to siphon out what little fuel remained in the _Sileya's_ emergency propellant tanks. The fuel was necessary so that they could make use of one of the prototype fighters. Neela was off searching the ship for some sign of Prathus, and Aida had been standing nearby throughout the duration of both projects, ostensibly to guard her in case a new threat presented itself, but mostly to keep her company.

It had been a challenging bit of work for the young engineer, and she performed one last check of the wiring she'd patched into the second fighter's power systems. It was necessary, since the ship was without power, to use an independent power source to operate the pumps that would transfer the fuel. She hadn't been willing to use the power cells in Neela's quarters, because of the risk, however small, that she might overload the system and cause it to shut down with Selura still inside and unprotected. Therefore, the second fighter's power systems were the obvious choice for a temporary power source.

Finding no visible faults in the functionality of her work and overlooking the faults in the aesthetics, she triggered the power system and watched the tubing carefully for signs of leaks. Seeing nothing, she allowed herself to relax a little bit. But without her work to distract her, her attention quickly returned to the mixture of numbness and dull pain that permeated her back.

"Are you sure we have no other choice?" she asked her friend suddenly. "Other than… t-than putting the captain in that pod, I mean."

"If we did, I would take it," Aida said softly. "I am afraid I… Uh, I mean we-" she corrected herself hastily, "-will lose her either way. But this is the best chance."

"I am not sure we will be able to get her out of stasis," Illitha frowned. "It… That thing… T-there is some sort of failsafe redundancy in what I _think_ is the stasis system," she had to emphasize the word, because she was relying largely on guesswork. "I can engage it, but I believe it requires some sort of coded input to disengage."

"Lith," Aida turned to look at her, and Illitha could see the pleading look in her eyes through the visor of her helmet.

Aida didn't have to say another word. Illitha could see that she was just as worried and uncertain about the wisdom of her plan, and she was terrified that they were going to make a mistake. Hearing the engineer voice her concerns wasn't helping to ease the medic's mind. Illitha nodded and stepped closer to her friend, briefly slipping an arm around her waist to pull her close.

"I-it will turn out fine," she said with a confidence she didn't feel.

"It will," Aida nodded, leaning gratefully into the embrace.

"Trouble!" Neela's voice interrupted them. The quarian was squeezing through the hole they'd carved out of the engineering doors to perform their salvage.

"What is going on?" Aida asked anxiously.

Once the quarian was through the hole and she stood upright, Illitha gasped. The right side of Neela's enviro-suit was blackened with scorch marks, and the turquoise vest she always wore was partially burned away. The engineer was about to ask if she was hurt when the pilot cut her off by answering Aida's question.

"Those fighter drones are all over the upper deck. At least six. They're working their way through the ship, demolishing any machinery or electronics they find. At the rate they're going, they have to be moving on to the mid-ship deck by now. They'll be here soon."

"Are you hurt?" Illitha asked worriedly, looking at the damage to the quarian's suit. Neela was shaking visibly, but the engineer couldn't tell if it was because she was in pain, afraid, or just the effect of the fever she was suffering.

"No," Neela shook her head. "One of them took a shot at me as I got back into the maintenance tunnel, but there are no suit ruptures or systems damage. And I think Prathus got off the ship. The escape shuttle outside of the Life Support suite was missing, and the hatch showed no sign of damage."

"Good. Then he is safe. We need to get the captain into the stasis pod," Aida urged.

"What about Selura? We need to get her into environmental gear," Neela pointed out.

"She is still unconscious," Illitha's eyes were on the door to engineering, watching for any sign of an enemy fighter in the area beyond. If the Reapers were on the mid-ship deck, the only escape pod left that they could use was the one in engineering.

"We need to get the captain into the stasis pod and get the pod to the engineering shuttle," Aida's voice was firm. "Once she is safely ready for evacuation, we can come back to get Selura if the way is still clear. If we are in danger by then, you could bring Selura down in the fighter."

At the mention of the fighter, Illitha hurried over to it, activating her omni-tool and linking into the fuel monitoring systems. She was pleased to find it almost fully fueled. After disengaging the pump on their makeshift fuel line, she uncoupled the hose and snapped the access port closed.

"The fighter is as fueled as it is going to get," she announced. "We need to hurry."

The three of them headed for the decontamination airlock in Neela's quarters, bringing the Prothean stasis pod with them. It was a tight fit to bring the piece of ancient technology into the antechamber, but the captain's armor had been cut apart so that they could tend to her injuries. With no more environmental suits available, there was no choice but to put her in stasis before bringing her out of the one room on the ship with atmosphere remaining.

While they waited for the cleansing cycle to do its work, Illitha chewed her lower lip in worry. The closer they got to escaping the _Sileya_, the more her mind focused on the fact that even once they were off the ship, they still wouldn't be safe. They would be stuck on a planet under siege, and there would be little chance of escape. The moment the escape shuttle launched would be a point of no return. Either they would have to survive until the Reapers were somehow defeated, or they would die.

She tried to force the thought from her mind, but it was persistent. And with every moment, it ate away at the calm to which she'd been clinging since the moment she regained consciousness.

* * *

**Port Hanshan, Noveria, Two weeks earlier…**

Illitha hummed contentedly to herself as she moved around the engineering section with her omni-tool, scanning the thermal conduits and backup relays, mapping out the precise measurements of the components she hoped to replace after their current run was finished. One of her favorite things about working for Captain Nisaria was that the elder asari loved her ship so much. It meant that if Illitha found a new component or upgrade that was likely to improve performance or reduce wear on the engines, the captain _always _agreed to the cost of obtaining and installing it.

Illitha took pride in the condition of the captain's ship. She actually found herself wondering at times how she would handle it if she were ever forced to leave. If the captain terminated her employment, or if she was forced by circumstance to switch professions, she was sure she would be heartbroken. Julisa may have owned the ship, but it was Illitha's love and effort that kept it running. She could already picture herself begging the captain to let her stay if the day ever came.

The sole situation in which she could picture herself willingly leaving the ship was if Aida decided she no longer wanted to be part of the crew. Forced to choose between her best friend and her beloved engines, she would choose the asari without hesitation every time. Even if Aida _did _use Growf as a projectile from time to time. Fortunately, as long as the medic was smitten with their captain, the chances of being forced to choose between the two were nonexistent.

A loud snapping sound and a hiss from the cargo bay startled the engineer out of her work and her musings. She held her breath, suddenly nervous. She had overridden the automatic mechanisms in the doors to let some of the heat that built up while the engines were running dissipate into the cargo bay. The ship was supposed to be empty for another ten hours at least. The captain would be aboard during the nights, but otherwise she expected to be alone. Had an intruder managed to gain access to the ship? It certainly sounded like someone was moving around out there.

Illitha manifested a barrier for self-defense and crept toward the engineering doors, hoping that if she could take the intruder by surprise, she might be able to incapacitate them with a biotic throw. By asari standards, she fell squarely into the category of 'average' in terms of biotic power, and she wasn't optimistic about her chances in a fight if she didn't take the intruder by surprise.

Her nerve started to fail her. She pictured herself being spotted and gunned down aboard the ship she called home. The mental image had her contemplating the idea of hiding under the machinery in engineering and calling the captain for help. It might be embarrassing when the captain arrived and found her there, but at least she would be alive.

_Come on. Keep it together. You managed to save Aida. You can take a peek and see what is going on out there_, she encouraged herself.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and stepped up to the doorway before she could change her mind.

Poking her head around the corner of the doorframe for just an instant, she spotted a figure huddled amidst the supply crates in the far corner of the cargo bay. She hadn't been able to make out any details aside from a vague shape during the brief peek she'd taken, but there was definitely a person out there. She concentrated and formed a biotic orb in her hand, ready to give the intruder a surprise. Her heart was pounding, but she was keeping her fear under control.

She stepped out into the doorway, and the second she spotted the figure's position, she hurled the orb. The instant it left her hand, her eyes widened. The figure had stepped out of the shadows of the corner. It was Neela! And there was nothing she could do but shout a warning.

"Duck!"

The quarian had a crate in her hands, and while her head jerked up at the shout, she never had time to actually react. The biotic orb struck her in the chest and knocked her off of her feet, sending her sliding backward across the deck into the stack of supply crates, which promptly toppled over on her.

_Oh goddess…_

Illitha ran across the cargo bay, hurriedly trying to extricate the cursing and flailing quarian from the mass of containers that were lying on top of her. Illitha had never heard the word 'bosh'tet' so many times in a one-minute span in her life. When she finally shoved the last crate off of her friend, her expression was one of miserable embarrassment.

"Why would you do that, you bosh'tet?" the quarian demanded. If Illitha wasn't mistaken, she could have sworn Neela was crying. Her voice was thick and trembling.

"Neela… I… I…" she didn't know what to say. Her mind refused to even provide her with the words for an apology.

Neela put her hands over her visor, and she actually _did _start crying. Or at least that's what it sounded like. It was hard for Illitha to be certain since she couldn't see the pilot's expression or any tears through her mask. She already felt awful, and watching her friend sob added significantly to her guilt. She knelt on the floor beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder awkwardly.

"I-I did not mean… I… Please… Please stop crying," Illitha begged. "It was an accident."

"An accident?" Neela's voice broke. "You _accidentally_ used a biotic power on me? It just slipped out?"

"I had no idea you were aboard! I thought you were going ashore!"

"So did I." The quarian started sobbing anew.

"What? Y-you did? Then what-" she trailed off, realizing what must have happened.

Illitha didn't often get angry. But she hated the way people always seemed to treat quarians. She thought it was bad enough that they'd lost their home world and had been nomads for their entire lives. It couldn't have been easy to live in environmental suits. On top of it, so many people seemed to treat them like beggars and thieves…

"Security denied me access," Neela cried, confirming the engineer's suspicions. "_Again_."

"Oh, Neela…"

Illitha leaned over and hugged the quarian on impulse. It was hard to sit there and watch her cry. At first, Neela was rigid in her arms, but then the slender arms wrapped around her, and the two clung to one another.

"I'm so sick of being treated like a thief," the pilot whimpered.

"And then I mistake you for an intruder and knock you down," Illitha frowned, mentally kicking herself.

"Yeah. Thanks for that," a trace of bitterness crept into the quarian's voice that made Illitha feel even worse.

"I never meant to hurt you," the asari said softly. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

"Have you got a clearance pass to get me into the port?"

"I wish I did," Illitha shook her head. "Anything else?"

"No," Neela sighed, slowly loosening her hold on the slender asari and leaning back, still sniffling. "I just want to be alone for a while."

"I understand," Illitha nodded, getting to her feet and offering her hand to help the quarian up.

Neela accepted the assistance and got to her feet, rubbing her chest as if it pained her. The sight made Illitha wince, and she hung her head, apologizing one more time. Neela just gave her a soft pat on the shoulder and picked up her crate from where it had fallen, disappearing into the decontamination airlock of her room. Illitha watched until the door closed, silently berating herself for jumping to such a ridiculous conclusion.

Still, perhaps she could make it up to the quarian. If she went ashore for a while, she might be able to find some dextro-based chocolate. She knew Neela liked to treat herself to something special once in a while. Perhaps she could present a peace offering. The idea made her smile. She hurried off toward the crew quarters to get her heaviest coat. She knew it was quite cold on Noveria. With luck, she would have the gift and be back aboard in less than an hour.

* * *

**Above Terra Nova, Now…**

Selura groaned and struggled to force her eyes open. She felt numb all over, and for the second time in an extremely short span, found herself feeling lost and disoriented. She had no idea where she was or how she came to be there, and had a moment to reflect sadly that she was actually getting used to waking up without a clue what was going on. She was fairly certain being knocked unconscious twice in one day – at least she _assumed_ it was still the same day – was an unhealthy occurrence. Once was more than enough.

She was staring at a ceiling overhead, and the area was brightly lit. Unlike the first time she'd been knocked out, this time she remembered most of what had happened until the moment she blacked out. Given the fact that the ship was without power and Neela's quarters still had light, she had to assume that she was in the quarian's bedroom again. A quick glance around confirmed her suspicion. She didn't see anyone else in the room, so she decided that she needed to find someone and figure out what was going on.

She tried to brace her elbows against the surface beneath her so that she could push herself to a sitting position, but the instant she tried to move her right arm, all the numbness was blasted away by a surge of agony so severe that she screamed. As the pain slowly receded to a dull, throbbing ache, she felt herself shaking. Since moving had obviously been a mistake, she held perfectly still, taking stock of the situation.

She could feel some sort of restraint holding her right arm and shoulder immobile. She'd mistaken the feeling for the simple protection of environmental gear at first, but now that she was looking down at herself, she could see that the shoulder of her outfit had been sheared away and her arm was instead wrapped in a sterile dressing and locked into a pressure binding, which was secured to her body with straps. She recalled the chunk of the Reaper drone that had been hurtling toward her, and she remembered trying to dive out of the way, but she'd forgotten until that moment that it had struck her and driven her to the floor.

_Obviously, my arm is broken… or worse,_ she thought grimly.

Using only her good arm to prop herself up, she carefully slid off of the desk, looking around the room. There was a sizeable pile of bloody gauze and pieces of armor and environmental gear floating in one corner, which gave the scientist a moment of pause. Had she been injured that badly? Or was someone else hurt? She turned her gaze toward Neela's bed, and noted that even Illitha was missing from the room. Perhaps Neela was in the process of loading the wounded into an escape pod? She needed to get some answers.

She found an intact environmental suit floating near the floor, so she grabbed it and placed it on the desk, then set to work carefully extricating herself from the damaged outfit she was wearing. It was difficult to get free of the suit with only one arm and a number of straps in the way, and progress was slow. Even the tiniest movement of her torso in the wrong direction sent a cascade of pain through her arm. Halfway through the task, she spotted a crate of what looked like medical supplies next to the desk. This discovery prompted her to search through the contents until she found some painkillers, to which she eagerly helped herself.

She had the environmental gear around her ankles when the sound of the decontamination system activating reached her ears. She sighed gratefully and waited to see who was coming into the room; any assistance she could get in removing the magnetic boots would be welcome.

When the door's seal snapped free and swung inward, Neela rushed inside, pausing when she saw Selura up and awake. One corner of the asari's lips curled upward.

"Just who I was hoping to see. Can I convince you to undress me?"

"Keelah," the quarian shook her head, her tone a mixture of exasperation and amusement. "This isn't the time for jokes. We need to get you dressed. The others are in the engineering escape pod. They will launch in one minute. You and I are taking the fighter to the surface."

"The others are leaving without us?" Selura's mischievous grin vanished. "What happened?"

"More fighter drones have boarded the ship. A lot more. I'm guessing they detected the destruction of the others and came to finish the job," the quarian's hands settled on Selura's hips and she lifted the asari to a seated position on the desk, hurriedly yanking off her magnetic boots.

"Goddess," Selura breathed. "But the fighters are not fueled! Can we get-"

"They're fueled," Neela cut her off, helping her get her feet into the boots of the new enviro-suit. "Illitha rigged a crude siphon system to salvage the fuel from the _Sileya's_ reserves. She also patched in a simple power source to that Prothean device to put the captain in stasis-"

"What?" Selura gasped. "No! That device is alien technology! We have no way to end the stasis mode!"

"Illitha hacked into the system and found the initiation trigger. Getting the captain out of it is a problem for later. She would have died if we didn't use it," Neela said firmly. Selura could hear the tension in her voice.

"You do not understand. There would have been some sort of access code or signal input as a failsafe to keep the system from being deactivated prematurely… Without the proper input-"

"Stop!" Neela shouted. "These are problems for later! If we don't get into the fighter, and I mean _now_, we'll lose the chance to escape. Illitha rigged the drive core to explode. And we are going to have to cover the escape pod if it comes under fire. They're counting on us to be there."

Selura paled, her mouth suddenly gone dry. She forced herself to swallow and nodded, sliding off of the desk without further discussion. Neela helped her get her left arm into the suit, but they didn't bother with the right. It was a tight fit to have her arm at her side in the environmental gear, but maneuvering her injured arm into the sleeve with the pressure binding on it was impossible. The quarian slipped the helmet over Selura's head and engaged the seals, then grabbed her good arm and hurried to the door, stepping into the decon airlock.

Selura watched her companion anxiously as they moved. It was an almost monumental moment, the asari knew, when Neela used the emergency bypass to skip the decontamination cycle and open the outer door before the inner one was closed. There was a brief rush of air past them, bringing with it a few stray paint brushes and datapads, but it was really the meaning behind it that filled Selura with sorrow. The refuge Neela found on the _Sileya_ meant a lot to the young pilot. She'd been able to experience a freedom on the ship that she hadn't been able to enjoy even among her own people. And now it was gone. Perhaps fortunately, neither of them had the chance to dwell on it.

The two hurried toward the fighter closest to the cargo bay doors, and Neela activated her omni-tool, trying to link to the fighter's systems. However, after staring at the holographic display for a moment, she turned toward Selura.

"Is there a security lockout on core systems?" she asked, her voice laced with anxiety.

"Goddess," Selura nodded. "Yes. There was an access code in the project data they gave me."

"What is the code?"

"It… It is stored on the company datapad. In the locker under my sleeping niche…"

"By now, the Reaper drones are in engineering," Neela guessed. "I hope you really do have a salarian memory. There's no way we can get the datapad. You have to either remember the code, or…" the quarian trailed off, but the alternative was clear to both of them.

Selura closed her eyes and tried to picture the datapad. She'd gone over the material from each of the prototypes they were transporting dozens of times. If she could just remember the access code…

"Selura?" Neela prompted. "Yes or no. If you can't remember it, I should trigger the core overload now…"

Selura's brows rose in surprise. She actually _did _remember the sequence. "Three nine three delta nine theta seven four nine gamma," Selura repeated the code.

Neela keyed in the inputs, and instantly the fighter's systems came online. The propulsion ring started to glow with blue light as it warmed up, and the underside of the cockpit descended to ground level, bringing the pilot's seat with it. However, as the seat came down, Selura could only stare at it.

"There is only one seat," Selura pointed out though it was unnecessary… they could both see it.

"Sit," Neela ordered.

"What about you?"

Neela dragged her forward without a word, and Selura settled into the seat. "I cannot fly this thing," she protested. "And… I will _not_ leave you behind."

The quarian nudged her knee gently. "I'm not staying here, you bosh'tet," she said with affection. "I'm going to share the seat with you. It might be a little uncomfortable, but it's the only way we're getting off this ship."

Selura felt herself blush at her own stupidity. Of course they were going to share the seat. She pressed back as far as she could in the chair, spreading her legs to make room for Neela on the front edge of it. The quarian settled on the few inches of space afforded to her, leaning back against the asari. As the seat rose into place in the cockpit, Selura felt very, very warm. Neela turned and pulled the harness over Selura's head, loosening it so that it could fit around both of them. When she secured them in place, Selura slipped her good arm around Neela's midsection, holding onto her nervously.

"This is going to be fun," Neela announced. The asari could hear the excitement in her voice.

Selura had to smile. Neela had always wanted to be a fighter pilot. Now she had her chance. She tightened her grip on the quarian and closed her eyes, listening while Neela rattled off a checklist of systems she needed and located each. Within moments, the cargo bay doors were opening, and they sped out into space. Soon they would be on Terra Nova.

* * *

**Calyrias Industries Shuttle Platform, Noveria, Two weeks earlier…**

The company facility to which the shuttle transported Selura and her contact was located far from Port Hanshan, deep into a vast expanse of rugged, snow-choked peaks. The young scientist had watched the rocky terrain speed by through the shuttle's exterior viewport, amazed that anyone would want to settle such a wretched world. A horrible storm was sweeping through the region, and she was able to hear the howling of the wind even through the shuttle's thick hull and exterior plating.

As the door slid open, she winced at the intense blast of frigid air and driving sleet that invaded the warmth of the shuttle. Shielding her face from the worst of the weather with an outstretched hand, she looked at her contact, an asari woman who had introduced herself as Celiya, wondering how the woman could stand working in such a remote place.

"Welcome to Peak Twenty-three," Celiya shouted to be heard over the howl of the wind. "Come on. We should get inside."

Selura descended the ramp and followed the other asari toward a set of stairs that she could just barely make out through the snowfall. Only the occasional glimpse of the facility itself when there was a lull in the wind allowed her to discern any details.

The facility was located high up on the mountainside, with a single exterior landing pad and a few outside walkways, but the majority of the site seemed to be carved into the side of the mountain itself. Off to the left as they approached, Selura could see a pair of bay doors set into the mountain, with nothing but a steep drop below them. She assumed the doors were for cargo deliveries of some kind, and that there would be a docking bay beyond, but if so, she wondered why the shuttle pilot had landed out in the storm and let them walk to the shelter of the complex.

She slipped more than once while walking up the stairs to the facility's entryway, and once the two of them were inside and the doors closed behind them, she breathed a sigh of relief, shaking her coat to dislodge the coating of snow that had accumulated on her shoulders and head.

"What an awful place," she muttered.

"It is not so bad," her contact smiled. "Besides, we spend most of our time hard at work inside. It is a rare occasion that any of us goes out there."

Inside the complex, the roar of the wind was more like a vague hum, but Selura didn't think she would ever have been able to stay in a facility on Noveria. Between the cold that seemed to permeate even the interior entryway of the building, the lack of anywhere to go, and the distant howl of the storm, she already felt trapped and uncomfortable.

"I thought our company would have a laboratory closer to Port Hanshan," she admitted. "Shuttling back and forth will be taxing."

"What?" the other asari regarded her with surprise. "We have a bunk for you here. You do not have to fly back and forth. In fact, I am sure the director will insist that you remain."

Selura frowned. She had promised Neela she would come back and spend the evenings with her. The thought of disappointing the quarian made Selura feel extremely unhappy. While they hadn't known each other for long, she'd never seen the pilot as upset as she was when security denied her access to the port.

"I do not understand. The itinerary I was given said you would require my presence for twelve hours each day. But I have to stay for the remaining time anyway?"

"Shuttling you back and forth is an unnecessary expense when we have food and shelter here, and a great deal to go over with you. The risk that you might be unable to reach us if a severe storm rolls in is too great. We cannot afford additional delays."

"A severe storm? What do you call the one out there right now?"

"Mild."

Selura was about to laugh, but when she saw the straight-faced seriousness with which the other asari was regarding her, she put a hand to her brow, rubbing her forehead in frustration.

"I promised I would be back this evening to… spend time with a friend," she explained. "She is stranded on the ship because they would not let her through security, and she was pretty upset about it. I would really like to keep my promise."

"Talk to the director about it," Celiya shrugged. "For now, follow me, and I will give you a tour of the facility."

Selura sighed heavily and fell into step behind her guide. She didn't relish the thought of having to tell Neela she couldn't join her that evening. And if she was to be honest with herself, her disappointment was not only on behalf of the quarian. She enjoyed spending time with Neela, and didn't want to miss an opportunity to do so. She found the pilot to be a very interesting individual, and loved learning more about her and her people.

"Peak Twenty-three is perfect for construction and testing of high-end military prototypes. Like most of the facilities on Noveria, the site is self-contained and free of outside interference or oversight. The facility is designed to resist the local weather and is remote enough to make the possibility of industrial espionage minimal at best. There are three distinct sub-facilities in the structure, each one with a different project underway."

The two walked down a plain white hallway, unlike anything that would have been constructed by the asari. They were void of decoration or luxury of any kind, and illuminated by harsh white fluorescent lighting. At the end of the corridor was a single door, which opened at their approach, leading onto a platform overlooking a large chamber.

The room was circular, with a raised platform on each side, from which stairs led down to a lower level, where tables and sofas were spread throughout the area. There were vending machines along one of the walls, and Selura spotted extranet terminals, vid screens, and a number of tables with holographic surfaces used for game projections. There were a number of asari in the room. Some were gathered in groups, talking quietly. Others sat alone, eating or working at one of the terminals. There were several doors leading out of the lower area.

"This is the hub of the facility," Celiya explained. "It serves as both the mess hall and the recreational center. The door on the right-hand side leads to the rooms for the staff. We have two asari assigned to each room, but during your stay, you will have a private room. The door on the left side leads to the bathing and restroom facilities. And the door under the opposite platform provides access to our external communications equipment. From the opposite platform, an elevator provides access to the sub-facilities below."

Selura struggled to assimilate all the information on the layout of the complex. She was still too hung up on the idea of being stuck in this facility for the week to really pay attention to what her guide was saying. Already the other asari was leading the way down the stairs, and she hurried to follow.

"You will be granted access to the Jump Bay and the associated laboratories during your stay here, which are in the hangar facility, on the level below. Your clearance will not apply to the bio or tech labs in the lower reaches of the complex."

"The information I was given said that my stay here was because of a delay of some kind in the prototype that will be transferred to my custody? What sort of delay?"

"Ah, yes. I was unsure if you had been given that much information. There was an issue during our last ascent to orbit, where one of the prototypes suffered a mass effect field collapse. It took us four days to retrieve the vessel from low orbit where it was stranded," Celiya explained as she led the way up the stairs opposite the ones they'd just descended. "When the prototype was finally brought back, we had to replace the field emitters, which took almost three days. It set our work back a week in total and worse, it cost us the life of an excellent pilot."

"I am sorry to hear that," Selura said softly. "What kind of prototype goes into orbit? A new type of shuttlecraft?"

"A new type of _fighter_ craft," Celiya corrected. "Our gunships are efficient enough, but since they were designed for suborbital use, they are clumsy and inefficient in space. These new prototypes have unrivaled maneuverability. They could fly circles around anything the human or turian militaries can deploy in space… quite literally."

"Fighters?" Selura repeated. She could only picture the interest that Neela would have in the prototypes when they were brought aboard. Of course, her company would terminate her employment and quite possibly inflict worse punishments if they ever found out she shared the technical readouts with an outsider, but she didn't care. This was something she would _have_ to share with Neela, if only to see the pilot's reaction.

"You will be learning a great deal about them over the coming week," Celiya smiled.

After reaching the top of the stairs, Selura followed her guide into the elevator, clearing her throat when the door closed and the lift started moving.

"Is our company able to authorize visitors to Port Hanshan?"

"You mean the new policy restricting quarian access?"

"Yes," Selura nodded. "If I cannot return to visit Neela tonight, I would love to be able to give her some good news to make up for it."

"I am afraid not. Sorry."

Selura sighed softly. Now she would have two different pieces of news with which to disappoint Neela. She was turning out to be an unreliable friend to the quarian, and it wasn't something she was happy about. She hoped that Neela could forgive her.

When the doors opened, her guide resumed the tour, pointing out the technical labs and research areas before finally leading her into a huge hangar bay. Her eyes were drawn immediately to the center of the room, where a pair of spacecraft stood side-by-side. She had to assume that these were the prototype fighters.

They were sleek and attractive little craft, with obvious nods to the design of asari cruisers and dreadnaughts in their construction. Each craft had an oval-shaped ring at the rear that she guessed housed the propulsion ring, just like the larger asari vessels, with fin-like protrusions at the top, bottom and both sides of the ring. There were a number of small, circular ports around the outer circumference of the propulsion ring, and Selura wondered what they were for. Situated in front of the drive elements was the cockpit area of the vessel, a protrusion that was wide at the bottom, narrowing toward the top where the canopy melded into the plating of the hull. The entire vessel had rounded edges and graceful lines, and the young scientist was impressed.

An older asari had been standing near the fighters, and when she spotted Selura and her escort, she walked over to meet them, smiling faintly.

"You must be Selura Leneur."

"I must be," Selura smiled.

"I am Delisa T'Gira, project director. It is good to finally meet you."

"Likewise," Selura bobbed her head in greeting, her gaze drifting back to the prototype craft. "They look extremely impressive."

The elder asari's smile deepened, and she nodded to Celiya. "Thank you, Celiya. I will take over from here," she announced, and the other asari nodded and withdrew. Delisa guided Selura toward the waiting prototypes.

"I understand there were some delays in the project?" Selura asked.

"Yes. We lost a valued member of our team," the elder scientist bowed her head. "I apologize for the time it will cost you, but unfortunately in our line of work, tragedy occasionally strikes."

"No need to apologize," Selura shook her head. "I am sorry to hear about your colleague."

Delisa cleared her throat, quickly changing the subject. "You will be receiving a complete course on the technical specifications of our brainchild, the Armanis Fighter prototype. We will also be entrusting you with complete design schematics and some vid captures of the craft in action. Our head designer has already gone to Thessia with the baseline information, but there have been a number of modifications since her departure last month."

Selura's eyes were on the craft, and she was already speculating on the drive type and the maneuvering capabilities, since these were areas that tied in to her personal realm of expertise. Now that she was closer to the vehicle, she inspected the ports she had spotted in the exterior of the propulsion ring, noting that they were, in fact, thruster exhausts.

"These are maneuvering thrusters?" she turned to the elder asari for confirmation, and received a nod. Stepping back, she looked at the line of them, noting that there was a port every meter or so along the exterior of the ring. Her brows rose. "With this level of maneuvering control, this craft must be capable of amazing agility."

"Indeed," the elder scientist smiled. "Our pilots have executed turns, spiral rolls and direction changes that no other fighter can come close to achieving. The controls require some getting used to, even for experienced pilots, but this fighter can dodge incoming projectiles with amazing ease. The pilot's reaction time is the only practical limit to the Armanis's agility in space."

"What about in the atmosphere?"

"Maneuverability suffers once you take into account gravity and atmospheric drag, but she is still at least as maneuverable as our current gunships, and perhaps a little more so with an experienced pilot that knows how to handle her."

Selura smiled and walked around the rear of the craft, inspecting the propulsion ring intently. "Antiproton propulsion drive?" she was surprised. "I assumed a craft this size would be equipped with a fusion torch system."

"It actually contains both," Delisa corrected her. "The antiproton drive is the main drive for the Armanis, because it provides the power and thrust that allows the pilot to take greatest advantage of the fighter's maneuverability. However, it can be fueled with hydrogen and helium and operated with the installed fusion torch systems in emergencies. The maneuverability suffers a nine percent dip in efficiency and the engines build heat rapidly, but it serves as a convenient form of backup propulsion."

"Interesting," Selura commented. She was already thinking about her own team's project, and the additional versatility they might have obtained if they had thought of combining two types of drive elements into a single engine. Using a fusion torch as a backup system was inventive, but combining the two into a single drive would have been more efficient and opened their new drive to a wider variety of vessels. She sighed. It was too late now. Maybe she could submit the idea as a proposal for a future project.

"We will have a great deal of time to go over this over the next several days," her colleague distracted her from her musings. "For now, let me get you settled into a room and get your biometrics added to the clearance database for this level."

"Ah, yes," Selura frowned. "Regarding that, I had been under the mistaken impression that I would only be coming here during the days, and would be returning to my ship at night. Is there any way…" she trailed off, and then a sudden thought occurred to her. "I need to get back to Port Hanshan this evening. I left the company's datapad and my clothing aboard the _Sileya_. I assumed I would be returning, and would have the opportunity to change there." Inwardly, she smiled. They couldn't expect her to remain in the facility for a week without a change of clothing, could they?

There was a hint of resignation in the elder scientist's voice when she responded. "The shuttle can take you back to get your things tonight, but we will need you to spend the rest of the week up here, so make sure you have everything when you depart in the morning."

Selura smiled brightly. She would be able to keep her promise to Neela that evening after all.

"Still, we need to input your biometrics and show you to your room. Follow me, please."

Selura nodded and fell into step behind the elder asari, already looking gleefully forward to her time with Neela.

* * *

**Ulrich Farm, Terra Nova, Now…**

Prathus took in the sight of the lonely building to which his young companion led him. It was a small home built of the type of heat-resistant alloys common to human dwellings, and looked to encompass perhaps five or six rooms at most, judging from the size of the place. Behind it, orderly rows of plants stretched for as far as he could see in the gathering gloom, with small machines moving along the rows on raised tracks, sprinkling water over the field as they went.

His companion walked up to the front door and triggered it, shouting "Company!" the instant the barrier parted. The turian shook his head and waited patiently at the foot of the small staircase leading up to the entryway.

Within moments, a human woman appeared in his field of view. With the long blonde hair the woman sported and the similarity he saw between her eyes and the eyes of the child, he wouldn't have needed any further information to know they were mother and daughter. The child put down her fishing gear next to the door and jerked a thumb his direction.

"He crashed his ship into Lake Everclear," Candice announced. Prathus's mandibles twitched in an unconscious gesture of frustration. "I invited him for dinner," the girl quickly added.

"Honey, go wash up," the elder human urged, and when her daughter dashed off, she smiled apologetically at the turian. "I'm Bridget Ulrich," she introduced herself. "Sorry if my daughter gave you the wrong impression, but we don't have any dextro food in the pantry."

Prathus noted the strange look in her eyes. If he had to guess, he would have said that she was suspicious about the possible motives of a stranger that would have followed her daughter home, or even accepted a dinner invitation from her. He swallowed his distaste for her species and offered his hand.

"I didn't expect you to. I'm Prathus Ganarius. I was actually hoping that I could use your comm system or extranet connection for a moment."

The woman shook his hand, staring at him with some amount of puzzlement. "It's, uh, nice to meet you, Mr. Ganarius."

"My ship was attacked in orbit," he explained in an attempt to ease her confusion and suspicion. "I escaped on an evacuation shuttle, which crashed into the lake, like your daughter said. I just need to contact a shuttle or something so that I can be picked up, assuming there are any shuttles left."

"Any shuttles left? Why wouldn't there-?" she trailed off, shook her head and sighed. "I would love to help," she started anew. "But our extranet and comms went offline a little while ago. There's some sort of problem. I don't think we can help you."

"I was afraid of that," the turian nodded. "I really don't know how to say this other than to simply _say_ it," he scowled. "You should pack up your family and get far away from here. Reapers are attacking Terra Nova."

"What?" she stared at him incredulously, and then scoffed. "That's absurd. The Reapers are just a myth. Some crazy conspiracy theory-"

"Look," Prathus cut her off. "I'm not going to argue with you. I've warned you. Do with the information what you will. If you can't help me get in touch with anyone, then just tell me: Where is the nearest city that's _not_ located to the north. The Reapers have already landed up there and I want to get as far away from them as possible."

"What's going on, hon?" a male voice interrupted the conversation, and a young human man approached the door. "Hi," he greeted the turian. "I don't believe we've met. I'm-"

The introduction was cut off by a monstrous roar that echoed across the area. When Prathus turned, he spotted a massive, winged creature soaring through the air toward them. He'd seen many things in his life, but had never seen anything quite like the flying abomination. It looked like it was partially mechanical, had a long neck and wide maw, and was easily larger than a turian fighter. As they all stared, a port in its chest opened and a ball of crimson hurtled toward the ground.

"Get down!" Acting purely on instinct, the turian bounded up the steps and tackled both humans to the floor, just in case the incoming projectile was explosive.

The ground shook beneath him, but there was no concussive boom indicative of explosive ordinance. The human male shoved him roughly to the side, and the three of them stood, staring out at the blackened spot in the field a few dozen meters from the house.

Creatures loomed out of the smoke rising from the point of impact, shambling toward the building. Prathus spotted three bloated, misshapen figures stalking slowly toward them, while a half-dozen human-like forms with glowing pieces of tech implanted in their bodies dashed toward the open door.

The human woman shrieked in terror. Prathus quickly hit the trigger to close the door, then turned and barked "lock that," at the male. This was only the beginning, he knew. They needed to lock the place down and prepare to defend themselves. He just hoped the winged transport – whatever it was – wouldn't drop off any reinforcements…

* * *

**Port Hanshan, Noveria, Two weeks earlier…**

Prathus was unsteady on his feet by the time he parted company with his old friend and headed for the hotel's reservation interface. It was nice to see so many turian faces in the vicinity, and had been especially nice to see a familiar one, even if he _had_ been forced to be a little evasive regarding the reason he left Palavan once his mandatory service was at its end.

It had been a long time since he'd indulged in strong drink, and as a result, while his friend was showing signs of mild intoxication, Prathus was positively inebriated. That it was still quite early in the day was a fact he gave little thought to at that moment, but he was vaguely aware it would probably be something he regretted when he was sober.

He was forced to really make an effort to bring the holographic interface into focus so that he could obtain a room for himself, and snorted with amusement over the fact. While he waited for the system to process his ID, it occurred to him that he hadn't even found the time to look around for the components Illitha asked for.

"In th'morning," he mumbled, slurring the words together.

As he headed for the elevator, he stumbled into someone. He was vaguely aware that the human looked irritated at the brief collision, but he was beyond caring. In fact, he took a moment to congratulate himself on being a low point in a human's day. However, once he was thinking about humans and low points, his concentration came into focus for long enough that he opted to check in with the captain and let her know that he had a friend on the local security force that would keep an ear out for whispers of Cerberus. He activated his omni-tool and opened a channel, oblivious to the human glaring at his back.

"Captain? S'Prathhus…"

"_Prathus?_" the captain's voice answered. "_Is something wrong?_"

"Juss.. checkin' in… Bumped into a… a friend on the shecurity forshe at the bar… Shaid he'd keep n'eye out for… uh, Sher-sherberus info..."

"_You have been drinking,_" the captain did not sound amused, but the lack of amusement barely registered on the turian.

Prathus stumbled into the elevator and turned around, noting that the human was still staring at him. He felt a momentary surge of satisfaction. He had annoyed the human more than he thought. Good. He was so preoccupied with his petty feelings of self-satisfaction that he didn't notice the suspicion in the gaze of the slender, moustached man, who turned and started walking away.

"Got a room at.. at th'otel," Prathus added for the captain's benefit.

"_Get some sleep, Prathus_," the captain sighed audibly. "_We can talk when you are sober._"

"Undershtood," he nodded and deactivated the channel.

He was looking forward to a room and some privacy. The worst thing about living on an asari ship was the lack of privacy, in his view. That and a lack of any proper turian discipline… The asari just didn't operate the same way as a turian crew. Illitha and Aida were a perfect example. The two girls acted more like friends hanging out at home than colleagues serving aboard a ship. There were times that it bugged him.

Preoccupied with complaining to himself about his crewmates, the drunken turian staggered out of the elevator when it reached his floor. If he had been sober, he would instead have been brooding over the way the human in the lobby had been looking at him. In his current state, he hadn't been paying attention. He was delightfully warm from the alcohol running through his system, and feeling very lethargic. He only barely made it into his room and to the bed before he passed out.

.

* * *

.

**Author's Note (#2): Finally, they've escaped the ship! I know that particular arc of the present timeline ran a little longer than I intended, but I appreciate you all hanging in there with me while I got the crew through the various challenges that kept popping into my head regarding their escape. And I know that not much happened in the past timeline in this chapter, but it was important to get it in there for reasons that will become clear eventually :)**

**Thanks again for all your comments, favorites/follows and support. The interest this little tale has generated is keeping me motivated, and that means more to me than I can say.**


	12. Chapter 12: Cerberus

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Twelve: Cerberus

.

**Terra Nova, Now…**

The moments after the evacuation pod launched were some of the most terrifying that Illitha had ever experienced, and given the events of the past few weeks, that was quite a statement for the young engineer. She was certain that a Reaper fighter drone was going to spot their pod soaring toward the atmosphere of Terra Nova and shoot them down.

In fact, for one horrible moment, she thought the Reapers actually _had_ fired on the shuttle: A massive shockwave pummeled their vessel, spinning it end over end before the automated systems righted it and resumed their course. Illitha had to remind herself that she'd set the _Sileya's_ eezo core to overload. Once she realized that the shockwave was undoubtedly the result of the destruction of the ship she thought of as home, a mixture of relief and sorrow washed over her. Her eyes met Aida's – her friend was seated across from her – and she saw a similar mix of emotions there.

The cylindrical stasis pod was wedged into the interior space of the shuttle between the two of them. It had been difficult to fit the device into the cramped confines of the lifeboat, but they had managed. Now, they both kept their hands upon it, trying to keep it steady while the ship was buffeted by the winds during their descent to the surface. Illitha could see the deep concern etched onto her friend's face, and knew exactly what the medic was thinking. While there had been no choice but to put the captain in stasis and bring her down in the escape pod, there was a very good chance that the journey could exacerbate her injuries and result in her death.

"Automated landing sequence initiated," a synthesized asari voice informed them. Neither girl could see the holographic display because the Prothean pod was in the way.

The automated systems made the landing much gentler than Illitha ever expected. There was a brief bump and a small shake when the pod set down, but that was the extent of the disruption. She eagerly triggered the release from her harness and pulled the latch on the exterior hatch, smiling in relief when fresh air poured in to replace the stale recycled atmosphere of the cabin. She inhaled the pleasant smell of the local vegetation, and could detect a hint of the sweet scent of flowers upon the breeze.

"By the Goddess," she said softly. "Aida, we made it! I was b-beginning to doubt we would ever get off the ship. It seemed like everything that could go wrong did. Can you believe we are here?"

Aida nodded in a preoccupied fashion. "Help me get the captain's pod out of here," she said. It was obvious she hadn't heard a word the engineer uttered.

Illitha looked at the pod dubiously. It had taken a great deal of effort for _three_ of them to move the pod from the cargo bay to the escape pod, and that had been in a weightless environment. On this planet, she was certain that it would be impossible to move it alone. Unfortunately, the shuttles were not meant for maneuvering in a planet's atmosphere, or she would have suggested they just try to fly the entire shuttle to the nearest settlement.

The two asari gave the task a serious try, and Aida even went so far as to attempt a biotic pull to suspend the pod in the air so that they could move it, but their efforts were to no avail. The best they managed was to get the pod out of its position propped up against the interior wall of the shuttle, and they jarred the capsule roughly in the process, which prompted Aida to immediately run a battery of scans on it to ensure that their clumsiness hadn't killed the captain.

Illitha looked around at the landscape, trying to figure out the best way to proceed. They were on an unfamiliar planet, surrounded by vegetation she'd never seen, and she didn't have the slightest clue what they were going to do from here. If the Reapers were indeed invading the planet, perhaps their best option was to stay in the middle of nowhere. If they avoided signs of civilization, the Reapers might never find them.

"What are we going to do, Lith?" Aida sounded weary and miserable.

"I… I have no idea," the young engineer conceded. "C-can we risk a transmission to Neela? If they could get the fighter down here, maybe the four of us could use it for transport…"

"What about the captain?" Aida sighed. "It didn't look to me like those fighters had a cargo area."

"No," Illitha shook her head. "You are right. I… W-we can think of something else."

"Maybe we should try contacting them just the same," Aida suggested.

"The Reapers might be able to d-detect our signal. If we try, I mean. It would be like setting off a beacon-" Illitha trailed off, a sudden chill running down her spine.

"Lith?"

Aida was staring at her, and judging from the look on her friend's face, Illitha guessed that something of the horror she felt was visible in her own expression. The engineer dashed into the interior of the pod, activating her omni-tool and starting a frequency scan. Just as she had feared, the pod was emitting an automated distress beacon.

"Aida! Get in here!" she actually shouted at her friend, fear giving her voice a power she wasn't accustomed to hearing from herself.

"What is wrong?"

"Th-the pod is transmitting a rescue beacon! We have to shut it down!"

Aida paled visibly at the news, no doubt coming to the same conclusion that Illitha had reached: If the Reapers detected a distress signal, they were sure to send something to investigate. Illitha found the source of the signal quickly enough, but it took her several minutes to gain root access to the system and shut it down. Aida, for her part, could only watch. She didn't have the technical expertise to hack into the shuttle's automated processes. When the signal cut off, both girls breathed a sigh of relief.

"Do you think we shut it down in time?"

"Um… W-well, it was not broadcasting for _too_ long," Illitha trailed off, but Aida knew her well enough to know when she was being evasive. She tried for a reassuring smile, which only prompted the other asari to cross her arms and frown at her.

"Just say it," Aida demanded. "The day cannot get worse."

Illitha winced at the last statement from her friend. The day had been bad, but it could almost certainly get worse. Especially if her suspicions were correct.

"W-well… The pod probably began broadcasting when it reached the atmosphere. So, i-if we are lucky-"

"Luck has not been with us so far," Aida interjected.

"Y-yes. Well, if our luck has changed, deactivating the signal so soon after reaching the ground might… well, it _could_ convince the Reapers that we crashed… They might not waste time checking."

"And if we are unlucky?"

Illitha stumbled out of the interior of the shuttle, into the cool air of the approaching dusk. She stretched, trying to ease the tension and numbness out of her back. There was a telltale tingling that warned her that the medigel's anesthetic effects were wearing off.

"Lith?" Aida persisted.

Illitha spotted a dark shape silhouetted against the orange and pink of the clouds in the darkening sky. The instant she saw the spot her heart sank. She closed her eyes, silently begging the Goddess to tell her what they had all done to deserve so much bad luck.

"Lith?" Aida asked again.

"Our luck has not changed," Illitha murmured. "We should see if there are any weapons stored in the shuttle…"

Aida, who was standing in the shuttle door, followed her gaze. Upon spotting the dark spot that was growing closer by the second, she bowed her head, her hands clenching into fists. Illitha slipped by her friend on the way into the shuttle's interior, and she put a hand on the medic's shoulder, giving her a gentle squeeze in passing.

* * *

**Port Hanshan, Noveria, Two weeks earlier…**

Illitha strode out of the small shop near the elevators with an armful of boxes of turian chocolate, smiling in satisfaction. While it was only a small gesture to make up for having assaulted her friend, she hoped it would lift Neela's spirits. As she left the storefront, she heard the proprietor call after her.

"This one thanks you for your patronage."

Illitha stifled a giggle. She really didn't want to seem rude, but she had never met a hanar in person before, and the entire time she'd been standing in his shop, she'd been trying not to grin. Every second of their conversation about his wares, she'd been waiting for him to say something like: "This one is becoming tired of your waste secretions. And it has forgotten if its heat sink is at capacity. Does the asari pest feel lucky?"

_Ah Blasto_, she giggled gleefully once she was safely out of earshot, stealing a backward glance through the shop's window. _I will never be able to take a hanar seriously…_

It was tempting to linger in the facility and explore a bit, but Illitha was preoccupied with the welfare of her friend and, to a lesser degree, with finishing the measurements of the conduits in engineering. Besides, she'd promised the captain that she was going to remain aboard the ship. She didn't want to disappoint the elder asari by breaking that promise. So, she turned her steps toward the elevator, intent on returning to the _Sileya_.

She passed through the processing area and the small lobby beyond, and was just about to go through the doors to the docking bay. However, the moment the glass parted, a voice reached her ears.

"I'm telling you, I think that's it. The _Sileya_. We were supposed to keep an eye out for it."

Illitha froze in her tracks, her breath catching in her throat. However, since the doors had opened, the conversation beyond ceased, no doubt because the speakers were waiting to see who was coming. She knew it would be suspicious if no one appeared. Unsure what else to do, she stepped through into the area beyond, doing her best to look calm and composed. She had no idea what someone might want with the ship, but given that the _Sileya_ was a smuggler's vessel, she assumed it wasn't good.

Two humans were standing near the railing off to the right of the doors. One of them was a thin and balding man with a moustache, and the other was a stocky fellow with blonde hair that was trimmed to near stubble. Both were dressed in attire typical of businessmen, and looking her direction. Noting the suspicion with which they regarded her, she offered them the most innocent smile she could manage.

"Hello," she greeted them cheerfully. However, she was thinking frantically about how she would explain her arrival. If they were indeed looking for the _Sileya_, the last thing she wanted was to announce herself as a member of the crew.

"Hey," the moustached fellow nodded. "Going back to your ship?" His tone was casual, but the intensity in his gaze was unnerving.

"What?" she feigned ignorance. "I was looking for my… my b-boyfriend," she stammered. "Have you seen a turian out here with blue clan markings on his face? He… he would have been dressed in… a, um… security uniform," she finished lamely.

Inwardly, she sighed. She knew she was a terrible liar, and she waited for one of the two to shoot her or something. She glanced toward the door. If these men were interested in the _Sileya_, she had to warn the captain or Prathus.

The man with the moustache stepped closer to her, and his eyes drifted down to the boxes of chocolate she cradled in the crook of her arm. He smiled.

"A gift for your sweetheart?"

"Wha-? Oh! Yes. Yes, he loves chocolate from Palavan."

"Well, I haven't seen a turian guard out here in a while."

"Oh," she laughed nervously. "He must be stationed here tomorrow. I g-guess today he would be in… in… I am not really sure," she trailed off, glancing at her omni-tool. "I guess I should call-"

"In a minute," the man's smile took on a somewhat forced aspect. "What company are you with?"

"Company?" Illitha repeated blankly. She started to panic, trying to come up with the name of a company… _any_ company. "E-Elkoss Combine!" she said at last. Surely Elkoss would have offices here. They had offices _everywhere_.

"Did you happen to overhear our conversation?"

Illitha was about to deny having heard anything, but a deep baritone voice behind her startled her by answering on her behalf.

"She did. I could hear you when the doors opened. She must have too."

Illitha turned to regard the owner of the new voice, a tall and wiry man with short black hair and a pock-marked face. Her nervousness increased tenfold. He was standing far too close, and she was starting to feel trapped now that her path to the doors was blocked.

"I was not really paying attention," she said softly. "I was busy thinking of my b-boyfriend's delight when I have him these," she lifted the armful of chocolates slightly.

"Just the same," the man with the moustache drew her attention when he started speaking, "I think he'll have to wait for the gift. You'll need to come with us."

"W-what?" Illitha looked around for an avenue of escape. "Y-you cannot just-"

"We can," he cut her off. "And we _are_. You can come with us, spend a day in our company, and then go back to your boyfriend, or we can keep an eye on you in another way," the man's eyes turned through the railing, to the floor of the docking bay far below.

Illitha got the picture immediately. She nodded slowly, but managed to offer one final protest, keeping up her ruse just in case they were actually buying it. "B-but my boyfriend will worry…"

"Tomorrow you'll have an exciting story to tell him," the man took her arm, his grip firm, but not rough.

Illitha swallowed and nodded once.

"We're going to head for the company apartment," the man addressed his tall, deep-voiced friend. "I'll get the young lady settled. You keep an eye on that ship."

"What about me?" the stocky blonde fellow spoke up.

"The alert said the ship had a crew of five," Illitha's captor answered. "One turian, one quarian, and three asari. You keep an eye on that ship. Get captures of anyone going in or out. I'll contact Jimmy and have him track down any new arrivals that came through processing today."

"What do you expect to find?" the stocky man asked.

"They wouldn't have let a quarian in with the new policy," his eyes shifted to Illitha, and there was a subtle menace to his gaze. "So there should be three asari and a turian roaming around. I know where the turian is, so if we can find three fresh asari faces other than this one," his hand tightened painfully on her arm, "we'll know this lovely young lady should get back to her boyfriend."

"Good thinking."

"If you are who you say you are," the man was addressing Illitha, and his grip loosened slightly, "you'll have my sincerest apologies. I trust that you'll forgive me and won't breathe a word of this to anyone if that's the case?"

Heart pounding, Illitha nodded. Inwardly, despite her terror, she felt a tiny sliver of relief. These men didn't seem to be aware that Selura was with the crew. That being the case, they would indeed find that three asari and a turian had passed through processing earlier that day. Still, she didn't believe for a second that these men were just going to let her go and trust her not to report them to the local authorities. She needed to figure out how to escape. And she had to warn the others that someone was after them.

* * *

**Above Terra Nova, now…**

Although they were in danger, Neela could not contain the shout of excitement as the fighter spiraled toward the debris of a destroyed vessel near the asteroid space station. Behind her, she could hear Selura whimpering. But she was too intoxicated by the experience of being at the controls of a fighter to realize how much her spaceborne acrobatics were unsettling the stomach of her passenger. She was simply amazed by the responsiveness of the prototype's maneuvering system. It was an agility that was currently keeping them alive, because they were being pursued.

It had taken her several minutes to get used to the controls. They were unlike anything she'd ever used before. The throttle and maneuvering was all accomplished with a single directional control. By pressing the steering grip forward they went faster, and by pulling back the fighter slowed or even stopped entirely. Twisting one way or the other caused the vessel to pitch in the direction of the turn, but to actually bank, she discovered that she had to both twist the wheel and simultaneously tilt the entire control assembly to the opposite side. The smallest adjustments caused big changes in course. There was a bit of a learning curve.

Once she had a grasp of the controls, however, she discovered that the fighter could absolutely _dance_ in space. Tilting the controls instead of pushing forward or pulling back engaged an immediate burst of thrust in the direction of the tilt, and caused the ship to immediately leap in a desired direction. In this way, she found she could seemingly sidestep in an instant, which she imagined would be incredibly useful for dodging incoming fire. Unfortunately for both Neela and her passenger, however, imagination wasn't required for long. When the _Sileya's_ engines detonated, they had drawn pursuit, which was why they were headed for a cloud of shattered wreckage rather than the planet's surface.

A red beam passed them, and Neela jerked the controls in the opposite direction, almost instantly putting additional distance between her fighter and the enemy attack. Even with two fighters firing on them, the quarian was managing to avoid the incoming fire with ease because of the maneuverability of their craft. The problem was that the fighter wasn't armed. While the Reaper drones might have classified them as a threat because they were a fighter craft, the only way they could pose a danger to anything was to ram it. And Neela wasn't about to kill both herself and Selura just to take out one Reaper fighter.

_Besides_, she thought with satisfaction, _The _Sileya's_ destruction just took a whole bunch of you bosh'tets with it._

Neela slowed the fighter slightly, drawing the enemy craft in closer once she reached the edge of the debris field. Weaving around massive chunks of rent hull plating and fuselage, she kept her eyes primarily on the fighter's laser-scanning display, since it provided accurate positions for everything in the area, both in front _and _behind. She kept their flight path erratic, and grinned when she saw the red beams striking debris all around them, but none was even coming close to their ship.

"If these things were robotic miners, they'd be unearthing everything _but_ the minerals!" she laughed.

"No jokes now, please," Selura pleaded.

"Wait, are _you_ telling _me_ to be serious?" Neela grinned.

Under her direction, their ship spiraled around a twisted hunk of metal and reversed course. She banked hard to the side and soared right between the two enemy fighters, narrowly avoiding a beam one of them fired in response. The maneuver drew a panicked cry from her passenger. As Neela dodged a few more chunks of wreckage, the oculus drones banked and circled to resume pursuit.

"Can we go to the surface now please?" Selura begged. "I think I am going to vomit in my helmet."

"You don't want to do that," Neela warned. "Just imagine how unpleasant it would be to have that sort of mess in your helmet if I did… this!" she twisted the controls hard to the right, executing a tight spiral, laughing impishly.

"Goddess, stop it!" Selura wailed. "When we are on solid ground, I swear I am going to vomit in _your _helmet."

"You have to be able to run in a straight line first," the quarian grinned. "Otherwise you'll never catch me."

A red beam smashed into a piece of debris they were passing, causing the chunk of flotsam to spin wildly. Neela quickly rolled the opposite direction, carrying their vessel out of the path of the wreckage, squeezing between a few nearby bits of broken hull to throw off pursuit. She was quite certain that in any other vessel, they would have crashed just then, simply due to lack of maneuverability.

"Oh Goddess," she heard Selura whimper behind her. "_Please_ get us on the ground."

Neela changed course, heading for the heaviest concentration of wreckage in the debris field. She had to remind herself that poor Selura was injured, and probably didn't need to experience _every_ form of rotational force she could manage to generate in the fighter. It would be tricky to get through the cloud of mangled metals ahead of her, but she was certain they would lose the enemy in the attempt, if not actually get them to crash during pursuit. Then it would be a straight shot to the planet's surface.

"You are not going in _there_, are you?" Selura sounded horrified as they drew closer to the concentration of wreckage.

"It's the only way we lose them for sure," Neela assured her. "Trust me."

Selura's arm tightened around her waist, and for some reason, Neela drew a great deal of confidence from that feeling. It was… empowering… to feel like the asari was relying on her to keep them safe. She pushed the steering grip forward as far as it would go, accelerating to full throttle to increase the distance between them and their pursuers.

The moments that followed were probably the most terrifying of Selura's life, Neela realized. The reason the realization dawned on her was because her own heart seemed to leap into her throat when they passed between the first two massive sections of floating fuselage… through a gap barely wide enough to accommodate their vessel. From there, the maneuvering only got worse. She sailed through jagged holes in large sections of hull plating, spiraled into spaces between chunks of alloy larger than their fighter, and eventually received a warning that their kinetic barriers were offline when Neela sailed through a narrow lane only to have a chunk of metal float into their path just as they were clearing it. After that, she heard the heart-stopping sound of debris grinding against their hull more than once.

Where their pursuit had gone, she had no idea. But when the concentration of wreckage thinned out ahead, she let out a triumphant yell and rolled the craft over in celebration before speeding directly toward the planet's surface.

* * *

**Port Hanshan Docks, Two weeks earlier…**

Neela stepped from the airlock into the frigid air of the docking area, crossing her arms in an unconscious gesture to keep herself warm. Not that she needed to, as her enviro-suit was well-insulated and temperature controlled. Still, all of her external detection apparatus told her that the temperature in the bay was well below comfort levels for most species, a fact that forced her to wonder just how much colder it was outside, since the bay was sheltered against the worst of the wind and weather.

It was getting dark outside of the docking bay, she noted with some amount of excitement. She assumed that Selura would be returning from her company's facility before long. The anticipation of seeing the asari scientist again left her feeling restless, a fact that she found amusing. She didn't miss the captain or Aida or Illitha as much when they were gone. Shaking her head, she paced along the walkway from the _Sileya_ to the doors leading into the Port Hanshan facility.

Neela was lost in thought, not really paying much attention to her surroundings, mulling over Selura's fascination with the quarian people. It warmed her heart the way the asari was always willing to listen while she talked about her family, her suit, her people, her interests… it was nice to have someone show appreciation for her culture and heritage. Still, she was starting to realize that while Selura was learning all about her, she knew next to nothing about Selura. She was getting to know her personality and had a good sense of her intelligence, but she knew very little about the girl's family or her past.

_Maybe tonight I can do something about that_.

Smiling at the thought, she was just about to head back into the ship when she noticed a figure standing near the door to the interior of Port Hanshan. She almost hadn't seen him; he was standing in the doorway, leaning up against the wall beside the door, as if trying to avoid being noticed. She stopped and leaned against the railing along the walkway, hoping to get a better look at him without being obvious about it.

He was a human, she was sure. A bit stocky, and looked bald from this distance, or at least had very short hair. She couldn't be sure without activating her omni-tool to initiate the vision-enhancement features in her visor, and she was unwilling to do that, for fear she might give away the fact that she'd seen him.

The glass doors leading to the port opened, apparently startling the human, because he whirled around to face them. Neela was surprised to see Selura stride out, walking right past the man without so much as looking at him. The quarian wasn't even sure the asari had seen him. Instead, the girl waved cheerfully, heading straight for her. The human quickly stepped through the open doors, vanishing from sight. Neela shook her head.

"Hello, Neela," Selura's playful smirk as she approached alerted the quarian to the nature of the coming statement. "You could have waited in the ship. Did you stand here all day?"

"Yes," Neela responded sarcastically. "I had nothing better to do than stand right here and wait for you."

"Sorry to hear that," the asari grinned. "You could have gone to the privacy of your room and calibrated your Nerve-stim Pro…"

"My Nerve-st-" Neela started to repeat, and then was struck momentarily speechless by realization of what the asari was suggesting. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. "You… You bosh'tet! What I do in the privacy of my room is none of your business!"

"Ahh," Selura flashed a knowing smile. "It all makes sense now. You left Illium because neighbors complained about the sounds coming from your apartment when you were enjoying your… privacy. You were afraid word would spread."

"I'm going to hurt you," Neela warned, glaring at the girl.

Selura broke down laughing, reaching out and grabbing Neela's hand. "Come on. We should get out of the cold."

Neela shook her head ruefully, wondering why it was that she was able to take Selura's teasing in such good humor. Had anyone else been teasing her about such intimate things, she would have been more than a little offended. She turned to follow the girl into the ship, and then remembered the man by the doors. She'd almost forgotten because of the scientist's playful banter.

"Did you get a look at the man by the doors when you came out?"

"What man?" Selura looked back at her quizzically.

"Keelah," Neela put a hand to her head. "You didn't even see him."

"What are you talking about?"

"Nevermind," the quarian muttered, following her friend into the airlock.

"I have been meaning to ask you," Selura turned to face her once they were in the airlock, waiting for the interior door to open. "I could see you glaring at me out there. But I can only see a vague outline of the shape of your face through the visor. Why do your eyes show up so clearly? Do they glow?"

"What?" Neela blinked. "No, our eyes don't glow…"

"Then why do they show up so well through the visor?"

"Well," Neela tried to consider how best to explain it. "Quarian eyes are adapted for clear vision in conditions of low light. There is a membrane in our eyes that reflects the light into our cornea, to help us focus so we can make out details with greater clarity in near-darkness. So they… shine, I guess would be the word… when light hits them. They're just reflecting the light of the holographic overlay in my visor."

"Oh," Selura nodded slowly.

"Oh?" Neela repeated. "That's all you have to say?"

"What else am I supposed to say?" Selura smiled at her. "It disappoints me that they do not glow? I was curious, and now my curiosity is sated."

Neela had to laugh, which drew a grin from her companion in turn. Somehow, she had just expected more commentary or more questions. The lack of additional inquiries did give her the opportunity to find out a little more about Selura, however, so she took the opportunity while they headed for the crew lounge together.

"Tell me about your family," she urged. "I wanted to ask you on the bridge the night I told you about my family, but you fell asleep."

"I was unable to resist. Those chairs are comfortable. And you were not talking."

"Because I wanted to let you fall asleep," Neela smiled.

"I know," Selura nodded. "It was thoughtful of you."

"Your family?" Neela prodded.

"Well, I already told you I do not remember much about my father. I was very young when he died. As for my mother," she paused, seeming to gather her thoughts. "Well, as much as I love my mother, there is not a lot to say about her. She has a job as a receptionist for a company on Lusia, where I grew up. She has never had a bondmate that I know of, and leads a very average life."

"What is she like?"

Selura was the first to reach the door to the crew lounge, and she triggered it and led the way inside, walking over to the sofa and sitting down on it. Neela slipped into the chair adjacent to it, waiting for the scientist to answer her question.

"I get my sarcasm from my mother," Selura said softly. "She lacks my sense of humor, but when we get irritated, we share the same fondness for sarcastic remarks. She is a very intelligent woman. I have always thought she should be doing something more… I guess meaningful… than working as a receptionist."

"Does she like her job?"

"Oh yes, very much," Selura smiled. "Her love of her job is the only reason I was ever content to hold my tongue about her potential. But I think part of her wishes she did something else with her life. She never allowed me to consider mediocrity. She encouraged me to follow my dreams."

"She sounds like a terrific mother."

"She is," Selura smiled softly. "I do not speak to her as often as I should. Maybe this week I will call her some evening…"

"You should," Neela nodded.

"Oh, that reminds me," Selura fidgeted in her seat.

Neela watched the asari shift uncomfortably, wondering why she could no longer meet her gaze. She waited to hear what it was that Selura was reminded of, and when it became apparent that an answer wasn't forthcoming, she prodded the girl's leg with her foot.

"I know I said I would be here during the evenings this week, but I may not be able to," Selura said softly. "I am sorry."

Neela felt an intense wave of disappointment crash over her. She tried to keep it out of her voice when she spoke. "Why can't you? What happened?"

"My company's stupid facility is much farther from here than I anticipated. They refuse to shuttle me back and forth from here to there. They want me on-site for the rest of the week."

"Oh," Neela frowned. She wasn't mad at Selura for having to break the promise. She was just disappointed that they couldn't spend as much time together as she was expecting. "You have to do what is necessary for your company's project. I understand," she managed a smile, even though she knew Selura couldn't see it.

"I know. But I really regret it. I wanted to spend the evenings here with you."

For some reason, those last two words made Neela's heart skip a beat. On impulse, she vacated her seat and settled on the couch beside Selura, holding out her hand in silent invitation. She was gratified when the asari smiled an almost shy little smile and took her hand, giving it a little squeeze.

"Don't worry about me," Neela tried to reassure her. "I'll be fine here. I'll probably spend my time painting. Or singing without you around to tell me how terribly I do it."

"Painting?" Selura repeated. "You never told me you liked to paint."

"You never asked," Neela teased.

"I would love to see one of your paintings sometime."

"So that you can tell me I'm terrible at painting too?"

"I promise to lie if you are terrible," Selura smirked mischievously.

Neela laughed, her grip on the asari's hand tightening slightly. "I'll think about it," she promised.

"Good enough for me," Selura grinned. "Tell me more about your childhood. I would love to hear what sorts of things you did as a miniature quarian…"

"Miniature?" Neela giggled, shaking her head. "Keelah, you're strange," she added affectionately.

Selura only grinned.

Neela was quite happy to tell her companion about her childhood. Something about Selura's curiosity encouraged her to open up, and she was smiling as she recounted tales of childhood games and juvenile pranks, recalling things she hadn't thought about in years. They sat together, talking and laughing, late into the night. Even when the captain walked through on the way to her cabin, their conversation paused only long enough to bid the elder asari a good night. Neela couldn't remember the last time she'd spent so much time just _talking_ to someone. And she wouldn't have traded a second of it for anything.

* * *

**Scott, Capital City of Terra Nova, Now…**

"This is gonna complicate things," Zaeed predicted in a gruff whisper.

The group was perched on a raised walkway that led over the street, peering through the railing that lined the path on both sides. At the end of the block lay their destination, a large complex of warehouses, office buildings and laboratory facilities surrounded by a high wall. Security checkpoints were located at both gates leading through that perimeter wall. Standing in the center of the gate closest to them was a massive humanoid-shaped mech. Zaeed had never seen a vehicle quite like it. It wasn't robotic; He could see a pilot seated in the vehicle through the canopy at the front. Judging from the size of the cannon built into the machine's right forearm, however, he had to assume the thing had a good deal of firepower.

"Big robots," one of the vorcha commented.

"Indeed," Salik agreed just as Zaeed was about to point out the stupidity of saying something so obvious. "Cerberus presence at objective confirmed. Mission parameters now necessitate circumventing or neutralizing Cerberus sentries and obtaining necessary information from the company's data core."

"Good! Kill Cerberus!" the vorcha with the flamethrower growled, starting to stand up. The salarian grabbed his arm and jerked him back down.

"Time for open violence approaches, but patience required at this juncture," Salik warned. "Alerting Cerberus to our presence prematurely will afford them the opportunity to warn whatever forces are stationed at our final goal. Allowing our enemies time to arrange traps and ambushes is unacceptable."

"It'll be bloody impossible to get past those things without causing a hell of a ruckus," Zaeed muttered, his eyes upon the massive mech at the end of the block.

"First opportunity to see this model of mechanized combat exoskeleton," the salarian nodded. "STG compiled rumors of Cerberus project based on YMIR mech, but design included cockpit for a pilot, allowing added versatility and imagination impossible to program into droids. Atlas was term applied to the project. Title in keeping with mythological connotations of moniker Cerberus."

"When it starts firing, it'll alert everything within a mile that there's a firefight in progress."

"The reapers were jamming all communications in orbit," Robert spoke up. "Will Cerberus even be able to get a signal out? We may be able to strike them hard and hope that the Reapers will keep their comm signal from reaching the rest of their forces."

"Reliance on hope unacceptable," Salik sniffed. "Can _hope_ that Atlas mech shielding will overload the instant a shot strikes it and pilot will expire of heart failure due to the shock of a sudden assault. Odds such hope will be answered astronomically low."

"Alright," Zaeed turned his gaze upon the salarian. "You made your point. We have to avoid open fighting. Do you have a plan? Or are you leaving the tactics to us?"

"Formulating a plan as we speak," Salik's gaze was abstracted. He was silent for several moments, and then he nodded as if answering some unasked question. "Stealth is not an option. Cerberus will have troops stationed at the mainframe, precisely where we need to be. At that point, hostilities will commence whether we are undetected prior or not. Discretion only necessary until communications verifiably scrambled."

"And how do we accomplish that?" Robert inquired.

"Leave this accomplishment to me," the salarian activated his omni-tool, busily typing upon the holographic keypad. "Will hack into Atlas communications suite and use its broadcasting software as a range-booster for distorting local signals. Precision impossible, however, so our communications will suffer just as Cerberus transmissions do. When my task is complete, will launch a flare to signal the rest of you."

"And then we're free to engage," Zaeed nodded. "According to the schematics you uploaded for the facility, there are two gates. We have to assume there's one of these Atlas bastards at each of them."

"Logical assumption," Salik nodded. "Entire team excluding myself should muster near the south gate and prepare for full assault upon south mech. My task will be to hack the other one and deal with the pilot."

"Alone?" Zaeed shook his head. "Too dangerous. If they gun you down, the whole mission is a goddamn waste of time."

"Agreed," the salarian nodded once. "However, in this case backup is unnecessary. With tactical cloak, positioning within range for hacking is simple. By the time pilot becomes aware of danger, I will already have control of the systems of his mech. Once root access to the systems is obtained, will be able to trigger canopy relase and thus expose pilot to direct fire. Whole operation exposes me to minimal risk."

Zaeed was already nodding impatiently. The gist of the salarian's objection was clear, but Salik kept talking without interruption.

"Important that we not destroy the Atlas altogether. Systems must be stable enough to continue in role of signal disruption. A bodyguard would expose me to unnecessary additional risk, as none of you have a Tactical Cloak to allow you to accompany. Will be fine. Just wait for the flare before commencing the attack."

Their employer didn't wait for a response. He activated his Tactical Cloak and vanished, presumably so he could get close enough to one of the Atlases to hack into its systems. In his absence, Robert turned to Zaeed.

"If he can handle these mechs by himself and has all of the impressive tech to rely on, why bother to bring us at all?"

"Because the best tech in the world isn't gonna get him past a whole Cerberus platoon once the alarm sounds," Zaeed muttered.

"Do you think he's a Spectre?"

"Maybe. Bastard seems to have the connections. But it doesn't matter. We're here for a job. So let's shut up and get into position."

The group kept low and crossed the remainder of the walkway, circling around behind the buildings that flanked the street; any approach along the street itself would have exposed them to the sight of the Atlas's pilot. Zaeed kept his rifle at the ready as they moved, expecting to find a Cerberus sentry or two on patrol, but they were able to get as far as the end of the block without incident. Beyond the building on the corner, there was no more cover available… just a fifteen meter stretch of open space between the structure and the gate of the complex.

"You two wait here," Zaeed addressed the vorcha. "When the signal goes up, do what you do."

The vorcha with the flamethrower looked like he wanted to argue. He was glaring at the veteran mercenary, who returned his glare with equal intensity. Zaeed was sure it was just because he was giving orders that the ugly bastard wanted to object. However, both vorcha clearly wanted to get into the fight. In the end, neither said anything at all. Taking their silence for assent, he turned to Robert.

"We'll break into this building. It looks like there are a few windows on the second floor with a clear line of sight to the gate. We'll attack from the cover of the building. When your position comes under return fire, displace and find a new perch. I doubt the walls will hold up against that goddamn cannon."

Robert nodded and headed for the back door of the building, activating his omni-tool's welding function so that he could cut through the door. Zaeed took a position at the corner of the building, keeping close watch on the Atlas. If the machine spotted the flashes from the welding, their plan could derail very quickly. The light of day was almost gone, but the gloom was the only thing they had going for them. It wasn't quite dark enough yet for the light of the welder to be too obvious.

_How long are the days on this goddamn planet?_ Zaeed wondered. They'd landed quite some time ago, and it was still dusk. He had to assume that the days were a hell of a lot longer than those of Earth.

"I'm in," Robert's announcement snapped him out of his musings.

Zaeed joined his fellow human in the building's interior, and the two did a quick sweep to make sure there were no sentries patrolling the place and no scanners installed to watch for incursion. Finding the place empty, the two settled on the upper floor at adjacent windows, waiting patiently for the signal to attack.

"Will the vorcha be okay out in the open?"

"Much as I hate the stupid bastards, they're agile and they regenerate. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll die, but I doubt it. Just concentrate on the target."

Robert nodded and fell silent. Minutes ticked by while they waited, alternately scanning the sky for the flare and watching the Atlas for some sign that an alert had gone out. But the machine merely stood in place, motionless. Zaeed wondered with some amusement if the pilot was even awake.

A trail of green light streaked up into the air from the opposite side of the complex. The moment the signal went up, Zaeed and Robert took aim. The mech started moving, and Zaeed saw the two vorcha charge into the lot below. His finger tightened on the trigger.

All at once, the air filled with the explosive clamor of gunfire and the sounds of shattering glass. Rising even over the cacophony in the building, the thunder of cannon fire reached his ears when the mech began its counterattack against the vorcha. The one wielding the flamethrower quickly got into range and unleashed a torrent of flame upon the towering mech, while the other kept mobile, peppering the machine with fire from a submachine gun. Zaeed thought that the assault was going quite well. The vorcha were managing to avoid enemy fire, and there was no sign of reinforcements.

The mech shifted its stance, seeming to brace itself. A moment later, instead of cannon fire, a missile streaked out of its forearm, slamming into the ground between the two vorcha with explosive results. The pair was hurled aside by the blast, seemingly stunned, and the mech turned its attention to the building. Zaeed shouted a warning to Robert, but it was too late.

The first shot struck the wall just below the window Robert was using for cover, and the concussive force shattered the surface, knocking the human backward. Zaeed squeezed off a few more shots and then darted away from the window when the mech's cannon arm turned in his direction. He hurried to Robert's side and pulled him roughly to his feet.

"Move! Find another goddamn window and keep firing!" he shouted, giving his fellow human a shove toward the door to the next room. Once he saw the man stumbling in the direction he indicated, he dashed down the stairs to find a ground floor window.

He was just reaching the bottom of the stairs and turning toward the nearest window when an explosion rocked the entire building. There was a tremendous cracking sound, and he saw a huge fissure spread through the ceiling ahead of him. He barely had time to back up a few steps before a massive portion of the ceiling came down, bringing a sizeable section of the upper floor down with it. A thick cloud of grit billowed through the air, and the veteran mercenary was soon coughing, crouched in the nearest doorway, waiting to catch sight of the target. When the dust began to settle, he could see a hole gaping in the side of the building, and guessed that the mech had fired a missile in hopes of burying them in rubble.

A towering shape loomed out of the thinning cloud, stepping through the rent in the wall. Zaeed pulled a pair of incendiary grenades from the strap that held them against his thigh, clicking both and hurling them directly at the machine. Then he darted from the doorway he was using as cover and through an adjacent archway, counting down the remaining couple seconds until detonation.

When he heard the chain of explosions heralding detonation and activation of the thermite elements, he leaned out from the doorway and resumed fire. The mech turned one way and then the other, trying to pinpoint the source of the attack. There was a telltale shimmer when the machine's shielding went down, and he indulged in the faintest of smiles. All that remained between the pilot and his gunfire now was whatever armoring the mech had.

A stream of flame flowed into the building through the hole in the wall, washing over the mech's back. Zaeed took the opportunity to fire a few more shots, and then sprinted from his hiding place while the machine was turning to face the new assault. Dashing across the room behind the Atlas's back, he took a position in a doorway on the opposite side of the chamber, pulling another grenade.

The Atlas took aim at the vorcha with the incendiary weapon, who immediately broke off fire and ran out of Zaeed's field of view. The second vorcha, however, was perfectly in their enemy's line of sight. The deafening ring of cannon fire echoed through the building, and Zaeed watched as the second vorcha seemed to explode in a shower of blood and entrails when the round hit him. It seemed clear to the veteran that regenerative abilities or not, that was one vorcha that wouldn't be getting up.

He clicked the trigger on his grenade and waited a few seconds, then hurled the explosive at the mech's back with perfect timing. The main charge detonated just as the grenade hit the machine's frame, and a shower of thermite exploded around their enemy. The Atlas started to turn, and Zaeed peppered its back with gunfire, darting from his hiding place, trying to keep out of the pilot's sights.

The ring of gunfire from the top of the stairs drew his attention. Robert had taken a position and was pelting the Atlas's canopy with well-aimed shots. The mech's arm came up, and the retaliatory burst from its cannon struck the underside of the stairs, causing them to collapse beneath the human, who gave a startled cry when he fell. Zaeed saw the Atlas stomp purposefully toward his fallen ally, and he stepped out of cover, firing on the machine as fast as he could pull the trigger, hoping to distract the pilot from what he knew was coming.

The Atlas's pilot was determined. The machine brought its massive foot down on the prone human with a sickening crunch.

"Bastard," Zaeed growled, resuming fire.

"Stupid Machine! I kill you!" A wave of flame passed Zaeed on his right side. The surviving vorcha joined him in the assault.

Between the two of them and their continued assault on the already-weakened machine, it wasn't long before their foe was finished. The Atlas suddenly staggered, sagged, and a tremor ran through it. Zaeed turned and ran, unwilling to stay in close proximity if the contraption exploded. He heard the vorcha shouting triumphantly behind him as he dove through the hole in the wall.

A tremendous blast rocked the ground beneath him just as he hit the deck. There was a loud ringing sound of metal striking the pavement nearby, and he lifted his head to see the vorcha lying on the street beside him, scorched, bleeding and howling in pain, but alive. He snorted and ignored the injured creature. Instead he rolled to the side, rising to a crouch, bringing his rifle up and scanning the street for signs of reinforcements. He expected to find Cerberus troops spread throughout the area. To his surprise, the streets were empty.

Slowly, he rose from his crouched position, glancing back into the building with a frown. Working with other mercenaries was always risky. It was hard to say whether his team would be skilled professionals or inept bunglers. He'd thought that this team, for all its problems, was competent enough. And yet they lost almost half their number after a fight with just one Cerberus mech. It didn't bode well for their chances moving onward from there.

* * *

**Zakera Ward, Citadel, Thirteen days earlier…**

Zaeed stood in front of the doors to his destination, eying the establishment doubtfully. There were many clubs spread throughout the various wards on the Citadel, and he was forced to wonder why the salarian he was here to meet had chosen such a location. A small flight of stairs led down from the corridor to a door in an alcove below, which he would have missed entirely if not for the holographic sign over the stairs depicting a skeleton in a coffin-shaped outline, with the title 'Jack's Coffin' above, and the phrase 'Here lies Jack. R.I.P.' below.

He descended the stairs, passing through the outer door into a small security room, where a pair of krogan was stationed as bouncers, administering pat-downs to the few men who waited to get inside. Spotting a row of lockers off to the side, he accessed one with his omni-tool, authorizing a credit transfer to rent the space, which prompted the door to click open. While he wasn't carrying his rifle on the Citadel, he did have a handful of other dangerous implements, including a combat knife and a few incendiary grenades hidden in a compartment in his armor. He deposited these into the locker and then returned to the krogan, extending his arms to the sides for the search.

When he got into the interior of the club, he took careful note of his surroundings, as was second-nature for any combat veteran. The club was a roughly rectangular space, with a bar running the length of the right-hand side of the room. There was a door at the back of the club marked 'V.I.P.'. Over the V.I.P. access, a holographic image of a human in a suit was displayed in a coffin-shaped projection field. A series of alcoves lined the wall on the left, each containing a raised stage. A semicircular table surrounded by chairs was situated below each of the miniature platforms. On each stage, a nude dancer moved in time to the slow, bass-heavy music that flooded the room, while men huddled at the various tables stared at them lecherously. Zaeed had seen other clubs with dancers, but not many that he could think of still featured all-nude entertainment. And with human dancers, at that… most clubs seemed to prefer asari.

"Can I get you something, stranger?"

Zaeed turned and met the gaze of the young woman that had spoken, noting absently the rather fresh-looking bruise that marred her right cheek.

"Private room four?"

"Oh," she seemed somehow put-off by the answer. "Through the door at the back, last room on the right. Can I bring you a drink?"

"No," Zaeed left her behind, headed directly for the V.I.P. entrance.

When he found the proper door, he hit the trigger, waiting impatiently for the signal to get a response. He assumed that the private rooms had to be opened from the inside, to guarantee privacy for whatever took place within.

The door opened, and he found himself face-to-face with a green-skinned salarian, who looked him over silently before stepping back and motioning for him to come inside. Zaeed stepped past the slender figure and looked around the room quickly. There wasn't much to see. A private bar occupied one corner. There was a table surrounded by a few chairs off to one side, and a section of the floor on the opposite side of the room was marked with hazard lines and the words 'stand clear'. He noted the outline of a door in the wall over that area and the trigger panel beside it, and could guess what sort of furniture would extend into place if the room's user requested it.

"Interesting choice of meeting place," Zaeed commented. "Never met a contact in a whorehouse before."

"Name?" the salarian inquired.

"Zaeed Massani," he supplied.

The salarian activated his omni-tool, and silence reigned while he performed whatever search or background check he was engaged in. At least, that's what Zaeed _assumed_ he was doing. For all he knew, the amphibious fellow was downloading explicit images.

"Massani, Zaeed," the salarian said at last. "Mercenary. High rate of successful mission completion. Competent, Ruthless, Dependable. Multiple favorable recommendations passed on by contact. Participated in assault by Cerberus task force on Collector base some time ago," he paused. "Problematic. Cerberus sympathizers unsuited to the task ahead. Application rejected. Good day."

"Hold on just a goddamn minute," Zaeed growled. "I'm not a bloody 'Cerberus sympathizer'. You see this?" he pointed to the freshly-healed scar on the side of his head. "That's from a bullet fired by a Cerberus agent. And the Illusive Man tried to blow me up after I finished his latest goddamn job. If you think I'm gonna hesitate to pull the trigger the next time I get one of those bastards in my sights, you're an idiot."

"Wound looks like it was recently healed," the salarian pointed out. "When did you finish this 'latest job'?"

"Yesterday. I put out feelers for any job relating to Cerberus as soon as I realized they double-crossed me, and one of my contacts said you might be going after the bastards," Zaeed paused. "Judging from your quick rejection, I'm guessing he was right."

"You will understand my hesitation to the concept of disseminating critical mission intel to you at this time," the salarian said. "Given recent connections to Cerberus, caution seems prudent. Will investigate your claims of recent betrayal. On what planet did these events take place?"

Zaeed's expression hardened slightly, but he could understand the cautious approach despite the irritation it presented. "Bekenstein. Killed five Cerberus targets over the course of the day. The explosion took place in a field outside the capital city of Milgrom."

"Consider yourself hired, subject to satisfactory results from the forthcoming investigation. At week's end, we depart for our final destination. Excellent chance of Cerberus involvement. Your task is simple. Escort, protect, assist, follow direction. Any questions or objections?"

"What sort of timeframe are we looking at?"

"One week travel time total, including stops to secure needed equipment. Two to three days expected on surface of destination planet, measuring by local time, not galactic standard. Extraction to occur as night falls on the third day. The amount of payment offered-"

"Save it. I'm in," Zaeed cut him off. "What do I call you?"

"Salik will suffice," the salarian informed him. "Would prefer you secure lodgings elsewhere for the duration of the week. Will contact you when the time for departure arrives."

Zaeed nodded once and stepped out into the hallway. He had a shot at getting to Cerberus, and that was all the incentive he needed to take the job without any further questions. When he finally got his hands on one of the Illusive Man's goons, he'd get the answers he wanted. In the meantime, if he had a role in making sure one of Cerberus's operations ended in failure, it would be a satisfying first step in his quest for revenge.

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: I apologize for this being such a long Chapter again. I'm really trying to keep them under 9.5K, but sometimes there's just a lot that I want to fit into a certain Chapter for whatever reason.**

**Also, the part about Quarian eyes are just my personal take on it. Hopefully no one minds me taking small liberties like this, and with the mention of her brushing her hair in a previous chapter. I have plans to take a similar liberty in the future. But I promise, given that not everyone agrees with the reveal of Tali's face in the game (but that some people were satisfied with the general idea) that I will remain mostly vague about quarian appearance throughout my fic, so as to avoid intruding too much on anyone's mental image of quarian appearance.**

**Thanks again to all of the people who are following my little story. I hope to continue to hold everyone's interest. And with any amount of luck, I will continue to be able to put out a Chapter every four days or so. This rhythm has been working well so far, but I make no promises. :)**


	13. Chapter 13: Conflicts

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Thirteen: Conflicts

.

**Terra Nova Wilderness, Now…**

Illitha was shaking, and tears were running down her cheeks. She felt nauseous, terrified, and utterly bereft of hope. She wasn't sure which of the above sensations were causing her hands to shake so badly that she could barely aim her pistol. Some sort of creature had soared over their escape pod while she and Aida hid inside, but it circled away instead of lingering. For a moment they both felt a deep sense of relief. However, it wasn't long before the beast circled back into view over the nearby trees, disgorging a strange ball of red light that crashed into the ground with a metallic thud. And out of the smoke rising from the impact site marched an army of monsters.

The young engineer had never seen such horrifying things in her life. Some looked like human corpses from which a mad scientist had removed the innards, replacing them with tech to get the dead mobile again. Others were bloated, lumpy masses of flesh with a gun in place of one arm. The two of them had opened fire on the monsters with the pistols they found in the supply locker of the shuttle. When the first of the human husk-creatures fell, the larger monsters had run over to tear the corpse apart, devouring the grisly mess. Illitha had very nearly been sick at the sight, and Aida was so horrified that she just screamed and ran.

Since then, the two asari had been engaged in a running firefight. Illitha was sure that Aida would have kept running and forgotten about fighting, but the larger monsters were shooting at them as they fled. When Illitha tackled her friend to the ground to keep her from being shot in the back, the medic had come back to her senses. Now, both girls were struggling to maintain barriers, and were darting from tree to rock to mound of dirt, firing at their enemies when they could, and otherwise just moving as much as possible, keeping behind cover wherever they could find it.

Illitha checked the pocket in her environmental suit, and found only two thermal clips left within. She was absolutely terrified, and she sobbed as she risked a peek over the boulder she was using as cover. A hurried count allowed her to estimate about a dozen monsters left, and every one they killed only made the others stronger. She had seen metal plates sprout from the bloated flesh of one of the larger ones while it was eating a fallen friend. It was as if it was digesting the tech buried within and forcing it to the surface of its body to serve as armoring. Most of them were now covered in blood-crusted metal plating; more and more frequently her shots resulted in the sound of metal striking metal, rather than generating a new fallen foe.

She glanced toward Aida, and was concerned at the exhausted look on her friend's face. The running, the maintenance of their barriers, and the occasional biotic throw was quickly taking its toll on both of them, but Aida was the more powerful biotic. She was using her abilities more frequently, and consequently tiring faster. Illitha took another peek over the boulder.

A husk was just leaping over the rock when she raised her head to see where the enemy was. It locked its hands around her throat and squeezed, cutting off all of the air flow into her lungs. She fell back, and the creature crashed down atop her, smashing what little air she had left from her body. Her vision grayed out in seconds.

The hollow thud of a biotic throw connecting reached her ears, and the husk was flung aside. Illitha coughed, putting her hand to her neck and taking in huge gasps of air. She rolled to the side, looking gratefully toward her friend, only to see a canister-like object land in the grass between them. It took a second for the little blinking red light on it to register in her mind.

Aida was already on her feet, diving the opposite direction. Illitha turned to do the same, but at that moment the grenade exploded, sweeping her off of her feet and sending her sailing into some bushes several meters distant. For a moment, all she could hear was ringing in her ears, and she couldn't get her eyes to focus. Her back was throbbing, and she wondered absently if she had been subjected to another dose of shrapnel wounds. Her barrier was collapsed, she realized, and she sat up, looking around dazedly.

Another husk was barreling toward her, emitting some sort of horrifying shriek. She activated her omni-tool, quickly bringing up the defensive programs, ready to flash-freeze her foe before it could close the distance. Unfortunately, the menu came up blank. She gasped, suddenly feeling a crushing wave of despair wash over her. She had deleted the combat programs after she killed the batarian pirates…

The husk tackled her to the ground, and a bony fist thundered into her jaw repeatedly. After the first few blows, she saw only stars. Beyond that, everything went numb, and she heard nothing but the incessant ringing in her ears. In a daze, she wondered if this was what it was like to die…

* * *

**Noveria, Thirteen days earlier…**

Illitha was exhausted and frustrated, curled up on the bed in the room that for all intents and purposes was her prison cell. The man with the moustache had pressed something hard into her ribs and warned her that if she said a word to anyone, he would shoot her. Then he escorted her through the port and past the processing desk. They walked past the hanar's shop and all the way to an elevator on the opposite side of the indoor plaza at the heart of the facility. It was maddening to see so many people within easy shouting distance and to be unable to call for help. She had no doubt that her captor would carry out his threat if she forced his hand.

An elevator ride and two corridors later, they entered a beautifully-appointed apartment. It was the sort of thing she imagined was used by a company to house special guests and V.I.P. visitors. Her omni-tool was confiscated, and then she was shoved into one of the bedrooms and locked inside. She tried to access the apartment's mainframe through the console built into the wall, but found that the terminal was locked out. If she still had her omni, she could have hacked it easily, but without any tools to work with, she had no chance.

There was no exterior window, no ventilation ducts large enough to squeeze into, no communications interface that she could access, and the dressers and closet were all empty. She scoured the room for anything she could use as a weapon or as a tool to pry open the access panel so that she could get to the door controls, but found nothing that would help her. She even tried to convince someone that she needed to be let out to use the restroom, thinking that she might be able to hit her captor with a biotic throw and make a run for the door. To her surprise, she was told to "pick a corner," and then ordered to shut up.

And so, she now sat curled up on the bed, as she had throughout the entire night. She didn't dare fall asleep and risk that someone might kill her while she dreamt. She also didn't want to miss the opportunity to hit anyone who entered with her biotics so she could make a run for it. However, no one so much as looked in on her through the entire night.

The worst part of it all was being ignorant of what was happening to her friends. For all she knew, these men had already murdered her crewmates and stolen their ship, or whatever it was that they intended to do. She was doing her best to keep her imagination in check, but she could only distract herself for so long. As time wore on and she grew more exhausted, her fearful musings over the fate of her friends only grew more graphic and more unpleasant.

_Goddess… Please let Aida be alright. Let all of them be safe…_

Her attention was drawn by the faint sound of voices. She hopped off of the bed and hurried to the door, leaning her head close to it, trying to hear what was being said more clearly. Maybe they would give her something she could use.

"…said that three asari and a turian passed through yesterday morning," someone was saying. "This girl was definitely not one of them. He compared the capture we sent to the surveillance footage."

"Okay, so she's not part of the crew," a voice she recognized as that of the moustached man answered. "But she was definitely lying to us for some reason. I've been going through her omni-tool. She's got all sorts of engine diagnostic software and scanning tech on here. She's not a damned secretary."

"What do we do with her then? She's seen your face. And Mike and Chester's too. She'll go to security if we let her go. Chief Manisen won't like that sort of attention. And neither will the higher-ups in the organization."

_What organization?_ Illitha frowned. _What have I stumbled into?_

"Obviously, we have to kill her," the man with the moustache responded. "But not here. Take her to a shuttle, fly her out toward the fighter base, and then take her coat and throw her out of the shuttle halfway there. Even if she survives the fall, she'll freeze to death long before she gets to shelter."

Illitha paled, looking around frantically, though she wasn't even sure what she was looking for. If there was anything to find, she would have found it the night before. What could she do?

"What about the crew of that ship, Drake?" the question snapped the young engineer out of her rising panic, and she focused on the conversation in the next room, praying that something would be said that gave her some sort of leverage.

"Word is, they're a liability to the organization and they are to be terminated on sight," the man with the moustache answered. At least Illitha had a name to put to the voice now. "I've already spoken to some of the boys. They've gone down to intercept the quarian the next time she goes out for a walk. I'm afraid she may have a tragic fall."

"Good riddance," the other voice answered. "Suit rats are a plague on the galaxy anyway."

Illitha was outraged that these men could speak so casually about killing her friend. Neela was a wonderful person. If anyone was a 'plague on the galaxy', it was the two cretins in the next room. She forced her anger to subside for the moment, listening to see if anything more would be said.

"I've gotta get to the hotel. The turian has a room there. I'll spend the day trailing him and see if he leads me to the other asari. You take care of the girl. Then meet Jimmy at the lab this afternoon. The fighter base goes fully operational at the end of the week. The new tracking system for the AA guns has to be operational by then."

"Okay. See you at the base tomorrow then."

"Don't forget. We're all scheduled for integration this week."

Illitha stepped away from the door, anxiously twisting her shirt into a ball, trying to figure out what to do. It seemed that her only chance of escaping alive would be to try overpowering her captor when he took her to the shuttle. Then she could make a run for the _Sileya_ and perhaps get there in time to warn Neela. She manifested a barrier to protect herself in case there was to be any gunfire, and then sat down on the edge of the bed, trying to remain calm, waiting for her captor to come in and get her.

When the door finally opened, Illitha was fully prepared to fight. She was already focusing her energy in preparation for a biotic throw. However, instead of the one man she expected, two men stood in the doorway, neither of which she recognized from the group she had walked into the day before. When they saw the wispy energy that was rising from her form, both drew pistols and trained them on her, shouting for her to get down on her knees.

Illitha closed her eyes and bowed her head. She knew that she couldn't disable both of them before they shot her to death. Her biotics just weren't powerful enough to do it, and she wasn't practiced enough at using them quickly. She dropped to her knees, allowing the pent-up biotic energy to dissipate, trying not to burst into tears.

"This is the problem with asari," one of the men muttered. He was short and thin, with a few days' growth of beard. "Can't disarm the bitches. They always have biotics to fall back on."

"This was unnecessary," the second man, a youthful blonde fellow, told her. "We found the asari we were looking for, and you aren't one of them. We're gonna take you down to talk to our boss, and then you can go home to your boyfriend."

Illitha wanted to spit in the man's face and call him a liar. She'd overheard the whole conversation. But she nodded slowly, hoping desperately that the two would become distracted on the walk to the shuttle bay. She would only need a few seconds at the right time to scream for help and jump behind something she could use as cover. Just a moment of inattention…

One of the men seized her by the arm and dragged her to her feet. The other man walked out to a table in the next room, gathering the few things that rested upon it, including what Illitha thought was her omni-tool. Then the second man returned and grabbed the other arm. They kept close to her. She felt a gun press against her ribs from each side, and at that moment, her heart sank. The likelihood of both men being distracted at the same time and to such a drastic degree that they couldn't shoot her the minute she tried to run was miniscule at best.

"Obviously, if you say a word, we shoot you," the blonde man told her as they guided her to the door. "You stay between us, stay quiet, and you'll live through this. Our boss will pay you enough for your trouble to set you up for life. You and your boyfriend can retire someplace a hell of a lot warmer than this."

Illitha nodded, but she was still shaking as they left the apartment behind. Both men remained extremely close to her, and kept their guns pressed into her ribs firmly enough that she doubted anyone they passed would ever notice the weapons. She didn't think she had any other option but to go along with them and hope that her death was quick. Or perhaps she would just make a scene and let them shoot her. At least if she did that, news of her death would keep her friends on their guard. If her death could save everyone else's life…

They were halfway across the indoor plaza, headed toward the tunnel to the shuttle bay, when Illitha decided to make her move. She tensed and took a deep breath, preparing to scream that she was being kidnapped. She knew it would end with her death, and she was so terrified that she felt lightheaded, but she was determined to save the others, and this seemed the only possible way to do it.

"You'll watch her on the shuttle, right?" the shorter man said suddenly.

The words gave Illitha pause; her scream caught in her throat. She swallowed and waited, holding her breath for the answer.

"Of course. You concentrate on flying the shuttle. I'll keep her under control."

Tears slid down the young engineer's cheeks. But these were tears of relief, not fear and sorrow. If one of the men was going to be busy flying a shuttle, it meant there would come a point when she had only one to disable. If she managed that, she could take his gun and force the other to return to the shuttle bay at gunpoint. It was a dangerous plan, but a far more hopeful one than letting them both shoot her right there in the plaza.

The three walked through the corridor leading up to the shuttle bay, past yet another guard that Illitha couldn't ask for help, and into the massive hangar that housed shuttles for various companies. They took her to a shuttle painted in a scheme of white, black, gray and yellow, forcing her inside and seeing her settled in a seat before either of them lowered their weapons.

"You're almost free, Miss," the blonde man lied to her. "Just a short ride and it'll all be over."

Illitha nodded, covering her face with shaking hands and trying to look just a tiny bit more terrified and helpless than she actually felt. It wasn't hard. The shorter man disappeared through the door into the shuttle's cockpit, and the blonde one sat in the seat opposite her, staring at her in a way that made her feel acutely uncomfortable. She might have called the look on his face admiration, but she wasn't really too familiar with the mannerisms of human males. He continued to stare as the shuttle lifted off and for the first few minutes of the flight. It was actually giving her the creeps by the time he spoke.

"You're really quite lovely… for an alien," he said softly.

"Uh.. Th-thank you. I-I think," she stammered.

"People think that we hate aliens," he commented. "It's not true. We just want to see humanity in its proper place."

"Who is 'we'?" Illitha asked absently. She was trying to figure out how to manifest a barrier without him noticing the subtle shimmer that would appear around her when the field went up.

"Cerberus," the man smiled at her.

Illitha recognized the name as that of a human terrorist group. She was certain he wouldn't have been telling her who he worked for if he hadn't intended to kill her. Somehow, she doubted that any such group would look kindly on its agents identifying their affiliation to outsiders. However, this conversation had just given her the opening she was looking for.

"W-What about your friend?" she asked, glancing toward the door to the cockpit. "He called me a… a bitch," she scowled. "Does he hate aliens?" She held her breath.

As she had hoped, the blonde turned his attention toward the door, following her gaze. She quickly focused and constructed a barrier for protection, her heart racing while she waited to see if he would spot the subtle distortion from the corner of his eye. Apparently he did not, because he was smiling when he turned toward her again.

"He is less sympathetic than I am toward other races," the blonde man said. "But I wouldn't say he hates-"

He never got the chance to finish his sentence. Illitha leapt out of her seat and onto his, trying to grab hold of his gun while simultaneously smashing her knee into his stomach. He was fast enough to fire a shot before she got her hands on his wrists, but the bullet was deflected away by her barrier. Illitha had hoped that surprise would allow her to wrest the gun from his hands, or that the quick knee to the gut would loosen his grip and make him drop the weapon. However, much to her dismay, his grip was firm and the one blow she managed to land with her knee didn't do more than force a grunt out of him.

After that, the two wrestled for the weapon, their shouts and grunts drawing the attention of the pilot, who demanded to know what was going on. Illitha was not a physically gifted asari, and couldn't match his strength. Before she could stop it, he managed to roll over on top of her, and was forcing the barrel of the gun closer and closer to a position where he could put a bullet through her head.

Desperation filled her, and she forced down her growing panic, dropping her barrier and instead focusing on gathering every bit of biotic energy she could muster. Wisps of bluish-purple energy surrounded her, and she saw the man's triumphant smirk vanish, replaced by uncertainty.

"Alex, talk to me!" the pilot shouted from the cockpit.

Illitha didn't give her assailant the time to answer. She quickly released hold of his wrist with her right hand, and put every bit of her energy into one massive biotic punch. The sudden move caught him by surprise. His head snapped to the side with such force that she was afraid she might have broken his neck, and he collapsed atop her. Shaking, she shoved him off of her and grabbed the pistol from his limp grasp. She dashed to the door to the cockpit, training the pistol on the back of the pilot's head.

"Take us back to the shuttle bay!" she shouted at him. "Now!"

"You'll have to kill me, you bitch," he spat. "I'd rather die than let some dumb blue whore give me orders."

Illitha's eyes widened. She hadn't actually intended to shoot him. It might have been what he intended for her, but she couldn't kill another person. Not like last time. She had expected him to acquiesce to her demands in order to preserve his life. What was she supposed to say in response to the demand that she go ahead and shoot?

He spared her the need to think any further. He keyed a quick input into the controls, and the shuttle suddenly went into a steep dive toward the ground. Surprised by the sudden shift in the deck beneath her feet, Illitha dropped the gun and grabbed the doorframe to keep from falling against the human's back. The man saw the gun slide down to the space under his feet, and he slipped out of his chair to grab it.

Illitha's reaction was instinctive. She released her hold on the door and leapt onto the human, driving both of her feet into the small of his back, which wrenched a cry of pain from him. He rolled to the side, knocking her down in the process since she was essentially standing on him, and both of them scrambled for the gun. The race for the weapon didn't last long. A warning alarm rang out, prompting both of them to cease their struggles. Illitha knew immediately what the sound meant. They were about to crash into the ground.

Survival instinct took over, and each of them to forgot all about the other. The human scrambled for the pilot's seat. Illitha ran for the shuttle door, glancing out the window as she tried to dash up the incline of the deck. The side of a mountain loomed before them, and she knew that even though he would try to turn or level out, it was too late to avert a crash.

The shuttle started to level out just as she reached the door, but she never hesitated. She hit the trigger to open the hatch and dove through the opening as soon as there was a gap large enough to fit through. The sound of the shuttle striking the mountainside was drowned out by the scream of the engineer as she plummeted toward the snowy slopes below.

* * *

**Terra Nova Wilderness, Now…**

Neela brought the Armanis fighter around for another sweep across the dense woodlands below, trying to ignore the labored breathing of the poor asari behind her. Selura had warned her more than once that she was going to be sick, but Neela couldn't put the craft down without finding the landing site of the escape pod… or its wreckage. She would never stop searching for her cremates until she found them. Unfortunately, the pod's emergency beacon wasn't broadcasting, and the fighter's computers had only been able to provide a vague search area based on the shuttle's last known trajectory. She kept her eyes on the landscape around them, trusting the fighter's scanning suite to alert her if any anomalies were detected.

Neela flipped the fighter upside down when something in the trees below caught her eye, as she had done numerous times over the past few minutes while they searched, just so that she could get a clear view of what lay below. While the maneuverability of the fighter was incredible, even in atmospheric conditions, it didn't offer much in the way of a groundside view… unless it was upside down.

"Oh goddess," she heard Selura whimper. "Please, _please_ stop doing that."

"Sorry," Neela murmured. "We have to find-"

She trailed off when the scanner display highlighted a location. Analysis listed it as a 'metallic object detection', which was the first promising sign during their search. She flipped the fighter to an upright position and changed course, speeding up to reach the site of the object, which lay just outside of the wooded area outlined on their topographical scan.

The quarian smiled in relief when the edge of the woods came into view, and she caught a glimpse of the escape pod resting in the grassland beyond. It looked like the pod was intact, but she didn't see any sign of anything moving. She circled the craft once, and during her circuit, she spotted a blackened area in the grass not far from the pod.

She brought the Armanis in low over the field and set it down near the escape pod, trying not to grin at the "Thank the Goddess," she heard Selura mutter behind her when they touched down. She activated the cockpit's release, and the seat and the flooring around it lowered smoothly to ground level.

Neela released them from the safety harness and stood up, stretching to relieve the tension in her back… Sitting on the front edge of the seat during all of that maneuvering had been more than a little uncomfortable. Selura was quick to stand up as well, tearing off her helmet and tossing it aside, taking in great gulps of air. She was dreadfully pale, and a little unsteady on her feet. Neela put an arm around her to support her, concerned that the poor scientist might fall over without the assistance.

"I will never, _ever_ get into anything small enough for acrobatic maneuvers with you again," Selura vowed. Neela could barely hear her over the hiss of the fighter's engines as they slowly vented heat into the air around the craft.

"My piloting acrobatics were impeccable," Neela protested playfully. "You should feel honored to have experienced them!"

"I feel lucky to have _survived_ them!"

"Luck was never a factor," Neela grinned. "You had me!"

Selura gave her a sour look, but there was amusement in her eyes, and Neela was glad to see that her companion seemed to be regaining some color. She slowly stepped away from the asari, leaving her to stand on her own. Both of them turned their attention toward the escape pod, wondering why Aida and Illitha hadn't come out to greet them. The fighter's venting process was slowing, and the sound started to die down.

"Aida?" Neela called out. "Illitha! Are you in there?"

When there was no response, Neela and Selura looked at each other, their thoughts on the same wavelength. There might be danger in the area. One or both of their friends could have been hurt. Selura glanced toward the scorched patch of grass.

"I thought that was exhaust scarring," the asari admitted. "Is it possible that it is a weapon impact?"

"I don't know," Neela admitted. "Keep your omni-tool ready. You have that incendiary program, right?"

Selura held out her left arm sheepishly. "Can you activate it for me? I can trigger the firing mechanism with my thumb, but-" she trailed off.

Neela nodded and activated the asari's omni for her, cycling through functions until she had the right program selected. With Selura's wounded arm bound to her side and sealed within her enviro-suit, she couldn't activate the equipment herself. Once the young scientist's omni was functional, Neela activated her own, selecting her electromagnetic pulse generator. Without any firearms between them, they had to rely on tech defense programs.

Together, the two crept toward the escape pod. The levity they'd both felt when they landed was gone, and Neela was filled with nervous energy. As they drew closer, she could see the end of the Prothean stasis pod sticking out of the shuttle door. She exchanged glances with Selura, and saw concern in the eyes of the asari. There was no need to say it: Aida would never have left the captain unattended unless there was no other option.

"Is the pod still functional?" Neela asked.

Selura held out her omni-tool. "Technical analysis scan please?"

Neela quickly found the requested function for her and watched as the asari scanned the stasis pod to confirm its condition. She hoped that it hadn't lost power or been damaged during the landing. The quarian still wanted to believe that her captain could be saved.

"The pod is still working normally. There is a little instability in the power systems, but I think that is the result of the improvised power generator that Illitha patched in to get it working. The work is actually pretty impressive," Selura commented.

"I'm glad you're impressed," Neela said softly, eyes searching the surrounding landscape. "But where would they have gone? We were only slightly delayed in getting to the surface. Add the time it took to lose the fighters to the search time, and they were here for what…? Twenty minutes before we landed?"

"At most," Selura nodded.

"Aida! Illitha!" Neela shouted, only to have Selura stomp on her foot. "Ow!"

"While it is a _great_ idea to draw the attention of whatever chased them away, we are not exactly equipped for the welcome," Selura commented sarcastically. "Perhaps we could find them without-"

The distant sound of an explosion echoed across the landscape, cutting Selura short. Neela frowned, and saw her companion do the same.

"You stay here," Neela told her. "I'll go find Aida and Illitha and help them out," she turned to leave.

Selura grabbed her wrist, pulling her to a stop. "I am coming with you!" she said firmly. "But we cannot just charge off. If we run right into whatever danger they face, we might get killed. We might get _them_ killed."

"You are staying here," Neela put a hand on the asari's uninjured shoulder, suppressing the urge to run off to rescue her friends immediately. Selura was right. Hurrying would get them nowhere, and she had to convince the asari to stay. "You're in no condition to go off and pick a fight. You have to stay here and protect the captain's stasis pod."

"Neela…" Selura tightened her grip slightly, staring at the quarian with concern.

Neela felt a rush of warmth at the obvious worry with which the asari regarded her. She gently disengaged herself from Selura's grasp, and her hand rose of its own accord, as if to trace a finger softly along the scientist's jaw. Neela stopped when she realized what she was about to do, and she lowered her arm, shifting her stance uncomfortably.

"I will be fine," she assured her. "But I have to get to them quickly. Stay here. Protect the captain."

Selura was obviously frustrated and concerned, but she didn't argue further. Neela took one last look at her and dashed off in the direction from which she thought the explosion had originated. She would have felt much better with a firearm, but her omni-tool would have to do. She simply had to hope that Aida and Illitha were still alive and still fighting. Together, she was sure they could overcome whatever obstacle lay ahead.

* * *

**Port Hanshan Docks, Noveria, Thirteen days earlier…**

Neela and Selura stepped out of the _Sileya's_ airlock together, and Neela saw the asari blinking to try to accustom her eyes to the intensity of the light shining in from outside. Fortunately for the quarian, her visor's tint and holographic overlay muted such uncomfortable extremes in illumination. She smiled at her companion, and the two of them started along the dock toward the doors to Port Hanshan's interior. Neela still wasn't able to go inside, and she was disappointed about that, but she wanted to escort her companion as far as the doors.

Once Selura was gone, Neela fully intended to return to her quarters and get some more sleep. They'd been up into the early hours of the morning, talking and laughing together, and she'd only been able to get a couple of hours' rest before her omni-tool's alarm woke her again so that she could see the asari off. She had no idea how Selura was able to appear as alert and refreshed as she did.

They didn't get very far before Selura suddenly stopped.

"Oh… Goddess… I forgot my company's datapad. I cannot go up there without it."

"Go get it then," Neela smiled. "I'll wait here."

Selura flashed an apologetic smile and retraced her steps into the ship, leaving the quarian to pace back and forth on the dock. Neela wasn't sure what she was going to do with the rest of her week, but she had to admit, the previous day had started with disappointments and frustrations that had her in tears, and then wore on into one of the most enjoyable evenings she'd experienced in a long time. She paced to the end of the platform closest to the exterior portal, gazing out into the driving snow with a smile. She was thinking of her parents, wondering what they would have thought if they met Selura.

Neela could hear the sound of footsteps drawing closer. She assumed Selura had returned and was ready to head inside, so she turned to face the approaching figure with a bright smile. The smile faded, however, when she found herself facing not one beautiful asari, but three rather intimidating humans. All three were men, and their physiques suggested regular exercise. She didn't see any sign of weapons, but something about the way they were looking at her made her extremely nervous.

One of them, a man with a jagged scar running from his lip to his jawline, sneered at her.

"Morning, suit rat. What are you doing out here? Looking for tech to steal?"

Neela's eyes narrowed at the term 'suit rat'. She never appreciated it when other people looked down on her or her people, but that particular term made her especially angry. To be compared to vermin… She eyed the three of them warily, her gaze briefly shifting toward the ship. Unfortunately, since she had been standing at the very end of the docks, the three humans were between her and the safety of the _Sileya's_ airlock.

"Can I help you with something?" she tried to sound casual, and put her hands on her hips. Slowly, she inched one of those hands back along her belt, intending to retrieve the small sonic mine she kept there for emergencies.

"Yeah," the man nodded. "My friends and I are engaged in a bit of an argument. Maybe you could help us settle it."

"Oh?" Neela's hand closed on the metal disc at the small of her back, inching it out of the pocket that held it.

"Yeah," the scarred man nodded. "They think that you quarians are part synthetic under those suits. I say you're just an ugly-ass alien. But we wanna find out for ourselves."

The scarred man rushed her, and Neela brought the sonic mine around, clicking the activation trigger in preparation for throwing it. The man obviously spotted the object in her hand, because he grabbed her wrist as he tackled her to the ground. The sonic mine tumbled out of her grasp right next to them.

"Get down!" she heard one of the men shout.

An extremely high-pitched whine assaulted Neela's ears, overloading the audio systems in her helmet. However, even though the safety overrides kicked in to cut the sound, the brief exposure to the tone was enough to disrupt her equilibrium and stun her, as the sonic mine was intended to do. She was left with a ringing in her ears, an overwhelming feeling of vertigo, and a serious dose of nausea.

She wasn't sure what happened while she was senseless under the effect of her own tech. She was only vaguely aware that she was being hoisted to her feet. By the time her head cleared and she could see clearly again, one of the men had her arms pinned behind her back and was holding her up by that pressure lock, which made her feel like her shoulders were about to be dislocated. A second man stood before her, glaring at her with unconcealed hatred. The third man, the one with the scar, was on his hands and knees, vomiting on the deck. Without any filters to protect his ears, the effect of the sonic pulse had obviously hit him much harder than it had her.

"Let's just see what kind of ugly monster is inside this suit," the man in front of her hissed, pushing the hood back from her helmet and looking for the catch that would release her mask.

Neela panicked at the thought of having her mask pulled off in an unclean environment and kicked out at the man, connecting once with his stomach before he pressed in closer, robbing her of the distance she needed to use her legs against him. The man behind her wrenched her arms, and she cried out at the sudden pain.

"Not smart," the man she'd kicked growled at her. He slammed his fist into her abdomen a couple of times, and Neela coughed, bile rising as her stomach reacted to the vicious blows.

"Get your hands off of her!"

Neela felt relief flood through her when she heard the shout. Selura was standing outside of the _Sileya's_ airlock, regarding the scene with an expression that the quarian could only classify as barely-contained fury. She started to almost glow with purplish-blue energy, and she strode toward them menacingly.

"That is my friend," Selura's tone was icy. "And you are looking at the most powerful asari biotic in seven centuries. You let her go and start running now, and I will refrain from pulverizing the lot of you. This is your one and only warning."

Neela was surprised, but pleasantly so. She had no idea that Selura was such a powerful biotic. She wondered, in fact, why the asari had never mentioned it. She waited for the humans to let her go and start running…

"Get her!" Neela's captor shouted.

The other man rushed Selura, and Neela waited eagerly to see the young scientist obliterate him with some sort of awesome biotic display. However, she was startled to note that Selura was doing no such thing. In fact, the asari looked both surprised and panicked. She aimed a clumsy punch at the human as he closed to within striking distance. The human easily ducked out of the way and tackled Selura, driving his shoulder into her gut when they collided with the railing that lined the walkway. Selura doubled over and collapsed to the ground with a groan, after which she was subjected to several kicks to the ribs. Neela watched in helpless fury as the man repeatedly kicked her friend while she was down, and saw Selura curl up and cover her head with her arms, trying desperately to ward off the blows. It was as sure a gesture of defeat as any the quarian had ever seen.

"Pitch the suit rat over the railing," the scarred man was finally on his feet again. "We'll finish off the asari." He punctuated his last statement by joining his companion in viciously kicking Selura.

Neela tried to struggle, but the man that held her was efficient at keeping her under control. The slightest movement she made caused him to apply pressure to her shoulder, and she had to stop struggling just to keep the joint from being forced out of its socket. She _wanted_ to struggle, but the pain that lanced through her when he twisted her arm locked up her entire body. She felt a sob well up in her throat, because she knew there was nothing she could do to stop the men from killing her. Her eyes went to Selura, who was lying unconscious on the walkway, her lip split and bleeding, and she wished she could do something to save her.

"Lethia!"

A streak of blue slammed into the pair of men standing over Selura, and in the blink of an eye, the captain stood over the scientist while the humans tumbled across the deck plating. Neela felt the grip on her arms loosen – her captor was obviously surprised by the sudden shift in the situation – and she quickly twisted free of his grip, turning around and driving her knee upward into his gut, doubling him over. She followed up by driving that same knee into his face when he bent forward, and watched him collapse to the ground with his hands pressed to his bleeding nose.

Neela turned to see if the captain required any help, but the elder asari was in firm control of the situation. In fact, Neela didn't think she'd ever seen the captain so angry in her life. The former commando was repeatedly pounding the humans with biotic throws, arcing them into the air so that they came down from above. The force of each attack drove their bodies directly into the deck plating, and both men were already coughing up blood, trying desperately to crawl away from her while she screamed at them.

"You attack my crew? You threaten my ship? You dare to put your hands on Neela? On _Lethia_?" the asari shrieked, punishing them with a relentless biotic pummeling, even though both men had stopped moving. Neela wasn't even sure either of them was still alive.

The elder asari created a biotic singularity, and Neela watched as the two limp figures were hoisted into the air, floating almost serenely in a little circle near the dark core of the energy field. The captain watched them in silence for a moment, and then she formed one more orb of biotic energy in her hand and threw it into the field.

There was a blinding flash and a concussive boom as the unstable biotic field detonated. The two limp figures sailed through the air, propelled by the force of the blast. One was driven into the wall of the docking bay, and the other sailed over the railing and out of sight. The captain turned her back on the spectacle, regarding Neela with a serenity that was almost frightening after the ranting she'd been doing just moments before.

Neela hurried to Selura's side, glancing up at the captain, who was looking at the fallen asari with a troubled expression.

"Get her into the ship and up to the infirmary," the captain ordered at last. "I will find Aida and Prathus and make sure they are safe."

The captain strode past her toward the man Neela had floored, who was holding up his hands in a gesture of defense as he lay on the deck. Neela averted her eyes. After the way the captain had treated the other two men, she knew better than to expect her to spare this one. She focused on Selura, using the collar of the asari's shirt to dab at the blood on her lip. Behind her, she heard a few whimpered words that she couldn't quite make out, and then the resounding sound of a shotgun blast.

"Who is Lethia?" Neela asked when the captain walked by in the opposite direction a moment later. She didn't look at her superior, but concentrated on checking Selura to be sure her pulse and breathing were good. She'd heard the captain say that name twice, and wondered why.

"It is not important," the captain said softly. "Get her to the infirmary and keep an eye on her. I will send Aida directly there when I find her. After I deal with security..."

"Acknowledged," Neela said softly. She had already spotted several of the station's security personnel running along the walkway toward them.

She gathered her unconscious friend into her arms, carrying her into the airlock. In looking at the bruised face of the asari, she couldn't help feeling guilty. If she hadn't been careless enough to get cornered by those thugs, Selura wouldn't have been hurt trying to save her. If the captain hadn't been exiting the ship just then, they would _both _have been dead. She just didn't understand why the young scientist hadn't used her biotics against the humans.

"You bosh'tet," she said, her voice breaking. Seeing Selura in this condition hurt her… more than she ever imagined it could hurt to see a friend injured. Her heart ached so terribly that it was hard to breathe. "You'd better be okay."

* * *

**Terra Nova Wilderness, Now…**

Aida felt a rain of dirt pelt her in the moments following the detonation of the grenade. However, a series of hisses and dull thumps told her that there were more dangerous objects hurtling toward her as well. She lifted her head and spotted one of the bloated, cannibalistic monsters firing its gun at her as she lay in the grass. The bullets were impacting the earth just short of her, but every projectile struck just a little closer. She rolled to the side and looked around for the nearest cover, sprinting for the first thing she spotted: a nearby tree.

Once she was safely concealed behind the trunk of the tree, she risked another quick look around the battlefield, trying to control her fear and find out where Illitha had gone. The human-like monstrosities were not subtle or tactical at all. They charged directly toward her hiding place, and would force her out of position soon. The other variety of monsters were spreading out and circling around to each side. Aida assumed they were the smarter of the two, because they were armed with projectiles, and they seemed to have some basic grasp of tactics.

Aida tore her gaze away from them. The longer she looked at them, the more unnerved she felt. Instead, she quickly surveyed the battlefield to find Illitha. The fact that she didn't see her immediately scared Aida more than any monster could have. Perhaps her friend had fled further into the trees. She was about to turn and make a run for another piece of cover when she spotted Illitha picking herself up out of some bushes. She watched the engineer raise her omni-tool and prepare to fire on a human husk that was rapidly closing on her. But then something went wrong. She saw the look of horror that came over her friend's face. The husk tackled her to the ground and started beating her savagely.

"Illitha!"

Aida darted out of cover, focusing her energy into a biotic pull, hurling the orb at the creature that was pummeling her friend. When the orb struck the creature in the back and burst, the husk floated up away from Illitha, who lay motionless in the bushes. Aida's fear for her friend was submerged in a wave of fury, and she hit the floating husk with a biotic throw, watching it sail off into the trees as if it had been shot from a mass accelerator cannon.

Two of the shambling corpses were almost on top of her. She quickly turned and fired on them both, watching each one stagger and fall over into the grass in turn. Once the pair was dealt with, she sprinted from tree to tree, trying to avoid direct fire from the cannibals, making her way toward her friend as quickly as she could manage.

Illitha lay motionless in the bushes when Aida reached her. The medic crouched beside her and activated her omni-tool's medscan. While the software worked, she fired her pistol at any creature she saw moving, hoping to keep them at bay long enough to be sure Illitha was not seriously hurt. She was no marksman, but her shots did put down the last two human husks she could see before the omni-tool's beep announced the completion of the scan.

_Thank the Goddess_, Aida thought to herself in relief. _Maybe a mild concussion, but no serious injuries._

She hooked her hands beneath the engineer's arms and dragged her behind a fallen tree to keep her out of the line of fire. With all of the husks apparently slain, there were only a half-dozen cannibals left to deal with. Unfortunately for Aida, that was too large a number for her to deal with alone. She only had a few shots left at most before her thermal clip was overheated, and she had no replacement heat sinks left. Worse, she was exhausted. She didn't think she had enough energy left to disable them all with biotics.

_It will be a miracle if we survive this_, she realized grimly.

Suddenly a surge of electricity arced between several of the creatures, leaping from one to the next. Each of the monstrosities briefly stood rigid as the electrical current ran through its body. Aida had no idea what sort of phenomenon was responsible for the stroke of luck she'd just witnessed, but she took the opportunity while the creatures were stunned to fire at the one in the middle until her thermal clip was at capacity. The creature pitched over, and all of its nearby fellows ran over to its corpse to indulge in a meal.

Aida hit one of the cannibals in the group with another biotic pull, lifting it into the air above its friends. Then she put the last of her energy into creating a warp field, which she hurled at the floating monstrosity. The warp field destabilized the anti-gravity field of her pull, resulting in a beautiful explosion of force that pulverized the huddled cannibals below it. Aida slumped against the fallen tree in exhaustion, silently thanking every force she could think of for whatever miracle resulted in that electrical surge.

"Aida? Illitha?" a familiar voice called out to her. "Don't shoot! It's me!"

Aida lifted her head and watched as Neela limped out into the field, her omni-tool trained on the fallen corpses. The quarian was cautiously scanning her surroundings, nudging the bodies of the monsters with her foot as she passed them to be sure they weren't still alive.

"Neela! Come help me with Illitha. She is unconscious. I am too tired to lift her by myself."

The quarian nodded and hurried over to where Aida was resting.

"How bad is she hurt?" Neela's voice was heavy with concern.

"She took a few nasty blows to the head, but other than being unconscious and a little bruised, she is fine."

"Glad to hear it," Neela said as she lifted the unconscious asari over a shoulder. "We need to get back to the escape pod," she added.

Aida nodded, but she was slow to stand, and once she did rise, she was unsteady on her feet. Her legs felt like they were made from gelatin. Neela limped along ahead of her, favoring her injured knee, but she never said a word of complaint about carrying Illitha. Aida staggered along after the quarian, keeping a concerned eye on her friends, ready to step in if Neela seemed like she was tiring or if Illitha started moving.

_Goddess, _please_ give us the time to rest before the next disaster comes along_, she silently begged.

* * *

**The **_**Sileya's**_** Infirmary, Port Hanshan, Thirteen days earlier…**

Aida hurried into the small chamber that served as the _Sileya's_ infirmary. Her eyes immediately went to one of the two metal tables that served as emergency beds, where their young guest lay unconscious. Neela stood over her, gently cleaning blood and dirt from the asari's face. Aida could have sworn she heard a sniffle as she entered. She moved immediately to Selura's side, activating the medical scanner in her omni-tool.

"This is my fault," Neela whispered. Aida could tell from the thickness of the quarian's voice that she had been crying. "She got hurt trying to save me."

Aida nodded. The captain had told her all about it when she tracked her down in a local restaurant. She had been sampling the cuisine as was her habit whenever the opportunity arose. Her gaze roamed over the face of their guest, and for the first time in a week, she was able to look at the girl without feeling angry at her. Illitha had been put at risk by a thoughtless comment, and that was something Aida struggled to forgive. But this was entirely different, and it showed Selura's character in a far more positive and dependable manner. The girl had willingly put herself in danger to save another of Aida's friends. It wasn't a thoughtless mistake, but a deliberate act of selflessness.

"You cannot blame yourself for this," Aida told her friend as she studied the results of the scan. "She obviously could not stand by and watch those men hurt or kill you. Any more than anyone else on this crew could have. She cares about you."

"But if I wasn't so careless…"

"Neela, stop." Aida urged her. "Blaming yourself will not change what happened. And she will be fine."

"She will?" Neela's voice was filled with such hope that Aida had to smile.

"She will," the asari nodded. "She will be tender for a few days and will have some ugly bruises, but there are no injuries more severe than that. I will bind the cut on her lip with some medigel, and she will just need some rest."

"She's supposed to go to that company facility of hers," Neela pointed out. "I left her bag outside…"

"I brought it in when I came aboard," Aida assured her. "And she is not going anywhere today. Doctor's orders. I will figure out how to get in contact with her company's rep here and inform them of the situation."

A groan from between the two of them halted further conversation. Selura stirred groggily. Her eyelids fluttered and opened, and she glanced around in confusion.

"Lie still," Neela urged her. "You're aboard the ship. You'll be okay."

"What happened? I remember being rammed into the railing… then… someone kicked me…" she trailed off, obviously drawing a blank on what came next.

"The captain saved you both," Aida filled in for her, and couldn't keep a note of pride from entering her voice. "Let me put some medigel on your lip. Hold still," she instructed.

"Selura, I… I'm so sorry," Neela apologized. "You wouldn't have been hurt if-"

Aida watched as Selura put a hand over the small light at the area of the quarian's mask above her mouth, prompting Neela to stop talking. The medic grinned to herself at the gesture and the response it earned from the quarian, and she quickly sealed the cut on her patient's lip with medigel so the two could continue their conversation.

"It was not your fault," Selura assured the quarian once her lip was tended to. "If I had not forgotten my datapad, we would have been safely past security by the time those men showed up."

"That's true," Neela said softly. Aida was about to speak up and tell them that neither of them was to blame when the quarian spoke again. "So this is all _your_ fault!"

"What?" Selura glared at the quarian, but her lips curled in a playful smile. "I was not the one that managed to get wrestled into an armlock."

"No," Neela's tone was obviously teasing now. "You were the one that proclaimed herself the most powerful biotic ever and then didn't even use her biotics!"

Aida stood speechless, listening to the two while they blamed each other. Were it not for the teasing tone in both of their voices, she would have been ordering Neela out of the infirmary for fear that they would come to blows.

"Yeah," Selura was saying. "About that… I actually have not used my biotics much at all since basic biotic education in primary school. My biotic throw would fail to knock over a stack of child's blocks. And my barrier would collapse under the force of a snowball."

"Are you serious?" Aida broke in. There was no shame attached to asari who did not develop their biotic abilities, but she had never met one of her people that hadn't at least learned how to defend themselves with a decent barrier.

"For once," Selura nodded. "I hated biotic training as a kid. The way it tired me out made me resent having to do it. And once it was no longer a required part of education, I stopped practicing. I actually had a stronger barrier as a child than I do now."

Aida didn't know what to say, but she had to smile at the girl's honesty. Selura seemed to notice that smile, and when their eyes met, Aida gave a small nod. It was a tiny gesture, but she meant it as a show of respect and forgiveness… and as an apology for how she had treated their guest for the week past. She knew immediately that Selura got the message. The girl smiled and nodded back, reaching over to give Aida's hand a gentle squeeze.

"How can I contact your employers here?" Aida asked.

"Why?"

"You are restricted to the crew lounge or your sleeping niche for the day under doctor's orders. I need to inform them of the fact."

Selura glanced at Neela, and her excited grin made it clear that she wasn't about to object to the decision. She simply activated her omni-tool.

"I can forward the contact information to you," she suggested, and within moments, Aida received the information on her omni.

"I will leave the two of you to talk then," Aida smiled. "Neela, please see to it that she spends the day relaxing?"

"I will," Neela promised.

Aida turned and walked out of the room. Once she was alone, she found herself grinning. She wasn't sure if either Selura or Neela realized it yet, but it was obvious to her, at least, that Neela's feelings went a bit further than simple friendship. As for the scientist, she couldn't say for sure.

She just had to contact Selura's employer, and then she would head down to engineering to find Illitha. She still didn't understand why her friend had opted to stay aboard the ship, but as long as she was here, she intended to take the opportunity to spend a little time with her.

.

* * *

.

**Author's Note: Another slightly long chapter, but it should be the last Chapter for a while that goes significantly past my self-imposed word limit. There was just, once again, a lot I needed to fit into the Chapter to reach a proper stopping point. I hope everyone had a good weekend, and once again I thank everyone who has read, favorited, followed and/or commented on my little story. If I stay on schedule, my next update should be on Saturday.**


	14. Chapter 14: Distress

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Fourteen: Distress

.

**Ulrich Farm, Terra Nova, Now…**

Bullets struck the window near the front door of the human home with a series of loud thumps and a subtle crunching sound. The impacts left thick white circles behind, with a web-like pattern of cracks around them. Prathus scrambled away from the window, silently thanking the spirits that the transparent polymers used in place of glass in modern dwellings was so resistant to impacts. The human woman was crying and whimpering, clutching her child in her arms. It seemed to the turian that the child, though she clearly looked scared, was handling the situation better than her mother.

His gaze shifted to the human male, who was looking at him in a decidedly hostile and suspicious manner. Meeting the man's glare with one of his own, he tried to ignore the sound of fists pounding against the window and waited for the human to say something. He already knew what the first words out of the man's mouth were going to be.

"You brought them here," the man growled. "You put my family in danger."

"Human, I had no idea that there was anything dangerous in the area," Prathus said evenly. "But I don't have time to stand here and argue about it."

"I should throw you out the front door and let them have you," the man threatened.

"Try it," Prathus took a step closer to the human, daring him to make a move.

"Stop it!"

The demand came from Candice, who was struggling to disentangle herself from her mother's terrified grasp. Prathus didn't take his eyes off of the human male, but he was well aware of the two females, as he could see them from the corner of his eye. The man continued to glare at him, but didn't make any hostile moves.

"We can't fight each other," the child pleaded. "There's monsters outside. We should be trying to get away!"

Prathus almost snorted with amusement. The child was the one person in the building thinking clearly. He didn't appreciate being accused of leading an enemy to a civilian home, but he was far too eager for the chance to lash out at one of the humans. He _should_ have been concentrating on the creatures outside. He knew nothing about Reapers or their capabilities. He'd heard rumors about the Reapers, but he never really believed them. Now he wished he had paid more attention to the theories and vague stories posted on the extranet. Even the fact that Reapers had ground forces was news to him. Last he knew they'd hired the geth for that purpose.

"She's right," the human man finally said. "I'm sorry."

"Do you have any weapons?" Prathus inquired. The creatures outside obviously did, and he didn't relish the thought of trying to fight off the attackers with only an omni-blade.

"Daddy has a rifle in the storage locker," Candice answered before her father could.

"Where is it?"

"It's the only weapon I have, and I need to protect my family," the man protested, crossing the room and opening a storage compartment built into the wall.

"Listen, human," Prathus began, glancing at the window, where two of the human corpse-monsters were pounding on the surface, widening the cracks with every strike. They were in no immediate danger, but he had to assume the Reapers would get in before long. "Have you had military training? Because if not, the best chance your family has is to give the rifle to me."

"No, I'm not a soldier," the human turned, holding an old mattock rifle in his hands. "But why should I give my family's only defense to you?"

"Because I served in the turian military for fifteen years. I know how to fire a rifle accurately and I can handle myself under pressure. We really don't have the time to argue. Either give me the rifle, or point me to another exit so I can make a run for it, and you can stay here and defend your wife and child."

Prathus waited for the human to make up his mind. Maybe it made him heartless, but he was perfectly willing to leave them to fend for themselves. He had more important things to do than worry about the lives of a few humans.

"Give him the gun, Daddy," Candice urged. The girl's support surprised Prathus, who would have expected the child to support her father, not a stranger.

Hesitantly, the man held out the rifle. "You can get my family out of here safely?"

"You want a guarantee?" Prathus grabbed the weapon from him before he could change his mind, checking the ammunition block and examining the weapon for obvious flaws. "I can't give you one. But you have my word that I'll do my best."

The human reached into the locker and pulled out one thermal clip, which he held out for Prathus to take.

"Is that all you've got?" Prathus took the heat sink.

"Afraid so."

"Alright," the turian nodded. "I think our best chance is-"

"This is the TNCA Emergency Network," a distorted digital voice interrupted him. It was coming from a vid monitor on the wall, where a middle-aged human in a disheveled suit appeared on the screen. "Citizens of Terra Nova, the planet is under att-" the broadcast briefly faded into a haze of static.

"What's going on?" Prathus wondered aloud.

"The Terra Nova Civil Authority," the human man answered, "The civil branch of government in charge of running the colony. The Emergency Network system automatically activates all vid monitors connected to the system and broadcasts to all frequencies in case of emergency."

"Well, their warning was a big help," Prathus muttered sarcastically. "As I was about to say, I think-"

"-advise all citizens to gather any weapons and food they can carry and head to Emergency Site A," the transmission returned, interrupting Prathus again. "Alliance authorities are trying to gather-" the rest of the sentence was lost in static. "-forces are offering protection to civilian families and an escort to a secure site. I repeat. The planet is under attack by Reaper forces. Enemies have scrambled most forms of communication… We advise all citizens to-" the signal faded once more into static.

"Where is Emergency Site A, Human?" Prathus turned to the man.

"Uh… About three kilometers outside the capital. It's a hardened facility buried in a mountainside. There are four emergency sites outlined in the Colonist Acclimation Package they hand out to new immigrants. And the name is Eric."

"In that case, I think-"

An explosion rocked the building, cutting him off for the third time. Both of the girls screamed, and Eric took several steps closer to his family. Prathus looked toward the window, only to find that the creatures that had been pounding on the glass were nowhere to be seen. He cursed himself for getting distracted and losing sight of them.

"Have they gone?" Eric asked hopefully.

The withered gray form of a human husk charged in from an adjacent room, leaping toward the back of the human woman. Prathus raised the rifle with perfect timing, taking aim and firing one shot, which tore right through the creature's head. Both females shrieked at the sudden shot, unaware of the danger they'd been in. The force of the bullet's impact was such that it halted the creature's forward momentum, sparing the girls the weight of the monster crashing into them; the creature hit the floor.

Bridget whirled at the thump caused by the creature's impact with the floor, as did her husband. Both of them hurriedly backed away from the door, while Prathus quickly moved over to get a clearer view of the doorway. The turian realized what the Reapers had done. They'd used some sort of explosive to breach a window or door elsewhere in the building and gain access. He knew there would be a rush of foes any minute. He activated the shield generator in his armor.

"Get into a corner away from the windows or doors," he ordered the humans without looking at them.

There was no time to give any further instructions. A stream of the human husks dashed into sight, making a rush for the turian who stood in front of the doorway. Prathus's reflexes were better than he could have hoped after so long out of the military. He aimed and fired, squeezing off one round after another in quick succession. The first three creatures each fell to headshots, but the reckless dash of the creatures allowed each one to get a little closer to him than the one before it.

By the time he took aim at the fourth creature, it was within arm's reach of him, so he opted for a less precise approach. He pointed the barrel at the creature's chest and squeezed the trigger repeatedly, sending it staggering backward before it finally fell. However, the fifth and final monster leapt onto him before he could turn his weapon upon it. It tore the rifle from his grasp with one hand, using the other hand to seize the collar of his armor.

Fortunately, his combat training was coming back to him quickly, and he didn't panic. Even as the creature slammed a fist into the side of his face for the first time, he was already activating his omni-blade. Before the husk could even draw its arm all the way back for a second strike, he jammed the blade up into its ribs, piercing deep into its chest cavity. The thing's grip went slack, and he quickly withdrew the blade from its body and hurled the creature to the floor, thrusting the weapon into its head.

"My god," he heard Eric breathe behind him. "You were right to insist on having the gun. If it had been in my hands-"

"Later," Prathus snapped, cutting the man off. "There were three other creatures out there. We need to figure out where they are so that we can either deal with them or avoid them." He bent to retrieve his rifle, rubbing his leg when he straightened.

"Your leg still hurts," Candice said softly. "There's some medigel in the bathroom."

"Medigel isn't going to help, kid," Prathus muttered. "It's a really old injury. Now let's get moving. These things got in through a breach somewhere. I suggest we use the same breach to get out."

"There could be more of those things out there," Bridget protested. "We should stay here."

"Being in here is hardly safe," Prathus muttered, stepping slowly up to the door through which the husks had come, his rifle in position to fire if necessary. "There were only six of these husk things and three other creatures out there. All six of the human-shaped things are down. Which leaves just three. But if we stay in here, you can bet the Reapers will send reinforcements."

He wasn't actually sure the Reapers would bother. They were in the middle of nowhere. He imagined that the Reapers were just dropping small strike forces on any building they could find that was outside of the city. He doubted outlying farms like this one were really worth the bother of sending reinforcements. But he wanted to get these humans moving. He wanted to get out of there and meet up with the Alliance military at this emergency rendezvous point. He had no love for the Alliance, but being surrounded by military forces seemed like a better place to be than wandering around in the wilderness with a farmer, his wife, and a child.

"He's right, hon," Eric supported him. "We can't just hide here and hope they don't send more help. We need to get to the Alliance facility. We'll be safe there."

Prathus left the humans to discuss the situation, heading into the adjacent room, which turned out to be a kitchen. He quickly searched the room for signs of Reaper forces, and then headed through the next door that was open, which led into a bedroom. Through the bedroom doorway, he could see a huge hole in the far wall, the edges of which were blackened and twisted by the explosion that caused it. He stepped inside, quickly training his weapon on each corner of the room in turn to be sure it was clear. Seeing no sign of anything dangerous, he crossed the chamber and pressed against the wall next to the breach, peering outside cautiously.

Nothing.

He saw no signs of the other three creatures… just a few trees in the yard and then the fields of crops beyond. He supposed it was possible that the Reaper creatures could have been hiding amongst the plants in the fields, but there was no way to be sure. Perhaps they had circled to the other side of the farmer's house on the assumption that the people inside would never choose this direction as an exit. He considered it a stroke of luck. They were no doubt lurking near the door at the other end of the building, waiting for them to run outside.

Footsteps behind him caught his attention, and he turned to see the human family filing into the room. He nodded slowly and climbed through the hole in the wall, dropping into the grass outside with an awkward stumble. He was quick to recover, however, crouching and surveying the surrounding landscape for any sign of danger.

Behind him, he could hear the humans approaching the hole in the wall, whispering to one another about who should climb out first. His mandibles twitched in exasperation. Did it really matter? He wanted them to shut up and hurry. He didn't like being exposed if the enemy happened to come back to this side of the building. He eyed the nearby trees, thinking that he should move to cover.

From behind one of those trees, a bloated humanoid form suddenly stepped. It swung its arm and there was a hollow sound that reminded him of a ball being dislodged from a tube. A small object sailed past his head, prompting him to dive into the grass. He turned after he hit the ground to see where the object had gone, and the sudden, horrible reality of the situation suddenly hit him. The object was a grenade. And the Reaper had hurled it through the hole and into the bedroom. His assumption was confirmed when he saw Eric frantically snatch his daughter from her mother's arms and hurl her out into the grass.

The girl hit the ground awkwardly and started crying, but the sound was almost immediately drowned out by a thunderous explosion. Prathus quickly pushed himself up and took aim at the bloated Reaper figure, squeezing off several quick rounds to put it down just as it started shooting. Once he was sure the monster wasn't going to get up, he turned to look at the building behind him. Smoke and flames poured from the hole in the building, and Prathus knew that Candice's parents were dead.

He edged closer to the crying girl, who was clutching her arm to her chest. He wasn't sure what to say. He didn't think she'd yet realized what had happened.

"Are you okay? We have to go. Now."

"My arm…" the girl sobbed. She raised her head, looking toward the house. "Mom?" she called, and Prathus waited for the realization to hit her.

"Mom! Dad!" the girl shrieked, struggling to her feet and starting toward the breach in the wall.

Prathus caught hold of her and hoisted her off the ground, keeping a firm grip on her while she screamed and flailed against him, shouting for her parents and wailing pitifully. He held no love for humans, but it was awful to see the poor girl's reaction to the death of her family nonetheless. Unfortunately, her cries had undoubtedly drawn the attention of the other two Reapers, wherever they were, and he knew that they had to leave immediately. He started off into the field, running as quickly as he was able with a bad leg and a struggling child in his grasp.

She wasn't making it easy on him, shouting that they had to go back and save her mom and dad. The noise ensured that their trail would be easy to follow. He told her repeatedly to shut up, but she was beyond reason. He wasn't accustomed to dealing with children, and was at a loss as to what he could do to quiet her. So he did the only thing he could think of, though he was sure that even under the circumstances, most people would condemn him for it…

He put her down and slugged her hard enough to knock her out cold. Then he hoisted her limp form over a shoulder and made a run for the nearest cover he saw, a wooded area off in the distance. With the gathering darkness, he hoped that they could make it to the trees without being spotted. He supposed it would just depend on how well the Reapers could see in the gloom.

* * *

**Port Hanshan, Noveria, Thirteen days earlier…**

Prathus sat up with a groan. His head was pounding, his mouth was dry, and he felt more than a little queasy. Worse, he'd slept in his armor, so now his joints were stiff and his back ached. He remembered now why he'd stopped indulging in strong drink: He hated mornings like this. At least, he assumed it was morning. He glanced at the time on his omni-tool and his brows rose. Had he really been asleep for the better part of a day? It had been mid-afternoon when he left the bar… at least he _thought_ so. Now it was the following morning? He stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom to indulge in a shower and all the necessary morning rituals before he went out to find the conduits for Illitha.

While he was enjoying the soothing warmth of his shower, he tried to puzzle out the hazy events of the previous afternoon. Most of it was a mystery. He vaguely recalled annoying some human, and had indistinct memories of calling the captain to tell her about his friend in security. As for the rest of his trip to the hotel room, he couldn't remember much. He couldn't be sure precisely what he'd told the captain either. He was pretty certain, whatever he'd said, that the captain would not have been amused by his intoxication. He sighed.

The soft ping of his omni-tool's communication alert greeted him just as he was stepping out of the shower. He wrapped a towel around himself and limped his way out to retrieve his omni, quickly activating the channel.

"What is it?" he demanded of whoever was calling. His head was still throbbing, and he wasn't in the mood to talk.

"_Prathus, have you seen Illitha?_" the voice was Aida's, and she sounded worried.

"She's on the ship, remember?"

"_No. I am _on_ the ship, and she is not here. No one has seen her since yesterday afternoon. I have tried to reach her, but there are no responses to my communications._"

Prathus was about to suggest that she might have opted for a hotel room after all, but she had promised the captain she would be staying aboard the _Sileya_, and she wasn't the type to go back on her word. The shy engineer _certainly_ wasn't the type to indulge in a tryst with a random stranger. He was forced to come to the same uncomfortable conclusion that Aida had. Something was wrong.

"_Prathus?_" Aida prompted. He'd been quiet for too long.

"I'm here," he assured her. "I can look around for her. What is the captain doing about this? Can you link her in-?"

"_She has been detained by security._"

"What?" Prathus was shocked. "What the hell happened?"

"_Some humans assaulted Neela and Selura on the docks-_"

"_What?_" Prathus's voice rose in irritation. "Why didn't you tell me that sooner?"

"_I was getting to that_," Aida sounded defensive. "_But Lith is the first priority. Neela and Selura are safe. The captain is being questioned, but the security officers allowed her to come find me before taking her to the detention area, so I have to assume she is not in danger of being arrested. Everyone thought Lith was on the ship…_"

Prathus rubbed his eyes and shook his head in frustration. Humans assaulted his crewmates. Big surprise. When were humans _not_ doing things to hurt others in the galaxy? He wondered if it was Cerberus. The captain had warned that Cerberus wanted to dispose of the crew. He supposed it didn't matter. He would have to go see Vettius. Perhaps as a member of the security forces, his old friend could access the surveillance feeds and find Illitha.

"Stay on the ship," he ordered. "We already have one missing crew member and two have been assaulted. I don't want to give-" he cut himself off. The captain hadn't wanted to panic the rest of the crew with news of Cerberus. So he started again. "I don't want anything to happen to anyone else while we try to find T'Zari. Let me handle it. I have a friend in local security."

"_I will continue to try to reach her. Will you keep me updated please?_" Aida asked anxiously.

"Of course, Dalinas. Just stay on the ship and wait for my update."

He deactivated the channel and quickly dried himself off, slipping into his armor and gathering his possessions. Once he was prepared, he left the room behind, heading for the elevator. A human walked out of the room next to his as he passed, and the man fell into step behind him, joining him in the lift. Prathus glanced at the man briefly, and found himself thinking that the human looked familiar. He was thin and balding, sported a moustache, and was dressed in a fairly average-quality suit. The turian struggled to place him.

He was still trying to do so when the elevator reached the ground floor, but he gave up on the task. He had more important things to do, like rescuing the _Sileya's_ engineer from whatever she'd gotten herself into. He set off to find the ERCS headquarters, hoping that Vettius would be on duty that morning. Perhaps he could also find the captain there, and inform her of the situation.

He had to ask directions in order to locate the ERCS offices, but with the assistance, he managed to find the place. The lobby was a spacious chamber with a number of benches in it, and a single counter set in the far wall, behind which a young asari was standing, watching him with an almost bored expression. There was a door in the wall beside the counter, but little else to see in the lobby itself. However, on the opposite side of the counter, he could see a number of desks, and a room partitioned off from the rest of the office with glass walls. There were a large number of guards in that room, apparently being addressed by a commanding officer, from the look of it. Prathus headed for the counter.

"Can I help you?" the asari inquired politely.

"I'm looking for a guard named Vettius. He is a friend and I need his help with a security matter."

"He is in the watch meeting," she informed him. "If you would have a seat, I will inform him that you are waiting as soon as the meeting ends."

"There's another matter you might help with. My captain was brought here this morning. Can I see her?"

"Your captain's name?"

"Julisa Nisaria."

"Oh… yes," the asari looked uncomfortable. "She is in Captain Matsuo's office at present. She was quite vocal about her displeasure with dock security."

"I don't blame her," Prathus muttered. "Two of our crew members were assaulted out there, all because some stupid policy kept our pilot from entering the facility."

"Yes," the asari nodded, smiling apologetically. "So I heard. I am sorry about it."

"Just let them both know I'm here," Prathus told her, and then went and collapsed onto one of the benches, trying to keep his impatience in check.

It wasn't long before he could see that the guards' meeting was clearing out. He stood up, looking for the familiar face in the crowd, and was happy to see that the receptionist hurried over to inform his friend that he was waiting. He had half-expected her to procrastinate. Vettius nodded to him and made his way across the office, emerging from the door next to the reception desk a moment later.

"Prathus? It's good to see you, my friend, but what are you doing here? I told you I'd contact-"

"One of my crew has gone missing," Prathus interrupted. "I was hoping you could have a look at the security feeds and find her."

"Missing? Are you sure she isn't just relaxing somewhere?"

"She was supposed to remain aboard the ship, working on the engines…"

"And now you can't find her," Vettius finished for him. "Well, one thing we have plenty of here is surveillance. Follow me," the turian turned, leading the way through the door into the office beyond. "You said you're working on an asari ship. So she's asari?"

Prathus nodded and followed his friend through the office and into a hallway, passing a number of private offices along the way, each with a window permitting a view of the interior. He spotted his captain in one of them, talking to the Japanese woman that had greeted them on the docks, but didn't try to get her attention. While he wanted to speak to her, it could wait until he had some idea of where Illitha had gone.

They finally walked into a room filled with holo projectors and vid monitors, where another turian was seated with his feet up on an adjacent chair. When they entered, the turian in question looked up, his eyes filled with curiosity.

"Prathus Ganarius, let me introduce Luritas Vesek," Vettius gestured to his fellow guard.

"A pleasure," Prathus held out a hand, which the other turian grasped firmly and shook.

"Likewise," Luritas nodded, and then turned his gaze upon Vettius. "What's going on?"

"We have a missing asari. She's part of the crew of the _Sileya_. She was supposed to be aboard their ship, but vanished sometime in the last day."

"Probably met someone and got a room somewhere," Luritas muttered, but he was quick to go to work, calling up security footage from the dock cameras on the bank of monitors in front of them.

"Not T'Zari," Prathus shook his head. "Too shy for that kind of thing."

"A shy asari? That's a new one," Luritas chuckled. "When was the last time you know she was aboard the ship?"

"When we docked. Midmorning yesterday."

Luritas nodded and set the footage to the appropriate timeframe, and then ran it forward at increased speed. Eventually, a figure left the _Sileya's_ airlock and moved along the walkway, at which point he slowed the playback to normal speed.

"Is that her?" Vettius asked.

"That's her," Prathus nodded.

"Looks like she left of her own free will," Luritas pointed out.

"Go forward. Follow her progress through the security recordings. See where she goes," Vettius suggested.

Together, the three turians watched as the slender engineer went through ID processing, up the elevator, and into Opold's shop. Then back to the elevator and down to the docks again. However, once there, she disappeared between the camera covering the entrance and the dock cameras outside. Prathus's mandibles twitched in frustration. His crewmate had exited into the dock, but never got as far as the camera that covered the walkway to the ship.

"Where is she?" Luritas muttered.

He sped the recordings forward until the engineer reappeared, but when they next saw her, she was in the company of a balding man with a moustache, who was holding her arm. Illitha looked positively terrified. And Prathus, staring at the recording, clenched his hands into fists. It was the same human from the elevator.

"That bastard was in the elevator with me at the hotel not twenty minutes ago," he growled. "But I still don't know why he looks so familiar to me."

"She certainly doesn't look comfortable," Vettius said softly. "Track them through the Port."

They watched as the man escorted her through Port Hanshan, tracking them from camera to camera with the help of the security VI's facial recognition software. Eventually, they disappeared into a corridor, and Luritas stopped the playback, sitting back in his chair.

"Keep going," Prathus demanded. "Find out where they went."

"I'm afraid that's a complex filled with corporate apartments. There are no security cameras there. The companies don't want security interfering with the privacy of their V.I.P.s," Vettius sighed.

"Can you conduct a search? She has to be in there somewhere!"

"We would have to get approval from the administrator for that, and I doubt he would give it," Vettius told him. "His predecessor was removed from office for corruption, and he has been under scrutiny from the member corporations. He may not want to risk upsetting them."

"So I'm supposed to abandon a member of my crew? A friend? You know me better than that."

Vettius studied him silently for a moment, and Prathus returned his friend's gaze intently, waiting to see if their friendship would extend to further favors. He knew he was asking a lot by suggesting that Vettius risk offending people with more authority than him.

"Take the recordings forward. Let's at least see if she comes out first."

Luritas, who had been sitting silently while they talked, nodded and activated the system again, taking it forward and pausing each time someone exited the building. Through the night's surveillance there was no sign of Illitha. However, in the footage from that morning, the man with the moustache reappeared. Prathus was tempted to ask them to track him, but he knew where the human had eventually ended up: In the room next door to his. He doubted that it was a coincidence.

Just a handful of minutes later in the footage, Illitha reappeared… this time flanked by two more humans. She looked miserable and exhausted. They were able to follow the progress of the trio all the way to the shuttle bay, where Illitha was forced to board a shuttle. Once the shuttle vanished through the bay door, Luritas stopped the recording again.

"So those bastards took her elsewhere," Prathus growled. "Any way to track them?"

"I'm afraid not," Vettius said after a moment of hesitation. "There are dozens of isolated laboratories and facilities spread all over the planet. We can try to ID the humans and figure out which corporation they work for, but that will take time. And authorization from our captain."

"Then I want to speak to _my_ captain," Prathus insisted.

"She's a brutal piece of work," Vettius gestured toward the door as he spoke, and the two left the room. "The security footage of the attack on your crewmates was replayed during the watch meeting. Security on the docks has been tripled. She was… efficient… in dispatching the men involved."

"Is she under arrest?" Prathus asked as they stopped outside of the office in which he'd seen the captain earlier.

"No," Vettius knocked on the glass, drawing the attention of both women in the room. "The assault is something of an embarrassment, both to ERCS for the slow response and to the corporations involved for the perceived lack of security. I think she'll be free to go."

Through the glass, Prathus saw the Japanese woman wave them inside and press a button on her desk, which prompted the door to open. Vettius preceded him into the room, gesturing toward him in introduction.

"Prathus Ganarius. An old friend, and a crew member aboard the _Sileya_," he announced.

"This is my XO," Julisa spoke up. Prathus could tell by her expression that she was extremely angry, but her tone was calm.

"Thank you, Vettius," Captain Matsuo nodded. "You can go."

Vettius withdrew after a brief nod to Prathus in passing.

"I was just going over the particulars of the incident this morning on the docks with your captain," Maeko informed him. "Do you have something to add?"

"Actually, I came to inform the captain that another of our crew has been accosted," the turian said without preamble.

"What?" Julisa's voice held a dangerous edge. "Who?"

"T'Zari left the ship yesterday afternoon to do some shopping. Vettius just helped me track her through the security feeds. She was abducted by a human when she tried to return to the ship," Prathus saw the captain's jaw clench in response to his words, but pressed on. "She was held in a corporate apartment overnight, and then taken away by shuttle this morning."

"Captain Nisaria, I-"

"Allowed two of my people to be assaulted on your docks, and a third to be kidnapped!" Julisa finished for her, her voice rising angrily. "This is intolerable, and you are going to do everything in your power to find her!"

"Vettius said she could be anywhere on the planet," Prathus spoke up. He shared the captain's frustration, but screaming at the security forces wasn't going to get them anywhere.

"Your XO is right," Captain Matsuo nodded. "We will try to ID her kidnappers, and from there we may be able to determine the company they are affiliated with, but it will take some time."

"Time is a luxury my engineer doesn't have," Julisa's tone was icy. "And the rest of my crew is unsafe on your docks. I should contact my government to pass along news of this disaster. They may want to urge asari corporations to move to a safer site," she threatened.

"That isn't necessary," the Japanese woman was quick to insist. "We will manage to track her somehow, I promise you. And we have already increased security presence in the docking bay-"

"Not good enough," Julisa said evenly. "I want a security clearance for my pilot, Neela'Xara. Quarian or not, I want her to have access to the port, where there are guards on duty at all times. I will not restrict her to the docks any longer."

_A lot of good the security did T'Zari,_ Prathus mused sourly.

"I can arrange that," Captain Matsuo nodded. "Administrator Pitik will be able to easily justify the exception."

"Captain," Prathus interrupted the exchange. "I need to get back to the ship. I promised Dalinas I would update her as soon as I knew anything."

"Do it. And keep your guard up."

"I will, Captain," Prathus nodded, withdrawing from the room.

He was not looking forward to telling Aida what had happened to her friend. He foresaw a very emotional response coming. But he shared a bit of that emotion. He was angry and upset that Illitha had been kidnapped, and worried that it might already be too late to save her. The only part that puzzled him was why Cerberus hadn't just killed her on the docks, in the camera's blind spot.

He didn't have an answer to that question, but he knew where to find it. After he updated Aida, he was going to have a chat with a certain moustache-sporting human. And he was going to get the answers he wanted even if he had to break every bone in the human's body to do it.

* * *

**Terra Nova Wilderness, Now…**

Illitha sat quietly on a seat in the escape pod, while her best friend crouched in front of her, alternately shining a small light into her eye and turning it away. The young engineer was extremely unhappy. It had been an absolutely awful day, and she was getting tired of being injured, beaten, stressed and knocked out. She'd been struck unconscious twice that day, as had Selura. She was even more exasperated with seeing it happen to the people she loved. And something told her there was just a lot more pain and suffering ahead of them all, now that they were stranded on a planet under siege by Reapers.

"Is your head still throbbing?" Aida asked her with concern.

"A little," Illitha whispered. "Thanks," she added quickly. "You saved my life."

"You have saved mine several times," Aida smiled at her, standing and holding her hand out. When Illitha took the hand she offered, Aida pulled her to her feet and wrapped her up in a gentle embrace. "I cannot imagine life without you, Lith."

Illitha leaned into her friend's embrace, trying to ignore the way Aida's arms against her made the shrapnel wounds near the edges of her back itch. Fortunately, the center of her back was still numb. When the two separated, there were tears in her friend's eyes, and Illitha smiled at her.

"We should… I think it would b-be best if we get out to the others," she suggested.

Aida nodded, and the two left the escape pod behind, joining Neela and Selura in the cool air outside. Aida had shed her environmental gear for comfort, but Illitha and Selura still wore theirs. The engineer wasn't sure why Selura was keeping hers on save perhaps for the difficulty involved in removing it with one arm. As for her own, the back of her shirt had been cut away so that her wounds could be tended, and the young engineer was acutely uncomfortable with the idea of walking around in a garment with no back. She knew many members of various races were comfortable with that sort of exposure or even found it sexy, but she blanched at the thought of baring so much skin for random people to see. The environmental suit was modest enough to suit her until she could get a replacement shirt.

"Are you okay Illitha?" Selura asked her when they emerged from the pod.

"I… I, uh… Yes," the engineer stammered. "How is your arm?"

"Aching," Selura admitted. "Which direction do we go from here?"

Neela glanced around, and for a moment an uncertain silence descended over the group. They were on a foreign planet and the comm buoys had been down when they arrived in orbit, so there was no way they could download local maps or contact the local government for help. This left them in the middle of nowhere without even a hint of which direction could help them reach safety.

"Well, we can't stay here," Neela broke the silence. "If the Reapers dropped off some soldiers here once, they might do it again."

"North then?" Illitha suggested, and then hunched her shoulders a bit when three pairs of eyes turned toward her. "J-just a suggestion."

"North is fine," Aida smiled at her, and the others both nodded.

Aida glanced around at the others, and Illitha could see that she was conflicted about something. She stepped closer to her friend and took her hand, ducking her head slightly to catch the other asari's gaze.

"What is wrong?"

"We have to carry the captain's pod, but…" Aida trailed off, looking from Illitha to Neela to Selura and back.

"But what?"

"You are all injured," Aida pointed out. "Selura definitely cannot help. It is impossible to avoid tensing her injured arm if she exerts herself to lift a heavy object with the good arm. Neela's knee is injured, so it is not the best idea to task her with carrying a heavy object. And your back is far from healed. The exertion might aggravate your wounds."

"There is no way we can carry it unless all four of us do it," Illitha was quick to answer. She turned her gaze upon the Prothean stasis pod, frowning at the piece of machinery. She wished they had access to the _Sileya's_ cargo loader.

Aida sighed in resignation and nodded, and Neela moved to lend them a hand. However, Illitha was quick to wave them away. An idea had come to her.

"Neela, you and Selura really should not be carrying this thing," she said softly.

"I can help," Neela protested. "The two of you can't carry it alone."

"I… It is just… I think…," she trailed off and then muttered a barely-audible "Never mind…" She started to doubt her idea. Perhaps Neela was right and they shouldn't waste the time…

"What is it, Lith?" Aida prompted. Neela and Selura were both looking at her as well, waiting for her to continue.

"I was thinking that Neela should take the… the fighter. She could use it to scout. For a settlement. O-Or signs of danger."

Aida's brows rose, and all eyes shifted to the Armanis. Illitha thought it was a sensible plan, and she waited to see what they would have to say about it before she filled them in on the rest. Neela glanced at Selura, who surprised Illitha by backing away suddenly and shaking her head.

"No way! I am _not_ getting back in that thing with you!"

"Don't be such a baby," Neela teased the scientist. "I got used to having you as a seat back. I'll have to learn to fly it all over again!"

"Then learn to fly all over again!" Selura shot back. "My stomach has finally settled from the last ride in that thing. I refuse to upset it again!"

Neela laughed, which in turn drew smiles from Aida and Illitha. The engineer wasn't sure what had happened in the fighter that led to this back and forth teasing, but she thought it funny to see the two engaged in playful banter. The lighthearted teasing didn't last for long, however, as both Neela and Selura quickly sobered, and Neela glanced at the pod.

"That's a great idea," the quarian complimented her, "But it still leaves you with the problem of trying to carry something too heavy for the two of you."

"Well, we have the escape pod here," she pointed out. "The systems are still functional. If we strip it of its mass effect field emitters and power systems, I should be able to create a makeshift hover pallet. It will be time-consuming and ugly when I am finished with it, but I am sure I can make it work."

Illitha waited to see what the others thought of her plan, and was gratified when she saw smiles and nods from each of them. Selura stepped forward, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"I still have a good arm," the scientist said with a smile. "I will help as much as I can with the construction."

"Then Neela can start scouting, and I will keep watch for more Reaper soldiers," Aida volunteered.

"I should stay," Neela hesitated, and Illitha was fairly certain that it was Selura that the quarian was looking at. The engineer suppressed a smile.

"No, Aida is right," Selura smiled, walking over and taking the quarian's hand. "You should start scouting. We will head due north as soon as our project is finished. If you find a settlement, the Armanis's computer should be able to provide you with an accurate estimate of our position."

"I… W-we will activate one of our omni-tools every fifteen minutes and send out a single beacon pulse," Illitha spoke up.

"No," Neela shook her head. "That's too risky-"

"I-It will help you find us from the air," Illitha interrupted her. "The risk is minimal. We'll modify the signal to restrict the range."

"This is the best option we have," Selura chimed in. "We will be fine. You need to get going."

Illitha smiled and nodded her encouragement when Neela looked around, and she saw Aida do the same. Selura walked Neela toward the fighter, and Illitha turned toward the escape pod, smiling to herself. She wondered what the two would say to each other when they were alone. It would have taken a blind person not to see the attraction Neela felt toward the scientist. She activated her omni-tool, gesturing for Aida to join her.

"How long do you think this will take to build?" Aida asked her.

"A couple of hours? M-maybe three?" Illitha looked around at the gathering gloom. "This planet apparently has a long day/night cycle," she commented. "But we will need you to activate your omni's search light before long so that we can see what we are doing."

"Any Reaper air forces will see us from miles away if we do that," Aida frowned.

"We have no choice. Either we build this thing in the dark and start walking…" she trailed off.

"I know," Aida nodded. "We cannot stay here through the night."

There were no more words spoken between them. Illitha set to work dismantling the plating covering the access ports to the power systems. After a few minutes, the Armanis fighter took to the air and soared northward, and Selura rejoined them. The three then turned their collective efforts to stripping the equipment they needed from the pod. It would be an involved process, but they had little choice.

As they set themselves to work, Illitha's thoughts turned to Prathus, and she wondered if he was faring any better than they were. She hoped so. It was hard to know that he could be injured somewhere on this planet, with no-one around to help him.

* * *

**A Remote Slope on Noveria, Thirteen days earlier…**

Illitha shrieked as she saw the white slope of the mountainside rushing up to meet her. She had only seconds to act, and struggled to submerge her terror and concentrate. There was only one way she could save herself, and it was something she'd only successfully accomplished once before. She closed her eyes and cultivated as much biotic energy as she could manage, forming a biotic orb in her hand. And then she hurled it toward a point about ten meters above the ground below her, praying that it would work as she intended.

To her delight, the orb blossomed into a swirling vortex of wispy blue light with a dark core at its center. She plummeted into the singularity and through it, but as she passed the heart of the biotic field, the gravitational pull of it tugged the opposite direction, slowing her fall drastically. She still hit the snowy ground, but with an impact like that of jumping from a second-floor balcony, rather than plummeting from a hundred meters in the air. The impact jarred her, and she braced to roll down the slope, but to her surprise, she was instead hoisted back into the air, caught in the singularity's pull.

She felt herself turn head over heels in the air, and was soon floating helplessly in a circle, unable to tear herself free of the gravity well of her own creation. Were it not for the driving wind and the intense cold that assailed her, making her exposed face and hands sting, it might have been a peaceful sensation to hover as she was. However, she was not dressed appropriately for the weather, and in spite of her coat, she was soon shivering.

The singularity did not last long. Its collapse was sudden, and the startled engineer plummeted headfirst into the snow, rolling down the slope for several meters before she managed to stop herself. She stood up with a gasp, shaking her head to dislodge snow and ice from her scalp crests, and then hugged herself, rubbing her arms in an attempt to create some warmth through friction.

_I swear, I am going to learn how to slow my falls like the advanced biotics can,_ she promised herself. _What do I do now?_ _I will freeze to death out here. Unless…_

She turned to look up along the mountainside, to the twisted wreckage of the shuttle lying on a rocky outcropping halfway up the slope. The wrecked vehicle was upside down, and the cockpit was obviously crushed into unrecognizable scrap, but the passenger section seemed to be mostly intact. If she was lucky, she could salvage some gear from within, or activate the shuttle's emergency beacon to summon help… Though she wasn't sure she wanted the sort of help likely to respond to her former captors' distress call.

She pulled her coat sleeves down over her hands in a vain attempt to keep her fingers from going numb, and she started picking her way up the mountainside, doing her best to choose the shallowest inclines she could see, and the areas with the most numerous handholds when she was forced to take a steeper route. It was difficult to make progress, especially when she had to repeatedly stop and tuck her hands under her arms in an effort to warm them and reclaim feeling in her fingers.

She wasn't sure how long it took her to climb up to the outcropping where the wreckage had come to rest, but it felt like an eternity, and by the time she reached it, most of her body felt numb. The relief that washed over her when she stumbled through a tear in the hull and into the interior of the shuttle, where she was shielded from the wind, was intense. She quickly took stock of the vehicle's surviving tech and supplies.

Most of the equipment looked smashed. Occasional showers of sparks erupted from severed power conduits, and she got no response from the computer when she tried to access one of the interfaces. She looked around for some sign of a supply locker or equipment cache, but found neither. She was starting to worry that the climb had been for nothing when her eyes fell upon the motionless form of her blonde captor, partially hidden under a twisted chunk of deck plating. He was bloodied and looked like he had suffered a few broken limbs when he died, but his jacket and shirt were mostly intact, if a little soiled.

Illitha felt guilty over the idea of robbing the man's corpse of its clothing, but she didn't see how she had much choice. Swallowing heavily, she moved over to him, struggling to pull the chunk of debris off of his body. Once she finally flipped it aside, she closed her eyes, silently asking forgiveness for what she was about to do. She reached for his jacket.

His bloody hand suddenly seized her wrist, drawing a shriek out of her. She yanked her arm free of his grasp and scrambled away from him, trying to calm her racing heart, even as she looked around for something to use as a weapon. However, the man made no further move toward her. He lay still, whimpering and coughing, struggling to lift his head and apparently failing.

"Please," the man choked. "Please help me."

Illitha frowned. On an intellectual level, she knew that this man had intended to kill her. He was not a kind person. If their positions were reversed, he probably would have taken her clothing and left her to die. But in looking at him and listening to his pleas and sobs, she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He might have been a cruel monster. She was not. She crawled over to him, looking down at him with pity.

"Help," the man sobbed.

"You are seriously hurt," she whispered, looking him over. He had a broken arm and two broken legs for certain. She could tell by the way they were twisted. He was bleeding from a head wound, and from the raspy sound of his breaths, she guessed that he probably had some sort of internal injury as well. "I… I am not sure there is anything I can do…" she whispered softly.

"I'm dying…," the man coughed. "I… don't want to be alone."

Illitha's expression softened further. She regarded him silently for a moment, and then reached out and took his hand, settling beside him. She wouldn't let him die alone and scared. Whatever he might have done or intended to do, no one deserved that. He closed his eyes and squeezed her hand with almost painful intensity.

"Thank… you…" he gasped.

"Just lie still," she said softly. "I am here."

She held the man's hand and listened to the howling of the wind outside, watching the rise and fall of his chest, since there was nothing else she could do for him. She simply sat there at his side, offering what little comfort she could while his life ebbed away. When he exhaled for the last time, the enormity of what she had just witnessed was a little overwhelming. Illitha had killed the batarians just a few weeks prior, but she'd never before watched someone's life slowly slip away before her eyes. It was a horrible thing to see, and she felt terribly sorry that she hadn't been able to do something… _anything_… to at least alleviate his pain while he died.

She laid his hand gently atop his chest, covered her face with her hands, and sobbed.

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who is reading my story. The numbers each week are more than I could have hoped for when I started writing. Also, a special thanks to thedeadflag and YurigirlzCrush for the consistently glowing reviews. They are a huge boost to my confidence. And thank you to ShadowBlazer and to the many people who messaged about the pace of the story being a bit slow. I am always just as eager to hear criticisms as compliments. The most important part of any story (to me) is establishing the characters and building the relationships between them, but I do recognize that the overall plot has been moving a bit slow as a result. I believe the pacing will improve after the next few chapters finish up a few last things and the timelines finally converge (hope that wasn't too spoilery, but I imagine it's been obvious that's where this has been heading).**

**In any case, thank you all for reading, following/favoriting, commenting and otherwise paying attention to my story. This has been a ton of fun to write, and hopefully it's fun to read too.**


	15. Chapter 15: Investigation

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Fifteen: Investigation

.

**Scott, Capital of Terra Nova, Now…**

Zaeed leaned out from the cover of a doorway, quickly settling the targeting sight of his mattock on the barely-visible shoulder of a Cerberus trooper, which protruded from a second door at the end of the hall. His finger tightened on the trigger and the explosive sound of the rifle shot rang out, echoing up and down the hallway in a deafening cacophony. His aim was true, however, and the force of the bullet impacting with the soldier's armor caused him to stagger forward, exposing him to direct fire. The mercenary grunted in satisfaction and squeezed the trigger three more times, putting all three shots into the back of the enemy's helmet. The soldier crumpled lifelessly to the ground.

"Clear," he called out, and then stepped out into the hallway.

He led the way down the corridor, which was illuminated by portable lighting units that Cerberus had apparently brought with them. They were set up at both ends of every corridor. He paused at each doorway they passed to quickly lean inside, scanning the rooms intently for any sign of threats. Behind him was his salarian employer, uninjured after dealing with the second mech and its pilot, and the surviving vorcha brought up the rear, lugging along not only the fuel tank for his flamethrower, but the heavy bulk of their portable generator as well. For such a wiry frame, the vorcha had incredible endurance, Zaeed grudgingly admitted to himself.

The resistance they encountered inside the complex was sparse. The trio had gunned down a handful of Cerberus soldiers outside with ease, thanks to the fact that after Salik had hacked the Cerberus mech, he had killed the pilot and hijacked the vehicle. Cerberus's ground troops weren't equipped to deal with the massive machine. Unfortunately, they'd had to abandon the huge robotic vehicle outside, since it was too large to fit into the building. There had been a few stray soldiers lurking inside like the one Zaeed had just killed, but no other impediments to their progress.

Zaeed turned a corner in the hallway, and spotted a plaque over a door on his left that said 'Operations'. He noted that the door was pried open far enough for a human in armor to pass through, as many of the other doors in the complex had been. An extremely faint light shone from within. He half-turned so that he could see his employer, and nodded toward the door.

"Is this it?" he whispered.

"Exceedingly likely," the salarian whispered back. "Hold position here. Any hostile forces located within will be easy for me to neutralize." Salik activated his omni-tool, and his form shimmered and faded from view beneath the concealment of his tactical cloak.

Zaeed moved close to the wall, crouched, and kept his gun trained on the far end of the hall. His employer seemed more than capable of fending for himself, so he opted to watch for any sign of Cerberus reinforcements. Two resounding shots rang out from the Operations room, and just after the second shot, a Cerberus trooper rounded the corner ahead of him, rifle ready.

The sound of gunfire rang through the corridor as both sides opened fire simultaneously. Zaeed's shots were aimed for the Cerberus trooper's knees, while the enemy fired directly at the vorcha. The vorcha pitched over, and a resounding clang echoed down the hall when his fuel tank hit the floor. The armored soldier hit the floor face-first, his knees shredded by Zaeed's precision fire. Zaeed hurried forward and kicked the rifle away from the Cerberus trooper's hand, forcing him over onto his back. It was time to get the answers he was after.

"Answer my questions, and I'll give you some medigel for your knees," Zaeed hissed. "You might never walk again, but at least you'll keep your legs."

The Cerberus goon merely grunted in pain. The sound was oddly hollow coming from within the helmet. Zaeed crouched over him, pressing the barrel of his rifle against the man's neck.

"Where is your base of operations?" he demanded. "Where is the Illusive Man hiding?"

The only answer was another pain-filled growl. The soldier writhed on the floor.

"Answer my goddamn question, or so help me-"

He never got to finish his threat. There was a sudden explosion and a blinding flash. The next thing Zaeed knew, he was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling above, which was blurry and filled with double images whenever he moved his eyes. Still a little stunned, he struggled to turn over so that he could get to his feet. Even after he managed to do so, he had to brace himself against the wall to avoid falling over.

"Are you injured?" the nasal voice of his employer asked.

"I'm fine," Zaeed muttered, regarding the salarian for a moment before turning toward the fallen Cerberus goon once again. However, much to his shock, the man's head was mostly missing. There was just a huge hole in the front of his skull, and the corridor around the body was spattered with blood and chunks of bone.

"Ocular flashbang," Salik said matter-of-factly. "Common among STG agents as emergency measure to prevent torture during interrogation. Never before heard of human organizations using such a technique. Effective. Difficult to detect and disarm."

"What idiot gave them that idea?" Zaeed wondered aloud.

"Cerberus technology is impressive. Tremendous leap forward in just about every area. Apparently the organization has been striving for improvements in all areas, including emergency suicide technology," Salik commented. "Unclear as to what role Cerberus will play in this war."

"Did you find what you needed?" Zaeed changed the subject, glancing at the door to Operations.

"Indeed. Mainframe is located within. Fortunately, Cerberus brought a portable generator to restore power to the computers for their search," Salik disappeared through the door into the darkness of the room beyond.

"Why is that fortunate? I thought we brought-" Zaeed trailed off when he glanced at the vorcha, who was standing nearby, and spotted the generator they'd brought on the floor behind it. The generator had several holes in it.

"Soldier shoot generator," the vorcha growled. "And Greck!"

"Shame he didn't have better aim," Zaeed muttered.

"Warning you, Human!" the Vorcha snarled. "I break you!"

Zaeed ignored him, following their employer into the Operations center of the facility. Salik was seated at a terminal. The orange glow of the holographic keyboard and display was the sole source of light in the chamber. In the dim illumination, he could barely make out the shape of two bodies on the floor, each apparently shot in the head. He crouched beside one, liberating a few thermal clips from the corpse before moving back to the door, keeping watch on the corridor outside.

Minutes stretched on into what seemed like an eternity while the salarian worked. Zaeed never strayed from his position by the doors, but there were no further signs of Cerberus activity, leading him to the conclusion that they'd dealt with the entire force stationed in the facility. Only when the room suddenly went dark did his attention shift back to his employer. He couldn't see anything in the sudden darkness, but he could hear the salarian moving.

"Find what we need?"

"Indeed," Salik responded. "Take point position. Lead the way out. Vorcha, you are rear guard."

Zaeed nodded and slid through the door, retracing the route they'd taken into the complex rather than wandering around in hopes of finding a more direct exit. As they walked, he addressed his employer, hoping to get an idea of the next step in their mission.

"Is the site what you thought it was?"

"Affirmative. Prothean ruins, unearthed in a mountainside about sixteen kilometers south-southwest. Cerberus seems to have already accessed this information. The encryption on it was broken. However, managed to hack through other levels of encryption to determine additional information about the site. Company's survey team seems to have found a data archive within, similar to those uncovered on several other worlds, including Mars in the Sol system."

"A data archive," Zaeed repeated, nodding. "Makes sense. A prize like that would be worth seizing, especially for a greedy bastard like the Illusive Man."

"Worth seizing for any organization dedicated to uncovering further information gathered by Protheans on the Reaper threat," Salik agreed. "Logical to assume that any group with awareness of the site would mobilize assets to gain access, even if only briefly."

Zaeed said nothing, but he was starting to understand what Salik was doing on Terra Nova. He had mentioned intercepted transmissions referring to the site. The salarian government had probably sent him to infiltrate the ruins and copy whatever data he could. It explained why Salik was so well-equipped and well-connected. He had to be STG. Zaeed didn't mind. It wasn't like the Salarian Union was preparing to attack Terra Nova or anything. Although he _did_ find it peculiar that an STG operative would still be committed to completing this mission, given the arrival of the Reapers. He would have thought that there were more important matters to attend to now.

When Zaeed reached the exit, he paused in the doorway, intently scanning the courtyard outside, where Salik's hijacked Atlas still stood with its canopy gaping open. He saw no signs of danger, but all his instincts told him that there was something out there, waiting. He trusted his instincts, holding up a hand to signal those behind him to stop. Then he stepped outside, quickly moving toward a stack of crates a few meters from the door to take cover. He hadn't even crossed that short distance before a voice rang out.

"Stop where you are!"

Not about to trust that Cerberus wouldn't just shoot him, he dove and rolled behind the crate, and only then did he risk a quick peek toward the source of the voice. To his surprise, it wasn't Cerberus that was entrenched near the south gate, aiming rifles at him from behind cover. Instead, he caught sight of Alliance uniforms.

"Alliance?" he called out.

"Affirmative. Throw down your weapon and come out where we can see you."

"Alright," Zaeed nodded, shifting his grip on his weapon to the barrel and holding it up where they could see it. "I'm not the enemy, guys. I'm coming out."

He glanced toward the doorway, where Salik was standing. The salarian nodded silently, so Zaeed stepped out from behind cover. One of the Alliance soldiers stepped out of cover as well while the rest of the unit covered him, and he hurried forward to relieve Zaeed of his rifle and hand cannon. Salik stepped into view as well, followed by the vorcha, but the salarian didn't seem so eager to hand over his weapons.

"Captain Golash Salik, STG," he announced, confirming Zaeed's suspicions. "These two are here under my command. As an allied operative, I formally request permission to retain my sidearms, and seek a meeting with your commanding officer to pool information regarding Reaper positions and capabilities."

Several more Alliance soldiers left cover and hurried forward, quickly relieving the vorcha of his flamethrower. The action earned a growl of irritation in the process, but no resistance. One human, who Zaeed noted by his insignia as the ranking officer, stopped before Salik and offered a hand.

"Good to meet you, Captain. I am First Lieutenant Anthony Baker of the 117," he introduced himself. "Our orders are to eliminate roving hostiles and escort friendlies to the nearest F.O.B.. If you'd be willing to accompany us back to base, I see no problem with allowing you to keep your weapons, and you can meet with the commanding officers there."

"Excellent," Salik nodded as he shook the human's hand. He nodded toward the Cerberus mech. "Cerberus troops are present planetside and engaged in activities detrimental to colony security. Will apprise your captain of this development, but considered it important for teams such as yours to be aware of the danger. Not every human is an ally anymore."

"If that's the case, we can't leave enemy tech intact for them to reclaim," the First Lieutenant turned to his soldiers. "Jackson, Hammond, place some demo charges in that thing's cockpit and deal with it. The rest of you, we move out in ninety seconds!"

While the Alliance soldiers hustled around, securing the exits, placing charges in the Atlas and the like, Zaeed sidled up to his employer.

"So we're going to pitch in and help the Alliance now? What about Cerberus and the Prothean Ruins?"

"Attempting to force our way past an entrenched Alliance patrol is risky and inefficient," Salik murmured. "Imperative that we reach the dig site and prevent Cerberus from completing their goals while simultaneously completing our own. Will speak to the commanding officer at the Alliance Forward Operations Base and trade Reaper intel in exchange for permission to pursue our goals. Irritating delay, but only viable course of action short of opening fire on colony defenders."

"You're assuming the Alliance will welcome foreign agents wandering the colony without supervision," Zaeed muttered. "In my experience, they aren't so trusting."

"Have an alternative plan should primary course of action fail us," Salik whispered. "Prefer to attempt diplomacy before resorting to drastic action."

"You're in charge here," Zaeed shrugged. "Let's just hope the delay doesn't cost us the chance to stop Cerberus."

"Indeed," Salik muttered, his gaze abstracted.

* * *

**The Citadel, Thirteen days earlier…**

Zaeed looked over the array of equipment spread out on the bed of his hotel room, making certain that everything he needed was ready for his departure at the end of the week. He was eagerly looking forward to the journey ahead and the chance to question some of the Illusive Man's goons. He tuned out the sound of the Alliance News Network playing on the vid screen and went down the list compiled on the datapad in his hand.

_Mattock rifle, extended barrel and piercing mods, Carnifex hand cannon, thirty incendiary grenades, ten frag grenades, ten anti-personnel mines, field rations, medigel, concussive burst emitter, spare ammunition block, maglock upgrade for my boots,_ he recounted the items on the list as he scanned it. _Looks like I have everything covered_.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, reaching for the glass of whiskey he'd poured for himself, critically eyeing his armor, which was spread across the floor in a neatly-arranged formation. The new hole in the shoulder had been patched, and the trusty protective gear was ready for another tour of service. Absently, his hand moved to his shoulder, where the sniper's bullet had ripped through him the day prior. Already the wound was well on its way to healing, thanks to the medigel. It was only slightly uncomfortable when he used his arm to lift or push on something.

Not for the first time, the mercenary's thoughts turned to retirement. He couldn't imagine what he would do with himself when he decided to put down his rifle and try to live a life of peace. The idea just didn't sit well with him. It was why he allowed himself to be dragged into another job every time one ended. He was only suited to conflict. Maybe, if he found something appealing to do with the rest of his life, he'd be able to seriously consider it one day. But for now, he had the Illusive Man to occupy his time. Just thinking about the pompous, xenophobic bastard was enough to make Zaeed's jaw clench.

He drained his whiskey in a gulp and set the glass aside, turning his attention to the vid screen, where footage of a batarian politician was being replayed. The speaker was talking about the favoritism showed by the Council to a race that was clearly willing to sacrifice anything for its own advancement. Zaeed snorted at the assertion. Humanity had certainly come to a position of prominence in the galaxy, but he knew from his talks with Shepard that the majority of it was the result of circumstance, rather than calculated planning.

At the thought of Shepard, the mercenary scowled. He had never met anyone quite like the commander. She was an incredible woman, and one of the few Alliance soldiers Zaeed had ever met that seemed to have a mind of her own and the will to follow it. He had come to respect her in the time spent together, chasing the Collectors. That respect had only soured slightly when Shepard had insisted on saving the refinery workers on Zorya, giving Vido the chance to escape.

Zaeed had been furious at first when his old partner soared away from the refinery. He had been ready to come to blows with Shepard. However, as the commander had railed at him over his willingness to sacrifice innocent lives over a petty quest for revenge, his anger had subsided to grudging respect. At least the woman had been standing up for her beliefs.

It wasn't until Shepard's arrest six months before and the few details surrounding the destruction of the Alpha Relay that Zaeed started to view the woman as a bit of a hypocrite. He had heard the official statement she made regarding the incident, but he knew a bit of her background. Her family had died on Mindoir when she was a teenager. She'd expressed her resentment of batarians on more than one occasion, and had seemed to take great pleasure in killing the batarian members of the Blue Suns that crossed their path during their pursuit of the Collectors. She'd even stabbed one of them in the back on Omega… an act that wasn't in keeping with her usual moral outlook.

Zaeed was of the opinion that she had destroyed the Alpha Relay to stop the Reapers as she claimed, but he believed that she had viewed the deaths of the Batarians in the system as a bonus, not a sacrifice. He might have been wrong, but knowing her dislike for the race, it made sense to him. And it really irked him that she would sacrifice innocents in pursuit of _her_ cause, but berate him when he tried to do the same for his.

Perhaps he was reading too much into it. Perhaps he was faulting an otherwise good woman for a very understandable prejudice against batarians. But he couldn't seem to resolve his conflicted emotions about the commander. He respected her, yet resented her. He sighed and stood up, deactivating the vid monitor.

The ping of his omni-tool's communications alert filled the silence. He activated the channel.

"Zaeed here."

"_Massani_," a female voice greeted him. "_It's Esseria. You still looking for work opposing Cerberus?_"

He knew Esseria as an asari contract broker that had passed him several jobs in the past. While he had just accepted a job, he was certainly willing to hear about others. He nodded slowly. "What have you got?"

"_Cerberus has hit Omega and ousted Aria T'Loak from the station,_" the asari informed him. "_Aria is working to bring the various merc groups in the Terminus under her banner, and is also hiring any independent merc she can find to augment her forces. You interested?_"

"She's uniting the mercenaries in the Terminus? Including the Blue Suns I assume?"

"_As far as I know, yes,_" Esseria answered him.

"Not interested. I have a history with the Suns. Me and them in the same place is more likely to end in gunfire than cooperation," Zaeed informed her. "Even if the target is Cerberus."

"_I see. Sorry to hear it,_" the asari responded. "_In that case, I'll contact you if I hear anything else_."

"Do that," Zaeed urged before disengaging the channel.

He shook his head, wondering just what the Illusive Man was up to. Seizing control of a heavily-populated and well-known station was an unusually bold move for Cerberus. They'd typically kept their actions as clandestine as possible, since they were classified as traitors to the Council government. What was next? Invading Eden Prime? He snorted at the thought and headed for the whiskey bottle to refill his glass.

_Too bad Shepard is still under arrest_, he reflected. _She would have been all too eager to oppose Cerberus after she told the Illusive Man to go to hell on the Collector base. Maybe she'll find a way to get back into the game. Might be nice to work with her again…_

* * *

**Terra Nova, Now…**

Neela watched gleefully as the ground and the dusk skyline swirled around her with such speed that it almost became a blur of purple, orange and green. She felt delightfully giddy, both from the thrill of being at the controls of a fighter craft, and from the disorienting effects of the aerial acrobatics. She leveled the craft out, swooping low over a vast stretch of forest, grinning at the freedom she felt. She knew she was supposed to be scanning for some sign of civilization, but how could her friends honestly expect her _not_ to indulge herself in the freedom of performing rolls and loops in the air, flying around inverted, and similarly testing the bounds of her ability to control the craft?

For the moment, however brief, her mind was free of the fear and anxiety that had been plaguing her ever since the _Sileya_ came under attack. In the last several hours, she had lost more than anyone on the ship realized. Not only was her home aboard the ship gone, taking with it the sense of freedom she'd found in having an environment where she could embrace life without a suit, but their descent to Terra Nova had most likely robbed her of the chance to be present when her people retook their home world… or died in the process. Ever since she'd realized they were going to be trapped on Terra Nova, she'd been trying hard not to imagine herself as the last surviving quarian in the universe. However, it was not until she was alone in the cockpit of the Armanis Fighter, that she was entirely successful in doing so.

She turned the fighter skyward, soaring up toward the clouds in a nearly-vertical incline, and then she pulled back on the controls almost completely, cutting the throttle in doing so. There was an instant where the vessel slowed and then tilted inexorably backward, flipping nose-down, at which point she pushed forward, rocketing the vessel toward the trees below with a wild cheer. She pulled out of the dive at the last possible moment, skimming over the treetops, sending birds scattering in all directions in her wake.

Her good humor came to an abrupt end, however, when she spotted a plume of smoke rising from the landscape in front of her, just barely visible against the darkening sky beyond the edge of the tree line ahead. She turned the vessel in that direction, keeping an eye on the laser mapping system for signs of enemy aircraft. She was sure that the oculus fighter drones would be flying around on the planet like they were in space. If the Alliance had fighters on this planet, the Reapers would definitely deploy their own version to combat them.

When she was close to the source of the smoke, she circled around, opting to come at the site from over open land, so that she could see any potential dangers coming. Swooping down from above the trees seemed like a foolish risk, in case there was some form of Reaper artillery situated down there. She soared away from the trees and over open grassland, then banked and approached from the opposite side.

The source of the smoke was a huge building that could easily have accommodated a hundred families. It was a sprawling, multi-level affair with a very interesting shape, and as she soared over for the first time and flipped the craft upside down for a better view, she could make out a massive pool behind the structure, surrounded by sheltered tables and poolside chairs.

_Looks like a vacation resort_, she thought. However, just as she was righting the craft, she spotted what looked like a humanoid body floating near the edge of the pool. Swallowing heavily, she shook her head. _Keelah. What a horrible end to a family vacation…_

She was turning to make one more pass, looking for any signs of survivors, when a huge, long-necked creature rose out of the center of the burning building, beating its wings frantically to gain altitude. For a moment, Neela just stared, trying to make sense of the fusion of technology and flesh that she saw in the monstrosity. The idea that a creature with wings would actually be dangerous to her vessel never even occurred to her.

A burst of red light streaked out of the creature's head and slammed into her fighter's barriers, drawing a startled gasp out of her and filling the cockpit with the sound of warning alarms. She quickly rolled to the side and engaged the lateral thrusters to take her out of the path of the follow-up shots, and was glad she did, as several more crimson projectiles sailed past her in rapid succession. She banked hard and accelerated to full throttle, hoping to outrun the creature. If it relied on wings, it certainly couldn't be very fast.

Another volley of crimson blasts rocketed past her, and she quickly banked in the air, heading in a new direction. The creature was falling behind. However, just when the satisfaction of eluding her pursuer started to fill her, Neela suddenly realized that she couldn't just run away. If the monster lost her and started looking for other targets, it might stumble on Selura, Illitha and Aida. They would stand no chance against an enemy so large and well-armed. She pulled back on the controls to slow down, deciding that for the sake of her friends, she had to be a decoy for as long as possible. She knew she couldn't evade the thing forever, but if she could keep it occupied with chasing her for long enough, maybe she could lead it to an Alliance outpost somewhere that would have defenses capable of dealing with it.

For the second time in the day, Neela found herself overwhelmed with gratitude to the designers of the prototype for the maneuverability they'd achieved in their work. In any other fighter in the galaxy, she knew she would have been shot down at least a half-dozen times in as many minutes. In her current craft, however, she was able to avoid shot after shot with sudden jumps, dives, rolls, lurches to the sides, and similar maneuvers. She wondered if the Reaper creature was intelligent. She hoped so, because if it was, she was sure it had to be livid by now over its repeated failure to hit her.

However, her luck could only hold for so long. She was just banking to make another turn and lead it off in a new direction when one of its shots struck her barriers, which collapsed under the force of the blow. When the warning that her barriers were down came up on her screen, her eyes widened. She performed a quick dive, skimming over the grasslands, and her maneuvers became more frantic as she sought to avoid any follow-up fire. She almost sobbed in relief when an incoming signal flooded the cockpit through the speakers.

"_Unidentified vessel, this is…_" the transmission faded into digital distortion briefly before returning, "_…re inbound. Hold your course._"

Two sleek fighter craft soared past her in the opposite direction, and Neela veered off to her right, turning her vessel so she could get a look at what was going on. As she watched in satisfaction, the two fighters closed in on the winged monster, peppering it with a volley of fire that caused the creature to veer off. She cheered as the allied vessels pursued and shot the monster down, then circled and strafed its corpse with another round of fire to be sure it was dead.

The transmission resumed, but was only static at first, eventually clearing into something intelligible, if a little distorted. "_...urn with our escort and accompany us to F.O.B Alpha-5, acknowledge. I repeat: Unidentified vessel, turn with our escort and accompany us to F.O.B. Alpha-5. Acknowledge._"

"This is Neela'Xara nar Ganaza, pilot of the asari cargo vessel _Sileya_," Neela responded, hoping that they were reading her. "Thanks for your help, guys, but I can't go with you. My friends are on foot, heading north in search of a settlement or shelter. I have to get back to them."

"_Negative,_" came the distorted reply. "_You _must_ accompany us to F.O.B. Alpha-5. Our orders are to guide all friendly craft to the F.O.B. and shoot down any hostiles or non-compliant vessels. Acknowledge._"

Neela frowned. She could understand the Alliance military's caution given the situation. Any craft that refused to comply with their instructions could have been some sort of Reaper vessel. But she couldn't abandon her friends in the wilderness. She fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat. She didn't have any choice, but that didn't make it any easier to agree.

"Acknowledged," she said at last. "Turning to join your escort. What about my friends?"

"_Search and rescue teams are..._" the transmission broke off briefly, "_…provide coordinates to our commanding officer for rescue. ETA to base, seven minutes, present speed._"

Neela gave a frustrated sigh as the two Alliance vessels moved in to flank her. She hadn't caught some of their transmission, and just wanted to know how her friends were going to be guided to safety. Perhaps after she spoke to the commanding officer at the F.O.B., whatever that was, she could get permission to go back and find them. Still, though she had no personal gripe against humans, their reputation in the galaxy was less-than-ideal. While she flew toward their destination, she started searching through the installed security software, intent on figuring out how to reengage the system lockout. She wasn't going to let the humans steal Selura's prototype fighter. She would not set foot outside the vessel without first putting the systems into lockdown.

* * *

**Port Hanshan, Noveria, Thirteen days earlier…**

"Hello?" a hand waved in front of Neela's face, startling her out of her thoughts.

Neela smiled faintly and shook her head, focusing once again on the lovely face of her companion, who was seated beside her on the sofa in the crew quarters. Selura's eye was surrounded by a dark bruise, and a smaller one discolored her jaw, but Neela still thought she looked beautiful. The asari smiled at her, but there was a hint of concern visible in her eyes, and Neela sighed.

"Sorry," she murmured. "I didn't mean to drift off. Just worried about Illitha. What were you saying?"

"I know you are worried," Selura smiled sadly. "I am too. And poor Aida," she trailed off, her eyes drifting toward the door to the sleeping quarters.

Neela nodded, following her gaze. When Prathus returned to the ship and informed them of the situation, they had all been stunned. Aida, however, had completely broken down, insisting tearfully that they had to go rent a shuttle and start searching the planet for signs of their friend. They all knew that it was impossible to find Illitha with a whole planet to search and no starting point to work from, but Neela shared Aida's concern. Sitting and doing nothing while Illitha was missing was the hardest thing she'd ever done. She was restless and distracted. She felt the need to do _something_.

"Illitha will be okay," Neela said, trying to sound like she believed it. The quarian knew that Aida would be crushed if Illitha was not found, or if she wasn't alive when they did find her.

"Of course she will," Selura smiled, sounding much more confident. "She is resourceful, intelligent, and a lot stronger than I thought when I first met her. She will find a way to escape or to get a signal out to us."

"I hope so," Neela trailed off, brooding over the possible fate of her friend.

"Come on," Selura said suddenly, moving to get off of the sofa, groaning as she did so.

"You're supposed to be relaxing," Neela pointed out. "Where are we going?"

"You are restless. I can tell," Selura told her, extending a hand. "We are going to walk around the ship a bit. We may be confined to the ship for the rest of the day, but moving around might help us both."

Neela nodded slowly and took the asari's hand, standing with her help. Prathus had ordered them all to stay aboard the ship, claiming that it was too risky after the events of the day to have anyone wandering around, though he _did_ present Neela with the news that the captain had secured her a clearance pass to go ashore. However, in light of Illitha's disappearance, the right to go ashore didn't seem as exciting as it would have been otherwise. And with Aida shut away in her bunk, Neela wouldn't have left the ship even if she _wasn't_ constrained by Prathus's orders. She was worried about the medic.

"We will stay on this deck," Selura promised, glancing toward the sleeping quarters. "But you are fidgeting and my whole body is stiffening up. Moving around is the best thing for us right now."

Neela nodded again, squeezing the asari's hand gratefully. With nothing to do but dwell on the welfare of her friend, a little distraction was the best she could hope for, and walking around a bit might help. The two left the crew quarters behind, walking hand-in-hand along the corridor.

"What sort of thing do you hope to bring home from your pilgrimage?" Selura asked her. "You said that it should be something that benefits the Flotilla, but I imagine you had something specific in mind?"

"Not really," Neela shook her head. "But I want it to be something truly impressive. I've never heard of a captain rejecting a gift before since they're usually happy to have an addition to their crew, but I want my presentation to be something that will earn me the right to pick any position on the ship. I really want to be in the pilot's seat. Either on the bridge or in a fighter."

Selura's smile was one of clear excitement… almost glee. Neela, glancing at her, wondered at the meaning behind it. However, just as she was about to ask the asari why she was smiling like that, the asari's expression sobered.

"You know, I know it has only been a short while that I have known all of you, but I am really going to miss you all when we reach Thessia," Selura admitted sadly. "Especially you."

Neela regarded the scientist with surprise. While she had been feeling much the same, she wasn't really sure if Selura's interest in her was a result of intellectual curiosity or friendship. She had assumed it was a mixture of both. To hear Selura say those words made her feel almost giddy. But behind her pleasure was an undercurrent of sorrow. She was going to be leaving the crew when they reached Terra Nova, and she hadn't yet told anyone but the captain. She hadn't been able to find the right words. She stopped, gently pulling her friend to a stop as well.

"Neela?" Selura turned to look at her quizzically.

"Selura, I…," she trailed off, trying to find the right words.

"I embarrassed you," Selura guessed. "I am sorry. Just… forget I said anything." A deep tint of purple spread through her cheeks, and she shifted her weight uncomfortably, obviously embarrassed.

"No! Keelah, _no_," Neela quickly assured her. "I… I've been feeling the same, actually. But… There's something I haven't told you…," she trailed off again, but took a breath and forged ahead. "Hearing you say you'll miss me makes this so much harder," she admitted.

"Just say it."

Selura reached out and took hold of Neela's other hand, staring at her visor with an intensity that suggested she could see right through it. The quarian felt herself blushing, and it was tearing her apart to have to say what she was about to say. She wasn't sure why. As Selura had said, they only knew each other for such a short span of time. There was just something about her…

"I'm leaving the crew when we reach Terra Nova and going back to my people," Neela blurted out.

Selura stared at her in silence, obviously dumbfounded by the statement. Neela swallowed and pressed ahead, trying to pick her words carefully so that she wouldn't divulge details about the coming war with the Geth.

"There are things happening at home," she said slowly. "My people need me to be there."

"But…" Selura lowered her eyes, fixing her gaze upon their joined hands. Neela could tell she was upset. "What about your pilgrimage? What about your presentation gift and all of that?"

"I don't know," Neela admitted. "This is a new situation for all of us. I'm not sure what it will mean to go back early. But it has to be done."

"I never expected to have to say goodbye quite so soon," Selura said softly. "And almost a whole week of the time we could have spent together will be lost for this stupid company briefing I have to go through."

"Selura," Neela tightened her grip on the asari's hands, suddenly nervous. "I want to keep in touch with you, even after we're both back with our people. I'll give you my omni's ID cipher, and you and I can talk whenever we have time-"

"Goddess!" Selura suddenly cried. "The ID cipher! Neela, you are brilliant!"

"What?" Neela was suddenly very confused. Her confusion only built as Selura dragged her down the corridor, urging her to hurry, saying that she needed to talk to Aida. She had wanted to be sure that they would keep in touch after they parted, but it seemed that the scientist's mind had jumped to another topic. She stumbled through the crew lounge after her, and stared as Selura pounded on the soundproof dome to Aida's bunk.

Neela tapped into the bunk's intercom. She wasn't sure what was going on, but it was obviously urgent.

"Aida, open up. Selura needs to talk to you. It's important."

There was a click, and the dome rose upward, revealing Aida's tear-stained face. The asari was obviously miserable and had been crying for some time. Neela's expression softened in sympathy at the sight. Selura, however, wasted no time in coming to the point.

"You are Illitha's best friend," the scientist said without preamble, activating her omni-tool. "Give me Illitha's Omni-tool ID Cipher."

"I _tried_ contacting her!" Aida sounded angry. "Did you think I have not-?"

"No, that is not what I was thinking," Selura cut her off. "I think I have a way to find Illitha! Let me explain."

Both Neela and Aida stared at her, and Aida's expression mirrored the sudden surge of hope that Neela felt inside. They both nodded.

"An omni-tool's ID cipher is more than a way to identify an individual's omni and connect to it. It also serves as a failsafe system to prevent unauthorized contact unless the incoming signal is routed through a communication system to which the omni is connected. It controls the privacy blocks and isolates the omni from frequencies to which a channel is not open."

"We know that," Neela spoke up. "What's the point?"

"Even if Illitha's omni-tool is off, the cipher's blocks remain active! It will block out all signals that are unauthorized for contact. I can modify a scanning probe to emit signals in a dozen different frequencies over a short range! Do you have scanning probes aboard?"

Aida looked confused, but Neela was starting to get a picture of what the young scientist was thinking. She nodded.

"Yes. The captain uses them on occasion when we pass through an asteroid belt."

"Good," Selura was grinning. "If I can modify the probe to emit signals on multiple frequencies and attune those signals for omni-tool contact, I can program the probe's VI to pinpoint any point of contact and rejection from Illitha's specific cipher-"

"And use it as a scanning device to find her during a flyby in a shuttle?" Neela finished for her.

"Exactly. Without her _specific_ cipher, the calibrations would be impossible to manage because the rejections would be anonymous. If we pass an area with hundreds of people we'd get hundreds of rejections and have no way to separate them. But with her exact ID, the program will recognize that the denial comes from her omni and can track it."

"You are my hero!" Aida leapt from her bed and threw her arms around the other asari, hugging her so fiercely that Selura groaned in pain.

"Aida… Bruised ribs…" the scientist gasped.

The medic immediately released her and offered an apologetic smile, but Neela took her place, sliding an arm around the scientist to embrace her gently. Selura smiled at them both, and then waited while Aida transferred the information for Illitha's omni-tool to her.

"What do you need from us?" Neela asked excitedly.

"Neela, I will need you to show me where the scanning probes are stored, and to help me pull apart the exterior shell," she said, and then transferred her gaze to Aida. "Aida, if you could contact Prathus or your captain and tell them that we need a shuttle in about an hour?"

"An hour?" Aida repeated. "It will take so long to set this up?"

"Well… I have to program an entire set of search algorithms and ID checks… And communications tech is not exactly my specialty…"

"An hour is fine," Neela cut in. The fact that Selura would be able to create a system that would let them search for Illitha was more than enough in her view. She watched Aida, and saw the asari nod in agreement. She took the scientist's hand and gave her a gentle tug. "Come on. Let's get to the cargo bay."

Neela and Selura hurried from the room and toward the elevators, leaving Aida to contact their superiors and explain what was going on. Once the two were in the elevator, however, Selura turned to face her and activated her omni-tool.

"I will need one more thing," she said softly.

"What's that?" Neela prompted curiously.

The corner of the scientist's lips curled upward in that mischievous half-smile Neela was coming to adore. "Your ID cipher. You cannot be rid of me as easily as leaving the crew and going back to your people."

"I hoped you might feel that way," Neela laughed as she activated her omni and sent her friend the information she needed.

* * *

**Terra Nova Wilderness, Now…**

Prathus crashed through the underbrush of the forest at the greatest speed he could manage. Unfortunately, he wasn't making as much headway as he had hoped. The wooded area was filled with strange, thorny shrubs that repeatedly entangled his legs whenever he was forced to forge his way through them, and combined with carrying the admittedly minor weight of the unconscious girl over his shoulder, the exertion was causing his bad leg to ache with an intensity he hadn't felt in years.

He was fairly certain they'd lost the remaining Reaper ground troops, but the sky was almost completely dark now, and he wanted to put as much distance between the farm and their position as possible before he settled down to rest for the night.

Then he would face the added problem of convincing Candice, whenever she woke up, that they could not go back for her family. The unfortunate child was now an orphan, and he had no idea how he would convince her of the fact and prevent her from running off during the night while he tried to get some rest. He supposed he could just go to sleep, and if she ran off… so be it. But despite how much she had irritated him since he met her, and how much he disliked humans in general, the idea of letting a child run off to her death didn't sit well with him.

He cursed when his foot caught on a raised root, sending both himself and the child he carried sprawling on the ground. She stirred and whimpered when she struck the dirt, and Prathus quickly put a hand over her mouth to keep her from making any noise loud enough to attract attention. In the near-darkness, her eyes opened, and for a moment they roamed around in confusion. He wasn't sure humans could see quite as well in the dark as he did. Suddenly the girl's eyes widened and she tried to sit up, but she winced when she put pressure on her arms in the attempt and fell back with a small sob.

"Listen to me," Prathus hissed. "I'm sorry, but your parents are gone. You have to do what I say until I can get you to your people. Understand?"

He hated to be so blunt about it, but he didn't have the time or patience for delicacy. He heard her sniffle and then he could hear muffled sobs, but she didn't give any indication that she actually understood him. He glanced around in the near-darkness, but could barely see anything… the last of the daylight had faded away. He listened carefully for signs of life in the area, but could hear nothing other than the child's crying.

"I'm going to move my hand," he told her. "You have to keep quiet. We may still be in danger."

He felt her nod her head, and he slowly removed his hand from its position over her mouth. He waited a few seconds to be sure she wouldn't start screaming before he leaned back and activated his omni-tool. The faint orange light of the holographic interface illuminated enough of the area for the two to see each other.

"You hit me," Candace choked out as she cried, glaring at him. Indeed, there was a dark bruise marring the side of her face.

"Sorry," he muttered. "You were making a lot of noise and there were still Reapers nearby to hear it."

The girl merely sobbed, and Prathus looked away slowly, scanning the area around them by the dim light of the omni-tool. He needed to figure out how to keep them both warm and safe without the risk of drawing hostile attention. Eventually, his eyes settled on the trees. They had long, wide leaves that would easily cover Candice, and he supposed if he gathered a bunch, they would serve adequately as blankets for both of them. He stood up and activated his omni-blade, quickly hacking down several of them and dragging them over to where the child sat.

He did his best to ignore her sobs and heartbroken moans, and tried not to see the way she was rocking back and forth, but it was hard to be blind to such obvious misery. Eventually he closed his eyes and his shoulders slumped. He turned to face her, lowering himself awkwardly to the ground beside her and putting an arm around her small shoulders. He didn't know what to say, so he said nothing, just hoping that she drew some measure of comfort from his presence.

After a few moments of that simple contact, she suddenly turned and threw her arms around him, pressing her face against the cold exterior shell of his armor. Her wailing grew slightly in volume, prompting him to look around anxiously for any hint of danger, but he allowed her to cry. He knew that if he allowed her an outlet for her grief, she might eventually cry herself to sleep. He deactivated his omni-tool and they sat together in the darkness. She sobbed, and he patted her awkwardly on the back, whispering anything that sounded soothing that came to mind.

* * *

**Port Hanshan, Noveria, Thirteen days earlier…**

Prathus stepped off of the elevator and headed down the hall toward his hotel room, listening to the footsteps behind him. His mandibles twitched in anticipation at the sound. The arrogant human was following him again, as if he wouldn't notice that the same person had been following him all day. He was glad the human wasn't adept at shadowing a target, because the man's lack of experience was about to afford him the opportunity he wanted.

He activated his omni-tool and triggered the door to his hotel room, stepping inside once the portal shifted out of the way. However, he put a hand on the doorframe to trigger the safety sensors, preventing the door from closing right away. He quickly tapped into the hotel's security cameras while he waited, scrambling them with his omni. He couldn't leave evidence behind of what he was about to do. The scrambling would last only a few seconds, but it would be all the time he needed.

When he heard the soft beeping sounds of another omni-tool being activated and the swish of the door next door opening, he quickly rushed out of his doorway. Even with a leg that didn't work quite right, he covered the distance to the next room's entryway in seconds, and even then he didn't slow down. He barreled into the back of the human with the moustache, tackling him into his room and planting him face-down on his floor.

The human struggled, but Prathus was taller, stronger, and had more skill in hand-to-hand fighting. He slammed his fist into the back of the man's head a few times and then grabbed a handful of what little hair graced the back of the human's head, pushing his face into the floor with a resounding thud. The figure beneath him went limp momentarily, and he knew the man was stunned, so he got off of him, flipping him over and quickly searching him for weapons. To his surprise, he found none, so he settled for confiscating his opponent's omni-tool.

"Turian… scum…" the human mumbled, still a little dazed.

"Funny," Prathus scowled at the man, jerking him to a sitting position by his collar. "I was thinking pretty much the same thing about you, Human."

"I'll have port security arrest you for assault," the human was starting to speak more clearly.

"Let's call them," Prathus suggested. "You can have me arrested for assault. I'll have you arrested for kidnapping and terrorism… Cerberus Agent."

It was only a guess, but a logical one to the mind of the turian, since he knew that Cerberus wanted to eliminate the _Sileya's_ crew. He was satisfied to note the sudden uncertainty in the eyes of the balding human. He twisted his grip on the man's collar, tightening it around his neck. The man clawed at his hand, trying to loosen his grip, but he paid no mind to his enemy's effort.

"Glad I got your attention," he hissed. "Now if you tell me where my friend is, I might not torture you for too long before I kill you."

Noting that the human's face was darkening by the second due to the lack of blood flow, he loosened his grip on the collar slightly. The human gasped for air, and then quickly tried to wrench his shirt free of Prathus's grasp, simultaneously aiming a clumsy punch at his jaw. The turian blocked the incoming blow with ease and countered by punching the human squarely in the nose. Within seconds, blood was flowing profusely from the man's nostrils. Prathus stood up and dragged the human to his feet, then pivoted and threw the man bodily into the nearest wall. Both the thud of the man striking the surface and the grunt of pain it prompted were welcome sounds.

"Where is T'Zari?" Prathus demanded, stalking menacingly toward the fallen human, who was trying to get back to his feet. "I'll be happy to beat you until you tell me what I want to know," he warned. "I have all day."

"That little blue whore is dead by now," the man spat blood at him.

Both the words and the action incensed Prathus, and he quickened his pace, grabbing the human's face with one hand and driving the back of his head into the wall. He followed up with several vicious knees to the man's midsection, and when the human fell, he contented himself with repeatedly striking him in the face and ribs, depending on which one wasn't protected at any given time. His assault was brutal… a result of grief, anger, and a long-standing hatred of humankind. It wasn't long before the man's defiant curses and grunts of pain gave way to pathetic pleas for mercy and offers to tell him anything he wanted to know. Unfortunately for the human, by that time, Prathus was beyond listening. He was intent on killing this fellow and making it as painful as possible.

His sense of what he was doing was lost in a haze of red. He knew only the desire to strike and strike and strike again. He would definitely have beaten the man to death had it not been for the sudden beep of his omni-tool. The sound jarred him out of his rage, and he sat back with a gasp, staring first at his blood-covered hands, and then at the swollen, bruised and lacerated face of the human, who was only barely clinging to consciousness.

He stood up and staggered away from his victim, trying to catch his breath and stop his limbs from trembling. He was a trained soldier. He'd never lost himself in such a mindless rage before, and it had shaken him to his core. He absently wondered if this was what krogan experienced during blood rage. His omni beeped a second time, further focusing his thoughts. He activated it, trying to keep his voice steady.

"What is it? I'm busy," he growled.

"_Whatever you are doing can wait,_" Aida's voice answered him. "_Selura has a way to track Illitha. We need a shuttle as soon as you can get one. She will be done building the tracking system within the hour._"

Prathus turned to look over his shoulder at the human, who was flailing senselessly on the floor, unable even to lift his head. He scowled at his victim, wondering if what he'd said about Illitha was true or just a taunt. He never gave the man a chance to tell him. Perhaps it was time to ask, if he hadn't addled the human's wits…

"Understood, Dalinas. I'll make the arrangements. That scientist may earn my affection yet," he muttered. "Prathus out," he deactivated the channel.

Limping back over to the fallen human, he grabbed his collar and jerked him upright, lightly slapping him a couple times to try to clear his head.

"Where is Cerberus's facility on Noveria?" he demanded. "Where did they take T'Zari?"

"Peak Eighty-Three," the man mumbled. "F-Fighter base… But I told them to throw her out of the shuttle halfway there."

"_You_ told them…" Prathus repeated, and his hand clenched angrily. Illitha had been missing for the majority of a day. She would have been thrown out of the shuttle hours ago if the man was telling the truth…

_Then she's… she's…_ Prathus struggled to adjust to the knowledge that Illitha might be dead. His favorite member of the crew might be dead on a Noverian mountainside…

With a roar of rage, he resumed his assault upon his victim, pummeling the prone form until he was too tired to lift his arms anymore… long past the point where the human was alive to feel it. When he finally stopped, he couldn't even recognize the bloody mess lying beneath him, save as a basically humanoid shape. He swallowed and stumbled away into the adjacent bathroom, where he climbed into the shower to wash the blood off of his flesh and his armor. He was heartsick. Despite all of his attempts to distance himself from his crewmates, Illitha had obviously meant more to him than he ever realized. He didn't feel like he'd lost a co-worker. He felt like he'd lost a good friend.

_This won't go over well with the rest of the crew,_ he thought miserably. _Maybe I should just let them search. T'Zari is more resourceful than she gives herself credit for. There could be a chance… Just maybe…_

Seizing the slim hope that Illitha might have found a way to stay alive, he stepped out of the shower. He never even bothered to dry off himself or his armor. There were more urgent things to do. He needed to rent a shuttle. Either they would be bringing home Illitha, or they'd be bringing home her body. And he decided that if it was the latter, he would visit her parents personally to present her remains and offer his condolences. It was the least he could do… for a friend.

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: Once again I thank you all for reading, favoriting, commenting, following and otherwise showing interest in my story. Not a lot else to say about this particular Chapter, save that I hope you all find it interesting enough that it's not a chore to read. Next Chapter, however... Well, I'll have lots to say about that one! :)**


	16. Chapter 16: Respite

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Sixteen: Respite

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**Terra Nova Wilderness, Now…**

Illitha kicked the side of the escape pod in frustration, resisting the urge to start shouting at the vehicle. They'd been at their work for only a few minutes before the first thing had gone wrong, and since then, they'd suffered setback after setback. While they had only been working for a relatively short span of time, they'd already managed to short out three power relays they were trying to disconnect, and then she dropped one of the mass effect field emitters into the depths of the pod, which meant she would have to dismantle half of a thruster assembly if she wanted to get it. Now, due to bad lighting despite Aida's best attempts to keep her search light on Illitha's work, she'd severed a connection to the field stabilizer instead of the monitoring processor, which meant she would have to hunt down an undamaged coupling to replace it.

Aida put a hand on her shoulder. While Illitha drew some amount of calm from her friend's gesture, she was still frustrated beyond measure. She had expected to have the needed tech salvaged in its entirety by now, and they hadn't accomplished even a quarter of that task. She was starting to think that they were going to have to sleep next to the escape pod after all, and just hope that the Reapers didn't come back.

Selura took her place in front of the access port, shining her own omni-tool's search light into the breach to see what had gone wrong. After a moment of inspection, she turned toward Illitha with an expression of sympathy and understanding.

"Not a huge setback," the scientist said softly. "I think I can salvage a similar coupling from my side."

Illitha managed a small smile. The scientist was working in a similar access port on the far side of the pod, doing her work one-handed and with even worse lighting, since she was simultaneously using her omni-tool for lighting _and_ as a tool. She wasn't very productive given the circumstances, but Illitha was happy for the help nonetheless.

"This is… I am…" Illitha trailed off, rubbing her eyes in frustration. "We will be at this all night," she predicted gloomily.

"Maybe we should just settle in," Aida suggested. "I can keep watch while you two get some sleep. In the morning you can both get back to work with better light."

Illitha shook her head. "It took too long to get dark. I am guessing the nights on this planet are at least twelve hours long."

"Just take a deep breath, let yourself calm down, and then get back at it," Selura suggested. "I share the urge to hit this stupid pod. Unfortunately, it cannot feel the punishment."

"I know," Illitha sighed. "But it made me feel a little better to kick it." She blamed her father for gaining satisfaction from things like that…

"Do you think Neela found a settlement yet?" Aida changed the subject.

"I hope so," Selura answered quickly. "Maybe she can get a rescue shuttle out here."

"She has only been gone for about half an hour," Illitha said softly. "If there is a settlement so close, I will thank the Goddess for our luck."

"Me too. But-"

Aida fell silent, and Illitha caught a sound in the silence that followed. It sounded to her like the distant noise from the engine of a ground vehicle of some kind. Perhaps more than one. She exchanged glances with the others, and Selura held out her omni-tool grimly.

"Activate my incineration program please?" she prompted.

Illitha was only too happy to comply, quickly finding the requested function for the injured asari. Then she drew her pistol and glanced at Aida, who was doing the same. They were both down to their last thermal clip, which thankfully had fully cooled. But in spite of that small bit of luck, they had fifteen shots each at most. Illitha prayed that the reapers didn't use ground transport, and that there would be a human military or civilian vessel approaching.

The three asari took up positions around the escape pod to defend the Prothean stasis device, waiting anxiously to see what sort of new horror was about to befall them. Illitha hated being so pessimistic, but given the trials they'd faced so far, she wasn't expecting any good news.

The sounds came closer and closer, but given the complete absence of moonlight on the planet, Illitha couldn't spot the source of the noise. The approaching vehicle – whatever it was – was running without lights, or they would have spotted it by that time. Illitha manifested a barrier for self-defense, and saw a brief flare of blue energy around her friend as Aida did the same.

A huge shadow slowly coalesced out of the darkness, rolling steadily toward the escape pod. A moment later, Illitha could just barely make out a second, identical shape. They were massive vehicles of some kind with at least three pairs of wheels and a cockpit at the front that tapered almost to a point. She could see the vague outline of a swiveling arm of some kind on the top of the vehicle, and eventually realized that it was some sort of cannon. She closed her eyes and prayed to the Goddess for some luck. If this was an enemy vehicle, they were doomed…

The vehicles rolled to a stop, and a large section of the side plating snapped open and swung upward. Illitha held her breath, aiming her pistol toward the vague illumination that filled the breach. However, bright lights suddenly shone upon them, blinding them to whatever waited in the transport. Illitha raised a hand to shield her eyes, but still couldn't see anything behind the powerful lights. Her anxiousness gave way to tremendous relief when male voices filled the silence.

"Weapons down!" a man shouted.

"Put your weapons on the ground!" another male voice demanded on the heels of the first.

Illitha was quick to raise her hands, pressing the trigger that returned her pistol to its compact storage mode and then tossing it into the grass. Beside her, Aida did the same, and Selura lowered her omni-tool. Illitha couldn't see the figures behind the bright lights that were shining in their faces, but she couldn't imagine such a normal-sounding voice coming from the Reaper creatures she had seen earlier.

The lights tilted toward the ground once they had all put their weapons down, and Illitha realized that they were tactical lights attached to assault rifles. Without the blinding lights shining into her eyes, she could finally see the quartet of human figures in possession of the weapons spreading out and moving toward them. She glanced toward Aida, hoping her friend would take control and do the talking. She wasn't disappointed.

"Please," Aida spoke up. "Our ship was attacked in orbit. Our escape pod landed here, but our captain is in this stasis pod," she gestured toward the Prothean device, "and both of my companions are injured. We were unable to carry it away from here."

"Arms out to your sides," one of the humans ordered, though not unkindly. "We have to confiscate any weapons you may still be carrying, and then we can get your medical pod loaded into the Mako and get you all to a safe location."

Illitha sagged against the escape pod in relief. They were saved! She was only too happy to comply with the directives of the soldier that approached her, enduring his quick and efficient pat-down without comment. Aida did the same, but when a soldier approached Selura and demanded that she raise her arms, the medic was quick to speak up.

"Her right arm is severely injured. It is bound to her side in a pressure brace inside her environmental suit," Aida explained. "Please, be gentle with your search."

Selura raised her good arm, and Illitha was happy to see that the human was very careful as he probed the side of the scientist's injured arm. Even so, Selura winced at the contact he made with her shoulder. The human that had promised to get them to safety stepped forward.

"I'm Matthew Gradian, First Lieutenant, Search and Rescue Team of the 317," he introduced himself. "We kept reading intermittent distress beacon pulses and tracked them. It was smart to keep them short and spread out, rather than running an active distress beacon."

"That was Illitha's idea," Aida smiled and gestured to the engineer, who shrank from the attention when all eyes turned toward her. "She is our ship's engineer. Or was," she corrected with an audible sigh.

The human stepped closer to Illitha, and she got her first clear look at him. He was a handsome human, she supposed, with intense brown eyes, extremely short and well-groomed brown hair, and a neatly-trimmed goatee. He smiled at her in a friendly manner that belied the rigidity of his posture.

"Excellent thinking," he complimented her. "Illitha, was it?"

"Y-yes," her voice came out as little more than a whisper. "Illitha T'Zari."

"And your friends?" he glanced toward Aida and Selura.

"I am Aida Dalinas," Aida introduced herself, drawing attention away from Illitha. "And this is Selura Leneur," she gestured to the scientist.

"I'm sorry we couldn't be meeting under different circumstances," the Lieutenant nodded to each of them. "If you will follow Private McMannas," he gestured toward another of the soldiers, "he will get you loaded into the Mako. We will get your medical pod aboard the other one."

Illitha nodded and started following the soldier they'd been directed to follow, but she stopped short when Aida offered a protest.

"I want to ride with the captain," the medic insisted.

It seemed to Illitha that the Lieutenant was going to argue for a moment, but he finally just shrugged and gestured toward the second Mako. "Fine. Get aboard," he ordered.

Illitha noted that several additional humans were exiting the two vehicles. The Lieutenant raised his voice, apparently for the benefit of the human soldiers that were just getting out.

"Get that medical pod loaded aboard the equipment vehicle," he called out in a ringing voice. "The rest of you, scour that escape pod for any salvageable equipment. We move out in five."

There was a chorus of voices shouting "Yes sir!" as Illitha and Selura climbed into the lead Mako and got situated in the seats they found inside. There were several humans in civilian clothes huddled in the seats farthest toward the back, and the youngest of them, a boy approximately old enough to be beginning primary school, stared at the two asari in wonder.

The vehicles were quite large, and Illitha guessed that they could easily accommodate eight men, not counting the driver and the gunner. However, she knew it was going to be cramped once all the soldiers climbed back inside, since there were at least seven soldiers outside, and five of the interior seats were already taken by her, Selura, and the human family. Still, once she sitting in the armored transport, she finally felt safe. It seemed like she had been fearful of death for an eternity. It was hard to believe it was only a handful of hours ago that they'd first come under attack. She was hopeful that the worst was now behind them.

* * *

**Noveria, Thirteen days earlier…**

Illitha trudged wearily through the snow, keeping her arms wrapped tightly around herself and her hands tucked into her armpits. She had no idea how long she'd been struggling her way through the snow-choked valleys between the peaks, hoping to find some sign of a road, a facility, or _anything_ that might pass as shelter. She was shaking, but she had no idea if it was due to the intense cold or the turbulence of her emotions.

After she'd watched the human die in front of her, she'd spent some time regaining her composure. Then she turned to the unpleasant task of stripping the clothes from the corpse. After she'd tried to comfort the man while he died, she didn't think anyone could hold it against her that she would take what she needed to survive. She'd also braved the smashed interior of the cockpit to retrieve the pilot's coat, which was torn and soaked in blood, but mostly intact. There had been a brief moment as she put on that damaged coat when she felt a surge of hope – she discovered her omni-tool tucked into one of the pockets – but that hope was quickly dashed. Her omni-tool still had power, but the holographic interface emitters were damaged. She couldn't activate any of the functions without holographic keys or a display to look at, and she couldn't repair it without a working omni-tool to provide her with the tools she needed. So she shoved it back into the pocket and set off to find her way back to Port Hanshan.

This led to her current situation: wearing two pairs of pants, two shirts, and three coats, trying to navigate the wilderness of Noveria. Though she tried to forget, her mind stubbornly dwelt upon the fact that she was more likely to freeze or fall into a chasm than to actually get back to the port in one piece. It was all that she could do to put one foot in front of the other, dreaming of getting back to the _Sileya_ and indulging in a long, long shower to wash the dried blood from her skin and drive the chill from the core of her being.

She was so lost in her thoughts that when she next raised her head to look around, it was already getting dark. She was a little dazed by the change. She hadn't really expected to survive the day, and here it was, approaching nightfall. She supposed she needed to start working on finding a shelter for the night. She certainly wasn't going to risk trying to trek across unfamiliar terrain in the dark.

The howling of the wind was so intense that she never heard the approach of the shuttle. It wasn't until the shadow passed over her that she raised her head and spotted it above. She waved her arms frantically and screamed for help, even though she knew that there was no chance the shuttle's occupants would ever hear her. As the shuttle flew farther and farther away from her, she dropped to her knees in the snow, sobbing in frustration. She wished that she had searched for the gun her attacker had before the crash. At least then she could have shot the shuttle and hoped someone heard the impacts. Now she could only watch her chance at salvation fly away…

She paused. The shuttle was circling around and making another pass. Had they seen her somehow? A surge of adrenaline brought her to her feet, and she tried to wave the pilot down, screaming until her voice was hoarse. She even concentrated and caused her biotics to flare around her, hoping that the subtle glow would help to make her more visible against her surroundings.

The shuttle slowed as it passed over her head, and then it turned, slowly descending toward the ground. Illitha's tears came in a flood, and she staggered toward the hovering vehicle and the salvation it promised. When the door opened and she saw Aida, Prathus and Selura standing there, she fell to her knees and pressed her forehead into the snow, thanking the Goddess for her good fortune.

Several voices cried her name, and she felt someone drape a blanket over her. Though her vision was blurred by tears, she saw Aida's tear-streaked face smiling at her, and then she was lifted in the strong arms of the turian. They were all telling her how glad they were to see her, but she could barely make sense of the words. Before she knew what was happening, she was being settled on the bench in the shuttle. The last thing she remembered was hearing Aida's voice.

"You are safe, Lith. You are safe."

* * *

**Terra Nova Wilderness, Now…**

Prathus moved with great care, settling the slumbering human child on the thickest patch of grass he could locate in the darkness by touch alone. It had taken longer than he expected for her grief to tire her out, but eventually she had quieted and become still. The last thing he wanted was to wake her now. When she was fully settled on the forest floor, he activated his omni-tool for the faint light shed by the interface and held his breath, waiting to see if she would wake. She murmured and shifted position slightly, but then became still, her breathing deep and even.

_Thank the spirits._

Prathus allowed himself to relax for the first time in hours. There had been no sign of Reaper pursuit since they'd stopped, and he was fairly certain they were safe for the time being. Still, he picked up his rifle from where he had set it down, critically examining all the moving parts to be sure it was still in proper working order. When he was satisfied, he leaned it against a tree within easy reach, and then grabbed a few of the large leaves he had gathered, preparing to settle them over Candice to keep her warm. However, he stopped short.

_It seemed like her arm was bothering her earlier,_ Prathus reminded himself.

Driven by curiosity more than concern, he activated his omni-tool's medscan and ran a quick scan of the child's arm. He was not particularly surprised when the scan results showed a minor fracture. After all, the girl's parents had hurled her through a hole in their wall and onto the ground outside to save her. A minor injury was certainly understandable. Still, he decided it was best if he did what he could for her injured limb, and hoped he would be able to do it without waking her.

Using only the dim illumination of his omni-tool, he moved around the area, searching for broken branches lying on the forest floor. Unfortunately, the trees did not have branches so much as giant leaves that sprouted from their trunks. However, he did find a bunch of thin, wooden reeds sprouting from the base of one of the trees. When he tested one, he figured it would be sturdy enough for a makeshift splint. He cut down two of the reeds with his omni-blade, and then chopped them down to a length suitable for the child's forearm.

Exercising extreme patience, he worked one of the reeds beneath the girl's injured forearm, making certain not to disturb her so much that she might wake. Once he had it in position, he used the support of the reed to slowly lift her arm without putting undue pressure on the injury, and he pressed the other one into place atop her arm. He closed his hand around her arm to hold them both in place. It was then that his plan derailed, because he had no way to bind them securely in place using only one hand without waking her, even though he had bandages in the first aid kit he had salvaged from the escape pod. His mandibles twitched in frustration.

He was rescued by a sudden burst of inspiration. The first aid kit included a number of packets of medigel. He quickly dumped everything he had salvaged from the pod out in the grass, picking up the medigel packets from among the rations and first aid supplies. He tore one open with his teeth, and then squirted the contents of the package out over the reed he had pressed to the top of her arm. The medigel would hold it firmly in place until he could properly bandage her in the morning. He repeated the process with several more packets of the bioplasm, anchoring both makeshift splints in place. Throughout the whole ordeal, the exhausted child never stirred. He settled her arm on the ground and pulled the leaves he'd gathered over her to serve as a blanket.

He picked up his rifle and sat down with his back against the tree that the weapon had been resting against. After settling the firearm across his knees, he let his head rest against the bark of the tree. His eyes drifted closed, and he listened to the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves all around him. The forest was quiet and serene, and it was soothing to his nerves. The past weeks had been a whirlwind of surprises, threats, kidnappings, attacks, and the occasional moment of relaxation and fun. It was nice to sit down, unwind, and actually feel safe for a moment. And despite being on a world under siege by Reapers, he _did _feel safe at that point, kilometers away from anything the Reapers could possibly be interested in.

There was a brief moment when guilt invaded his sense of peace. He'd abandoned the ship and left the crew aboard, and it was something he would regret doing for a long time… possibly the rest of his life. But he knew, deep down inside, that Neela, Aida, Illitha and Captain Nisaria were resourceful enough to get to the escape pods and flee to safety. He knew it. He just hoped they would all somehow find each other in the chaos.

With fond thoughts of his crewmates lingering in his head, the turian fell asleep. And while he would have assumed his sleep would be plagued by visions of Reapers and death, he instead found much-needed rest with dreams of family and home.

* * *

**Port Hanshan, Noveria, Thirteen days earlier…**

Prathus limped onto the bridge, as the captain had requested, watching as the former commando moved purposefully around the room, running diagnostics on all of the systems required for flight. The turian said nothing, as he knew the captain had seen him enter. He simply waited for her to get to whatever the point of this meeting was.

Illitha was awake and uninjured, though she was a bit shaken. Aida said her loss of consciousness had been a result of prolonged stress and the subsequent relief of rescue. Aida, Selura and Neela were currently making a concerted effort to get the engineer's mind off of the ordeal she had been through. All of them were watching some ridiculous comedy vid about an asari in some human dream world called 'Wonderland'. Prathus didn't care much for comedies, or human-themed movies, so he had actually been happy to excuse himself when the captain called.

"I want you to get rooms for each member of the crew at Port Hanshan's hotel tomorrow," the captain finally broke the silence. "Top tier rooms. And authorize any incidental charges they incur. Use the ship's maintenance account."

"That'll be expensive," Prathus commented. "Why are we all going ashore?"

"Not 'we'. You," the captain corrected.

"What about you?"

"In the morning, once the crew is ashore, I am taking the _Sileya_ off-world and through the relay to one of the adjacent systems."

"You want Cerberus to think we've left," Prathus guessed.

"Exactly," the asari nodded. "You said they have a fighter base on this planet. The last thing I want is to see them send an actual strike team to deal with our crew. If the ship leaves, they will put the word out that we _were_ here and have gone. I will return at the end of the week to pick up our crew and the cargo."

"It's a good plan, but I don't like the idea of you taking the ship out by yourself," he shook his head. "Let me come with you. That way there's someone in the main battery if things go bad."

"No," the captain's tone was firm. "I can handle the ship alone long enough to get to another system through the relay and dock on some colony world. I want you here in case Cerberus doesn't believe we have left. If they come after our crew, you have to be here to defend them."

Prathus nodded, but did so with hesitation. He knew better than to argue with the captain once her mind was set on a course of action, but if Cerberus tried to assault the _Sileya_ with fighters, she wouldn't be able to fight back without someone in the main battery to handle the guns. He sighed.

"I will be fine," she assured him. "I am more worried about leaving you all here. But I think this is the only option we have for getting through the remainder of the week without further incident."

"You're probably right," Prathus was compelled to agree. "Aida said something about going to that winter resort at the equator. Maybe we'll wait a day or two and then I'll take the crew down there. It would do them all some good to forget about things and have fun for a few days."

"Actually, that is an excellent idea. Do that. I will talk to Captain Matsuo before I depart in the morning and make certain that security does not record your arrival or departure from the facility. The administrator seems embarrassed enough by this whole situation to agree to a few harmless indulgences of that sort."

"Then that's the plan," Prathus nodded. "Just take care of yourself. I'll take care of the crew."

"I know you will. I can always count on you," the captain's tone was sincere.

Prathus nodded and left the room behind. He was actually quite happy with the idea of getting the crew to a resort and letting them relax. After the events of the last two days, such a shore leave was sorely needed. He also had to admit that _he_ would relish the chance to relax and spend a few days doing something simple and fun. He didn't think he'd be any good at skiing, but if they had other forms of downhill transport, he might try something that wouldn't be so hard on his leg.

As he passed the crew lounge, he opened the door long enough to check in on the rest of the crew. Aida, Illitha and Neela were all sitting on the sofa, and Selura was sitting on the floor between Illitha's and Neela's feet. They were laughing and making joking comments about the content of the movie. He was glad to see the young engineer smiling. Hopefully the rest of the week would see that smile remain. He certainly felt Illitha had earned some time to relax.

* * *

**Forward Operations Base Alpha-5, Terra Nova Wilderness, Now…**

Someone was gently shaking Aida, and there was a deep voice speaking softly, urging her to wake up. Aida opened her eyes and blinked at the face of the human that was crouched next to her in the vehicle, watching her with an expression that she guessed was mild curiosity. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, looking around the interior of the Mako in confusion. There were piles of salvaged technology, crates of food, and similar items all around her, and she was fairly certain the stockpile had grown since she last saw it.

She wasn't sure when she had dozed off, but wasn't surprised. The Mako into which the Prothean stasis pod had been loaded was filled mostly with salvage, and only three soldiers were in the vehicle with her. One was driving, one was operating the turret atop the vehicle, and the third spent most of his time staring out through an exterior viewport. The journey had dragged on for hours, and eventually she had apparently passed out from sheer exhaustion and a healthy dose of boredom.

Recovering from the disorientation of having just awakened, Aida focused on the man's face once again and shook her head, suppressing a yawn.

"Awake now?" the man inquired.

"Yes," she said softly. "Where are we?"

"We will be at the F.O.B. in five minutes," the man informed her. "You need to be awake and ready to get out when we arrive. There will be men waiting to unload all this equipment."

"I understand," she nodded slowly, looking around again at all of the equipment.

The man was apparently satisfied that she was awake, because he edged his way around the pile of salvage that occupied most of the interior of the vehicle, returning to his place near the front, in the seat behind the pilot. Aida, left to her own devices, activated her omni-tool and scanned the captain, just to be certain her condition hadn't changed while she was asleep. She was happy to see the scan results unchanged, and wondered if their destination would have a doctor capable of tending to the captain's wounds.

"What does F.O.B. mean?" she called to the front of the vehicle. She wasn't familiar with the term.

"Forward Operations Base," the man that had roused her answered.

"Is there a surgeon there?"

"Yes," the man answered. "But I'm not sure he has any experience with asari anatomy."

Aida frowned at the answer. She hadn't even considered the possibility. But she supposed that an Alliance physician would primarily deal with humans, so it was feasible that their knowledge would not extend to other species. She hoped that the human was wrong.

Their vehicle rolled to a stop, and Aida waited for the door to open. To her surprise, a hatch at the rear of the Mako opened, rather than the panel in the side that had been her point of entry. There were a number of humans in Alliance uniforms waiting outside, and she was quick to hop out and step aside to get out of their way, though she lingered beside the vehicle.

"Please step over to the prefab shelters," a fresh-faced young soldier directed, gesturing to a group of cheap emergency structures that were located off to one side.

"That is a medical stasis pod," she pointed to the Prothean device. "My captain is inside. She must be taken directly to the infirmary."

The human looked a little confused by this information, as did several of the soldiers standing nearby. Aida spotted Lieutenant Gradian as he walked by with several other soldiers, and she waved an arm to get his attention. He walked over to the group.

"What's going on here? Why aren't you unloading?" he demanded of the Alliance soldiers.

"L.T., she says her captain is in this pod, and it needs to go directly to the infirmary."

"Wounded come first, Hartley. You know that. Get that pod to the infirmary. On the double."

Aida smiled at the Lieutenant, glad to hear that he was reasonable about the situation. The other soldiers immediately went to work, carefully maneuvering the pod out of the back of the vehicle and carrying it away. She was about to follow when the Lieutenant stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder.

"They will see it safely to the trauma unit," he assured her. "I need you to go over to the prefab shelters over there," he pointed to the same buildings that the other human had directed her to. "Your friends will be joining you there."

"But the captain needs me," she protested. "I should go and speak with the doctors."

"You said your captain was in a stasis pod. So she is stable?"

"Yes, but-"

"We have a number of wounded who _aren't_ stable," he told her bluntly. "I will make sure that the doctors seek you out once they've dealt with the emergent cases. Until then, we need to get all of you settled in a place that's out of the way and where we can find you if we need you."

"I understand," Aida bowed her head. She could understand that the Alliance soldiers needed to keep order and prioritize their activities, but that didn't mean she had to like it. With a sigh, she turned and headed toward the shelters.

"Hey Selura," he called after her, but since he used the wrong name, she didn't turn until he raised his voice. "Hey, asari!"

She turned.

"Selura, listen-"

"My name is Aida. Selura is my friend."

"Sorry," he apologized sheepishly. "Aida then. I know you're worried about your captain. I promise you, her stasis pod will be handled with care, and when the doctors are ready to deal with her injuries, they will consult you before they do _anything_."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Gradian."

"You can just call me Gradian. Or L.T.," he suggested. "Most of us are referred to just by our last names or our ranks."

"Thank you, Gradian," she smiled faintly, and then headed for the shelters. Behind her, she heard another voice addressing the Lieutenant, insisting that he needed to report to the operations center immediately.

Aida found her friends milling around in front of one of the small rectangular buildings, along with several humans who were dressed in casual clothing rather than military uniforms. There were a number of children among them, and some of the younger ones were staring at their group with open-mouthed fascination. The realization struck her that if these families had been rescued from remote areas, her and her friends might very well be the first aliens any of the kids had ever seen in person, rather than on vid screens.

Illitha hurried forward to hug her, and Aida returned the embrace happily. She received brief embraces from Selura and Neela in turn. It was a tremendous relief to be in a secured location, surrounded by trained military personnel. There may have been a war going on, but there was a sense of security on the base that was soothing. She looked at Neela, smiling gratefully.

"I am glad you found them and sent them out after us. How are you?"

"Awful," the quarian answered, but her voice was filled with joy nonetheless. "I feel dizzy and nauseous. I need sleep. But I feel a lot better now that you're all here," she added.

"Dizziness and nausea could be a result of your flying. Trust me. I know," Selura teased, earning an extremely light and playful shove from the quarian.

Aida had to smile at the antics of the scientist and the pilot, but she was quick to voice a more serious thought. "I am sure they will get us settled somewhere before long. And then you really _should _get some rest. They had no problem sending out a group to find us at your request?"

"They couldn't," Neela shook her head. "I spoke to the base commander about sending out a group to find you, but he said long-range communications are down and their team was already out there. He said they were scouring the small settlements and isolated homes in the south, and that he was sure they would find you. I… argued a bit," she finished in an almost sheepish tone.

"They tracked us down by our beacon pulses," Illitha informed the quarian. "I thought it was because you told them about us."

"Apparently it was something they did independently. I am glad they found us," Aida chimed in.

"In any case, I'm so glad to see you all here," Neela said with affection, and Aida thought that perhaps the pilot's gaze might have lingered on Selura.

"Is anyone here injured?" a male voice interrupted their reunion.

"Yes," Aida was quick to speak up, turning toward the man who had spoken and laying a hand on her best friend's shoulder. "Illitha has shrapnel wounds across her back. They are packed with medigel, but she could use an antibiotic treatment and a quick examination."

The human opened his mouth to speak, but Aida gestured toward Neela, cutting him off "Neela wrenched her knee and is running a fever, and should be examined to verify that her knee is not seriously injured."

She turned at last to Selura, ignoring the way the human was now staring at her… he had a strange look of slack-jawed confusion on his face. "And Selura's right arm was crushed by debris aboard our ship. She has a deep laceration in the muscle tissue all the way to the bone, and the bone itself is shattered. The wound has been closed with temporary bindings and then sealed with medigel, but she needs a surgeon to look at it and reconstruct the bone more completely than I was able to manage. Our captain should already be at the infirmary in a stasis pod, so she will need attention too," she finished.

"Are you a physician?" the man asked her.

"I am the medic aboard our ship, but I never actually finished university and obtained my degree."

"I see. Our chief physician will want to talk to you later," the man muttered. "Uh… Selura, was it?" he gestured to the scientist. "Our surgeon is free now and can see to your arm. The rest of your injuries sound like they're not emergent, so they can wait until after we get you all settled into a space and get you some food-"

"Our whole crew must be housed together," Aida said insistently, interrupting the soldier.

"That's not up to me, ma'am," he said apologetically. "I'm just a field medic. Talk to him," he pointed over Aida's shoulder, and she turned to see Lieutenant Gradian approaching from the opposite direction. She smiled. The Lieutenant seemed to have a knack for being around when she needed him.

Aida strode toward the approaching Lieutenant. Behind her she could hear the human medic encouraging Selura to follow him to the medical shelter, and Neela asking anxiously if she could come along. Aida never heard the human's response to the last question. She was more concerned with seeing to the needs of her friends and her personal need to keep them all together.

"Gradian," she greeted him. "Can I speak to you please?"

"I have to get the civilians organized and assigned to shelters," his tone suggested that he was exhausted. "Can it wait, Aida?"

"That is what I hoped to discuss," she assured him. She was happy he'd gotten her name right this time.

"Alright," he nodded. "What is your concern?"

"If possible, I want to get our crew assigned to a single shelter. We would all be more comfortable if we could stay together."

"Oh, is that all?" he smiled and chuckled softly. "That isn't a problem. It was already my plan."

"It was?" Aida was surprised.

"Of course," he nodded. "Most of the people we've rescued are human and the younger ones don't have much contact with non-human galactic citizens. I figured it would be less awkward all around to assign the four of you to the same shelter, since each prefab has four bunks. We try to keep families together, and a crew like yours is a lot like family, I know."

"Indeed," Aida smiled, falling into step beside the Lieutenant as he resumed his course toward the crowd of refugees.

"Listen up!" his voice changed to a booming tone when he spoke up, making Aida wince. "My name is Lieutenant Gradian, for those who don't already know. I'm in charge of overseeing the affairs of the civilians on the base. I'm about to assign you all to prefab shelters-"

All of the civilians started talking at once, and the Lieutenant raised his arms, gesturing for everyone to quiet down. It took several moments to restore order, and Aida returned to her friends during the clamor, smiling reassuringly at Illitha. Neela was still present, she noted. When everyone was quiet, the Lieutenant continued.

"I know that this is hard on everyone," his voice was strong, and carried a genuine sense of understanding. "No one expected to have to evacuate their homes and get crammed into prefab shelters, four to a building. We will do our best to keep families together in the same prefab. In cases where there are too many family members to fit in one unit, we'll keep mothers with the children wherever possible."

There were murmurs from the crowd at this news, and Aida spotted several human males among the civilians who hugged children close.

"Please work with us and obey the rules of the camp," Gradian continued. "We have rudimentary chemical wash facilities, which are strictly run on a scheduling system. I will show you all where to find the VI to schedule such activities. I will also show you to the mess and the infirmary. Civilians are strictly forbidden to enter any area of the camp aside from these four areas. Anyone caught in any of the military shelters or among the vehicles will be detained. Is that understood?"

There were murmurs of assent from the crowd, but no one seemed to be very keen on the strict structure that was being outlined. Aida didn't mind too much herself. As long as she was together with her friends, they would get by just fine.

"Alright then!" the Lieutenant gestured toward the rows of prefab structures behind them. "Each unit has a number designation that is printed on each side. Remember the unit number to which you are assigned, and do not enter any prefab you are not assigned to unless you have permission. If there are any arguments or concerns, I will come by twice per day. Bring them to my attention at those times. Do not try to contact me otherwise unless the situation is an emergency. Sentries posted in this area can address any other concerns you might have."

Aida looked around at the human civilians, contenting herself with studying them since she was growing bored with the Lieutenant's lecture. Of course, she'd had contact with other humans, mostly pleasant and some unpleasant, but it was interesting to her to see the way the families stood together, with children clinging to parents. There were no tears and no looks of fear like she might have expected of civilians removed from their homes. Everyone seemed fairly calm and composed, if a little weary and resigned.

"You three," the Lieutenant startled Aida out of her thoughts by gesturing to her and her crewmates. "Where is your other friend?"

"In the medical area. Her arm requires surgical reconstruction."

"Oh," he nodded. "Well, the four of you are assigned to unit 110, right here," he gestured to the prefab in front of which they were already standing. Then he turned away, selecting a family of three and another random human, which he assigned to the next unit over.

Aida and her friends simply stepped inside of their assigned prefab, looking around at the bare steel walls and the uncomfortable-looking steel-framed bunks with resigned acceptance. At least they had shelter, and would be fed and protected. Illitha reached out and took Aida's hand, giving it a small squeeze.

"We are here," Illitha whispered. "We made it. I… It really seemed like we might not."

Aida smiled and nodded. "I know. But things will be fine now."

"What happens when the Reapers find this place?" Neela asked gloomily. Aida could hear in her voice that she was upset about something.

"What is wrong, Neela?" she asked in concern.

"Their supply of dextro-based food is… limited," the quarian said softly. "And they wouldn't let me accompany Selura to the medical shelter… I don't feel so good," she added, slumping to a seat on one of the ground-level bunks.

"You should get some sleep," Aida urged, reaching over to hit the panel that disabled the lights. "Lith and I will talk outside so you can get some rest."

"What about Selura?" Neela asked, starting to get up. "I want to be sure she's okay."

"Get some sleep," Aida insisted, putting a hand on the quarian's shoulder to keep her from rising. "I promise, we will wake you when we get some news. The surgery will take some time. You need to get a bit of rest while you can."

"I don't think I can sleep until I know she's okay," Neela muttered, but she did lie down as Aida had suggested. "I'll just rest for a bit. I can sleep later."

"Okay," Aida smiled, and she and Illitha stepped outside together. She knew that the quarian would be asleep within minutes, no matter how much she protested that she was too worried to sleep. She was sick and had been through a long day. If Aida hadn't slept on the Mako, she was sure she would have been collapsing into one of the beds right then as well, no matter how worried she was about the captain.

She sat down on the ground outside with her friend, and the two of them took the opportunity to relax and enjoy the sense of peace and security that surrounded them. Aida never expected that feeling safe could be such a novel sensation. It had been a rough few weeks.

* * *

**Crescent Slopes Ski Resort, Noveria, Eight days earlier…**

Aida grinned as she glided down the hillside, gripping the ski poles tightly in her hands, trying to maintain her balance while she rocked side to side in a vague zigzag pattern. She, Illitha, Neela and Prathus were all on a course the resort referred to as the 'Bunny Slope', and this was their second day of skiing. Aida had already fallen more times than she could count despite the relatively gentle grade of the mountainside, but she was starting to get the hang of things. Prathus had paid for a ski instructor to teach them the basics, and Aida glanced back at the tall human woman now… she was gliding along behind them, watching them critically.

The lapse in concentration was costly for the asari, however, who turned a little too far on her skis and suddenly pitched over sideways, hitting the snow with a grunt and sliding down the slope for several meters on her hip. Illitha giggled as she sailed by, drawing a playful glare from Aida. The instructor skidded to a stop beside her, offering a hand to help her up, which Aida took gratefully.

"You should keep your mind on what you're doing," the instructor smiled at her. "You're getting much better with every run."

"Smooth, Dalinas," Prathus's voice chided as the turian rocketed past on a contraption called a 'gyro-sled'.

The turian was moving at such a rapid pace that he was out of earshot before she could even retort. She shook her head. With his bad leg, skiing wasn't a realistic possibility for the turian, but he had rented the vehicle so that he could enjoy their time at the resort, and seemed to be making the most of it.

The gyro-sled consisted of a set of two interlocking rings, joined with a swivel, and held a seat at their heart. From the rings, two ski-like runners sprouted from the sides on curved arms. The whole vehicle was controlled with a combination of hand-holds and pedals, allowing the rider to shift direction and pitch at will. The man that was running the rental booth claimed the machine was impossible to overturn. Something about a set of counterbalances built into the rings.

"Ignore him," the instructor smiled at her. "You're doing fine."

"Thank you," Aida smiled, and once she was steady on the skis, she slowly turned them, using the ski poles to push herself off along the slope.

Illitha and Neela had already reached the bottom, and were talking and laughing together when Aida glided up to them, dragging her ski poles to bring herself to a stop. She still hadn't gotten the hang of stopping by turning her skis… every time she tried it, she fell over.

"Prathus wants to take his sled to one of the serious slopes," Illitha informed her. "W-we will be okay here without him, right?"

"Of course," Aida smiled. "He does seem to be good enough at controlling that thing to do it on a real slope," she commented, turning to look at the ski slopes on the mountainsides around them, where small black dots raced down the trails at breakneck speeds.

The lodge they'd rented for the duration of their stay at the resort was on one of the mountainsides near an advanced slope, and Aida had spent the majority of the morning watching people race by on skis and on something their instructor called 'snowboards'. She was actually amazed by the latter. She saw several different humans use them to launch off of a rise in the trail, spinning in the air before landing and continuing on their way. She could barely stand on two skis, much less strapped to a single board without poles to assist her in staying upright. Still, she was starting to understand the appeal of the sport and why humans had invented it.

"Want to go again?" Neela asked, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"Sure!" Aida smiled, and the three of them set off for the lift that would take them up the mountainside.

The lift consisted of a series of bench-lined platforms that ran along a track through an enclosed tunnel that stretched up the mountainside, allowing them to be sheltered from the elements and to simultaneously relax while they were elevated to the top of the trail. Similar structures flanked almost every trail on the mountainsides all around them. It was a slow trip, but pleasant enough.

Their instructor had informed them that in the past, the lifts were open-air benches that ran along an elevated track with nothing but a large drop below, and Aida thought it was a horrid idea. If such a device had malfunctioned, being stuck high in the air out in the cold seemed like a miserable prospect. The new version of the lift was certainly a step forward.

"I am glad the captain opted to pay for this," Illitha confided in a soft murmur. "I have not had so much fun in a while. I-I might even try one of… of the intermediate courses tomorrow."

"You are definitely good enough to try a harder course," Neela commented. "I still have trouble staying upright."

"Me too," Aida agreed.

"You _can't_ stay upright," Neela teased, and Illitha started giggling.

The engineer's giggles only increased when Aida lightly struck Neela in the thigh with her ski pole.

"How is Selura doing at her company's facility?" Illitha distracted them both with the question.

"She's jealous that she can't be here," Neela answered with a smile that they could both actually hear in her voice. "But she is catching up quickly. She thinks we will still be on schedule to have her company's prototypes delivered at the week's end."

"You have been on the vidcomm every night," Aida pointed out. "That has to be a bit expensive."

"It's worth it," Neela was quick to answer. "I like talking to her. She's funny. And thoughtful. And her interest in me and my people makes me happy."

"I understand," Aida nodded.

She knew there was more to Neela's interest than that, but she wasn't sure that the quarian really saw it yet. The way their hands sought each other's grasp when they were together, and the way she got the feeling Neela's gaze lingered on the scientist when she was near indicated some level of attraction. She didn't get such obvious signs from Selura, but she thought that Neela, at least, was a little smitten.

The lift reached the top of the hill, and the three of them carefully stepped off of the platform and onto the snow, pushing along toward the starting area at the peak of the trail. Their instructor glided along behind them. When the three of them reached their starting point, they exchanged glances.

Illitha settled her goggles into place over her eyes, grinning at Aida playfully. Aida grinned back and did the same. Neela, looking back and forth between the two, groaned.

"This is about to become a contest, isn't it?" the quarian shook her head.

"Last one to the bottom pays for dinner?" Aida made the challenge official.

"Agreed," Illitha smiled.

"Oh, fine," Neela agreed reluctantly.

Aida turned her attention to the hill below, ready to push off. She knew that the contest would be between Neela and herself, despite the fact that it was Illitha's gleeful grin that made her want to race. Illitha really was the most improved of the three, and she knew that the engineer would be the first one to the bottom by far.

"Ready?" Illitha asked.

"Set," Neela nodded.

"Go!" Aida cried, and pushed herself off.

The three of them sailed down the hill with gleeful cries. Within moments, Illitha was pulling far ahead of them, weaving back and forth with graceful poise. Neela was managing to keep upright, but was dead even with Aida, who was doing her best not to fall.

Her luck didn't hold for long. She shifted her weight too far to one side and tumbled over in the snow, grunting at the mild impact and the explosion of white powder that her wipeout kicked up all around her. She could just barely hear Neela's triumphant cackle receding into the distance.

.

* * *

.

**Author's Note: I've been eagerly waiting to get this Chapter up, just because the last several Chapters have been a little heavy on the misery and misfortune for the crew, and I wanted to share a Chapter with a more upbeat tone overall. Not every second of the intrepid crew's past four weeks have been horrible, and while I feel I've shown that with conversations between various characters and scenes of downtime, this Chapter was something I enjoyed working into the story. Hopefully it was as enjoyable to read.**

**I'm also going to be scaling back my updates just slightly. Over the past several weeks I've been updating on every fourth day. I'm going to add a day to my schedule, so there will be four full days between each update. This way if things come up like happened this week, I don't feel so stressed trying to keep to my schedule. So, the next Chapter should be up on Friday morning, instead of Thursday morning as would have been the case on my former timetable.**

**Thanks again to everyone who is reading my little story. And especially to those of you leaving comments. The feedback means a lot to me. :)**


	17. Chapter 17: Security

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Seventeen: Security

.

**Forward Operations Base Alpha-5, Now…**

Illitha carefully slipped out of the upper bunk she had claimed, dropping to the floor with only the barest whisper of a sound. While they seemed to be safe, the young engineer couldn't sleep. She supposed it might have been the endless string of near-death experiences that had comprised her day, but tension was coiled up inside of her like a compressed spring. Relaxation was proving elusive. The fact that she was still wearing an environmental suit didn't help.

The shutters on their prefab shelter were closed, but there was still a large enough gap between them to allow thin lines of light to slip through. By that mild illumination, she could see her companions sleeping in their cots. Neela was curled up on her side on one of the lower bunks, with her knees drawn up to her chest, and had been slumbering almost from the moment she lay down. Aida had taken the other upper bunk… they had agreed that Selura would be unable to climb into an upper bunk after the surgery on her arm. Her friend was laying face-down, with her arm dangling off the side of her cot. Illitha could almost envision Aida rolling over and falling off of the edge.

Afraid that her friend might hurt herself if her vision came to pass, Illitha pulled the thin mattress off of her own cot, spreading it out on the floor where Aida would land if she fell. Then she triggered the door to let herself out, wincing at the somewhat loud hiss of the door's internal pneumatics when it opened. She stood in the doorway for a moment, waiting to see if the sound had awakened either of her friends. When neither stirred, she stepped outside and trusted that if the opening cycle hadn't awakened anyone, the sound of the door closing wouldn't either.

The Terra Nova nights were comfortable, and even though it had been about seven hours since Illitha and her friends were picked up by the Alliance rescue team, the sky was still almost completely dark. There was not even moonlight to brighten the area, so the humans had placed portable lights throughout the camp. The entire area was blanketed in a mixture of blinding beams of light and dark patches of shadow.

She walked up and down the narrow lanes between the various prefab structures – there were a few dozen units at least – and encountered several humans in the area who were sitting on the packed earth or pacing outside of their units. She was obviously not the only refugee in the area that was unable to sleep. She didn't say anything to any of the people she passed. Most of them regarded her with either curiosity or weary disinterest.

When a tour of the prefab units failed to allow her to unwind, she crossed the torn-up swath of ground that served as a road through the camp. She paused on the opposite side, peering through the cheap barrier fence at the area beyond – a fenced-off field populated with rows of Alliance ground vehicles and, in the distance, a handful of fighters lined up side-by-side.

"What are you doing over here?" a youthful male voice demanded.

Illitha jumped a bit, startled by the unexpected question. She turned to face the speaker, a tall and stern-faced human with a sparse beard and an assault rifle in his hands, hunching her shoulders a little as a familiar nervousness filled her. She envied Aida fiercely sometimes for her confidence in dealing with other people. As opposed to her friend, Illitha always found herself tripping over her own words when she spoke to strangers… and sometimes even with friends. It frustrated her, but she'd never been able to overcome it despite – or perhaps because of – her father's endless insistence that she needed to stop being such a coward and find her nerve.

"I-I was just l-looking," she stammered. "I… T-today was… I could not-"

"You're not allowed out of the civilian areas of the camp," the man cut her off. "You'll have to come with me."

"I c-can go back," Illitha started to suggest.

"You were warned that leaving the civilian zones would result in detainment. Come with me. Now," he punctuated the statement by pointing the rifle at her.

"P-please stop pointing th-that at me," Illitha said softly. "I… I never meant…" she sighed and bowed her head, giving up on her hopes of convincing him to let her off with a warning. "J-just tell me where to go."

The Alliance soldier marched her through the camp and past a number of military shelters and operations areas. She tried to pay attention to the layout of the camp just to keep her mind off of the fact that she was once again facing the working end of a weapon and was probably in trouble. Every new area they passed through, she found herself the recipient of curious and sometimes hostile stares, and she shrank from the attention, silently wishing there were fewer people awake at this hour of the night. No doubt many of the soldiers thought she was some sort of Reaper spy or troublemaker.

The guard finally marched her into a small structure that was identical to most of the others she had seen. The entire camp was obviously composed of simple prefabricated buildings in various sizes, which no doubt could easily be dismantled and moved from one area to another. Inside the building were a single desk, and four small open cells at the back of the room. There was a human with graying hair seated at the desk, working quietly on a terminal.

"Sir," her escort saluted, causing the older man to look up from his work. "I caught this asari at the fence around the motor pool."

"Good work, Westland," the older soldier nodded. "That will be all."

Illitha's escort withdrew, and the man behind the desk regarded her silently for a moment, his eyes roaming up and down the length of her form. She might have been uncomfortable with the once-over if she were not dressed in an environmental suit. However, since she _was_ attired in the protective gear, she was fairly sure that it was the outfit that he was looking at. It was a suspicion he confirmed with his first question.

"Why are you wearing that getup?" he demanded. "The last refugees were brought in hours ago. I'd think you'd want to get out of that."

"Uh… W-well," Illitha fixed her eyes upon the floor. "The clothes underneath w-were cut apart to get at some injuries. I… It… I felt uneasy at the idea of walking around exposed…" she trailed off.

"Sorry to hear that," the man muttered, rising from his seat. "And what were you doing outside of the designated boundaries for civilians?"

"I was unable to sleep. I was just… walking."

"Hmm," the man regarded her speculatively.

Illitha grew ever more uncomfortable as the silence stretched on. The human's gaze was abstracted, as if he were trying to come to a decision on something. She shifted nervously from foot to foot, and then finally decided that she should say something. Maybe she could convince him to let her go.

"I never meant to cause any trouble," she said softly. "I j-just want to go back to my shelter."

"Sorry," he shook his head. "That's up to the officer in charge of civilian issues. For the time being, you'll be staying in a holding cell. Take off that environmental suit. I'll get you a set of Alliance blues to wear for now."

Illitha's heart raced at the idea of being locked in a cell by a human. She knew that these were Alliance soldiers and not Cerberus, but she still had nightmares about the men that had kidnapped her on Noveria. She swallowed and nodded, watching as the human walked away to a footlocker in the corner. She turned her back to him and started stripping off the environmental suit. Her shirt was mostly intact, save for the back of it, but it still felt positively indecent to the young asari to be wearing a backless shirt around others. She never had been very comfortable with immodest clothing. It was one of several reasons she avoided beaches and public pools.

"Holy hell!"

Illitha was just tossing the environmental gear aside when the man's exclamation startled her. She turned to face him, confused by the look of astonishment that clouded his features. She had no idea what could have drawn that sort of reaction from him. Was her exposed back really _that_ inappropriate by human standards? She didn't think so… she'd seen humans in vids dressed far more provocatively.

"Have you been to the infirmary yet?" he demanded. "Your back is torn to pieces."

Illitha blinked, reaching behind herself to touch her lower back, and the patches of hardened medigel clinging to her skin. The center of her back still felt numb. She shook her head. In response to her answer, the human thrust an outfit into her hands and then quickly removed his coat, which he draped over her shoulders.

"Follow me," he demanded. "You're going straight to the infirmary. They should have taken you there for treatment as soon as you arrived."

"Th-they said it was not an emergency case," Illitha said softly.

"Did they actually see your back?" he asked. He punched a code into a keypad by the exterior door to allow them both to get out of the building, and escorted her out into the night air.

"No," Illitha answered. However, she found herself wondering just how bad the damage to her back actually was. She obviously couldn't see it herself, but it didn't hurt, so she'd assumed the damage was superficial. Given the human's concern, she was starting to think her assumption had been very wrong.

Once again she was marched through the camp, and she eventually found herself in another shelter, which housed a number of small examination areas, and lines of cots at the back of the room in which injured soldiers slept. An adjoining door was labeled 'recovery' and another was labeled 'surgery'. Illitha wondered if Selura was in the recovery room yet, or if they were still repairing her arm. A weary-looking human woman came forward as soon as Illitha and the soldier entered, distracting her from further musings.

"This one should have been sent to you hours ago," the soldier addressed the woman. "Her back is a mess. But she's being detained, so don't let her leave. I'll have a guard here in a few minutes to watch her."

The woman nodded, and the soldier turned and left the room. Once he was gone, the lady guided Illitha to a stool next to one of the desks. The engineer sat down with a sigh, and the human moved around behind her, pulling the coat off of her shoulders.

"My name is Doctor Tillman," the human woman introduced herself. She probed gently at various areas of the engineer's back. "You can call me Rebecca if you like. How did this happen?"

"A p-power relay on our ship exploded when the Reapers attacked us. I was… unable to avoid the blast," Illitha hedged. She didn't like the idea of telling the whole story. She didn't want to make herself out to be some kind of hero. Shielding Selura from the blast had been instinct, not some grand heroic choice.

"Whoever packed your wounds did an excellent job," Rebecca commented. "The medigel has already started to stimulate healing. The wounds look worse than they actually are."

"My friend Aida is an excellent medic," Illitha smiled softly. "The way that man reacted, I was afraid I was hurt a lot worse than Aida thought I was."

"He was probably just surprised you were moving so well," the doctor suggested. "I know I am. Even with the medigel, this must be painful."

"Not really," Illitha shook her head. "It's been numb for hours."

"Really?" there was a subtle change in Rebecca's voice.

The slight shift in the tone of the doctor's voice caused Illitha to worry again. She had the feeling that the lack of pain was somehow a bad thing. However, before she could ask more about it, the door opened and Lieutenant Gradian walked in, looking as though he'd just been dragged from his bed. His eyes settled on her, and he frowned. Illitha slumped miserably, waiting for the lecture she knew was coming.

"I thought I was very clear that civilians were to remain in specific areas," he began. "Having my rack time interrupted to deal with wandering asari is exactly what that rule was meant to avoid."

"I-I am sorry," Illitha murmured. "I was unable to sleep."

"Thanks to you, that makes two of us," he muttered. "I'm gonna let you off with a warning this time. But make sure to stay in the designated areas from now on."

"I will," she promised.

"How is her injury?" this question was obviously directed at the doctor, who had activated her omni-tool and was scanning Illitha's back.

"Not sure yet," the doctor answered. "The wounds look superficial, but there seems to be some persistent numbness indicative of nerve damage."

"N-nerve damage?" Illitha repeated, tensing considerably. "Y-you mean this numb feeling c-could be permanent?"

"I'm afraid so," the doctor said softly. "I will have to determine the extent of the damage, which could involve some uncomfortable prodding. According to my scans, most of the wounds are shallow, but several secondary nerve clusters branching from your spinal cord have been damaged."

"I'll leave her in your capable hands, Doctor," the Lieutenant excused himself.

"C-can the nerves be repaired?" Illitha asked anxiously. While the numbness across her back was something she'd become somewhat accustomed to, the vague feeling of pins and needles around the edges of her back were just irritating enough to be a persistent distraction.

"Possibly, but our surgeons may not want to attempt it," the doctor told her. "They could worsen the damage, given the delicacy of the task and our limited knowledge of asari physiology."

The doctor pulled a chair over behind Illitha and sat down, and she started probing the asari's back, asking repeatedly if she could feel anything. As she mapped out the area of lost sensation, Illitha was brought to the verge of tears by the extent of it. She had absolutely no sensation in an area about three inches to each side of her spine, from her shoulder blades down to the small of her back. She wanted Aida to be there right then. She felt like she needed a hand to hold onto. And worse, without anything to distract her, she knew she would be dwelling on the idea that similar things could befall her friends for days to come.

She needed to find something with which to occupy her mind. Quickly.

* * *

**Crescent Slopes Ski Resort, Noveria, Seven days earlier…**

"_Batarian comm buoys have gone offline_." The statement came from a reporter on the vid screen as Illitha stumbled out of her room in their rented lodge, blinking in the bright morning light. "_A batarian spokesman claims the loss of signal from Kar'shan is the result of solar interference, and assures our sources that functionality will be restored in short order. However, while the comm buoys are down, batarian colonies are effectively cut off from their economy…_"

"Good morning, Lith," Aida greeted her, placing a cup of tea in front of the engineer before she was even fully seated. "Sleep well?"

"I kept waking up," Illitha muttered, staring at the steam rising from her tea.

She'd had nightmares all night long about humans locking her up in a cage and torturing her. Sometimes they humiliated her in cruel ways, and sometimes they put dying men into her cell and forced her to comfort them. She shook her head, trying without much success to dispel the dark thoughts. She saw Aida give her a knowing look – she had confided to her friend days ago about these nightmares – but the other asari didn't press the issue, for which she was very grateful.

"_Vague reports suggest that the quarian Migrant Fleet has vanished,_" the report on the vid monitor drew Illitha's attention once again. "_Unconfirmed reports suggest that quarians all over the galaxy have been leaving their businesses and residences to return to their fleet. Some are speculating that the quarians have invaded batarian space, and destroyed batarian comm buoys to keep this action secret…_"

All eyes turned toward Neela, who practically leapt out of her chair to shout at the screen. "That's ridiculous! We have never come anywhere near that side of the galaxy! The fleet is nowhere near there!"

"How do you know that?" Aida asked, but her tone was one of simple curiosity, not suggestive that she was arguing the point.

"I…" Neela trailed off, settling into her chair once again.

"_…Alliance officials, however, stated that such theories are baseless, and claim that the Migrant Fleet was last seen near Omega,_" the newscast finished. However, everyone was now paying more attention to Neela.

"Neela?" Aida prompted.

"I received a call from my parents," the quarian finally explained. "They asked me to cut my pilgrimage short. They want me to return home. I wasn't sure how to tell you all…"

"You are leaving?" Illitha stared at the quarian. Neela was a friend, and she hadn't expected to see her leave the ship so soon. Actually, she'd never really thought of Neela leaving at all.

"When we reach Terra Nova," the quarian nodded. "I will really miss you all, but it's important that I return to my family."

"We understand, Xara," Prathus, who had been silent since Illitha came out of her room, finally spoke up. "Family always takes precedence."

"We will miss you," Aida said softly.

"A lot," Illitha added, staring gloomily into her teacup.

"We can keep in touch once things on the Fleet settle down," Neela tried to sound upbeat, but there was a bit of a melancholy undertone to her voice. "I've been really happy aboard the _Sileya_. You've all been good friends."

An uncomfortable silence descended over the room. Illitha frowned as she sipped her tea. Perhaps it had been unrealistic, but she had envisioned her surrogate family aboard the _Sileya_ remaining together for decades to come. The fact that one of them was leaving tore that vision apart, and she found herself wondering how long it would be before someone else decided to leave the ship. The possibility of seeing her friends depart one by one, replaced by strangers that she might not get along with so well, added considerably to the disquiet left behind by her nightmares.

"Well, you are not gone yet," Aida broke the silence with a cheerful tone. "And we still have a full day here to take advantage of, so I think we should make the most of it."

Illitha smiled at her friend's upbeat approach to the situation, nodding in agreement. If Neela would be leaving soon, it would be better to spend the time left together having some fun as a family than to brood over it and watch it slip away.

"What do you have in mind?" Neela asked.

"Well, I think that skiing down the intermediate slopes is out of the question for the two of us," Aida told the quarian.

Illitha had a sudden vision of her best friend and the pilot rolling down the hillside encased in a giant snowball, and she had to giggle at the thought.

"If we rented two more gyro-sleds and did a few runs on the Bunny Hill to learn to control them, I think all four of us could move to bigger and more exciting slopes," Aida continued.

"But… What about me?" Illitha was perplexed. Adding two gyro-sleds to their tally left her without one.

"Lith, I think you're good enough to ski those slopes," Aida smiled at her. "We can get you a sled if you prefer, but I'd rather see you do it the skillful way instead of cheating and taking the easy way out like us."

Neela nodded her concurrence, and Prathus gave a single nod as well. Illitha, facing her three friends and seeing the faith they had in her ability to conquer a greater slope on skis, found herself beginning to blush. She sipped her tea and smiled softly.

"I guess… when you put it that way…"

"Maybe with the three of us in sleds, we might actually be able to race you to the bottom. At least Aida won't be able to fall down," Neela laughed.

Illitha laughed too. Suddenly the dark thoughts of her dreams were far from her mind, as they had been the past two days on the slopes. She needed less time to think about the troubling experiences of her recent past. When she was distracted with fun, she barely thought of Cerberus at all. When she was back aboard the _Sileya_ and working on the engines, she knew that her ordeal would likewise be pushed out of her mind by the activity. Now if only she could figure out how to remain active even while sleeping…

"We should get ready! I am eager to try one of those sleds!" Aida's cheerful announcement brought her thoughts back to the fun to come.

"I am eager to see you reach the bottom of a hill without falling over," Illitha grinned at her friend, who glared at her playfully.

It was going to be another glorious day.

* * *

**Walters Center Ruins, Scott, Capital City of Terra Nova, Now…**

During the trip to the nearest base with the Alliance soldiers, Zaeed puzzled over the behavior of the Reapers. He didn't understand why they were so inconsistent. At first they had rabidly opposed his group's progress into the city. Then they all but vanished, giving them a clear path to their destination. After they joined the Alliance soldiers and started southward into the city, there were several violent skirmishes once again. And then midway through the third such shootout, the Reaper troops suddenly broke off the attack and went into full retreat. The group hadn't seen a sign of them – with the exception of the huge silhouettes of the Reapers themselves in the distance – ever since that moment.

By no means was Zaeed an expert on Reapers. That was Shepard's area of expertise. But he knew enough about them to know that they were intelligent. And the inconsistency worried him. He couldn't put his finger on exactly why, but he had a growing feeling that something was very, very wrong.

It wasn't until one of the Alliance soldiers announced into his radio that their arrival was imminent and they were escorting three civilians that his brooding thoughts were interrupted. He snorted over being referred to as a 'civilian' and raised his head to see what the Alliance had set up for itself.

"_This_ is your F.O.B.?" he demanded in disbelief.

Their destination was a three-story building that had the look of a shopping and entertainment complex. However, the majority of the right side of the building had collapsed into rubble, and huge sections of what had once been a canopy roof sheltering the entrance were now laying against the building, shielding the shattered entryway from outside view. The alliance soldiers slipped beneath the fallen archway one by one, and Zaeed followed them through. If the alliance was taking shelter in collapsed buildings, things were already going worse than he'd thought they would be.

Inside the structure, he came face-to-face with a makeshift barricade, behind which were a handful of Alliance soldiers with weapons trained on the doors. Beyond them was a decorative fountain with a sculpture of an Alliance dreadnought at its center. Large decorative lettering along the front of the fountain spelled out 'Walters Center'. He noted quickly that the water of the fountain was filled with dirt and debris, there was wiring hanging from the ceiling above, a significant portion of the right side of the room was collapsed, and there were portable lights in every corner to give personnel the ability to see where they were going.

The windows in all of the nearby storefronts were shattered. Racks of clothing, toys and other mundane goods had been tossed haphazardly into the back of each store to make room for tables, portable VI terminals, tech consoles and other military equipment. One entire storefront was filled with motionless figures lying beneath bloodstained sheets. Zaeed guessed there must have been at least a hundred dead bodies in the place.

"Follow me," First Lieutenant Baker directed, and he started climbing the motionless steps of an escalator toward the second floor.

The second level of the structure was in even worse shape than the ground floor. A greater portion of it was collapsed, and the ceilings even in the relatively intact sections had been shored up with emergency supports. There seemed to be fewer occupied storefronts on the upper level, since there were far fewer floodlights to brighten the darkness. They marched toward the remains of a restaurant called LeFleur's, and their escort motioned for them to stop in the doorway.

Three men were gathered around a holographic projection table, studying a representation of the city and the positions of Reaper forces. They were involved in a discussion, but Zaeed couldn't hear what they were saying from where he stood. The First Lieutenant approached the table and waited patiently for someone to give him leave to speak. When he finally gained their attention, he saluted and spoke to his superiors, gesturing toward the group waiting at the door.

"Come in," one of the officers gestured.

Salik strode forward, and Zaeed and Greck followed close behind. Zaeed studied the three men closely as he approached. He recognized from their insignias that they were all reasonably high-ranking members of the Alliance… A staff commander and two captains. Or rather, a captain and a major, he corrected himself, noticing the marine insignia on the uniform of one of the two captains. All three were middle-aged, all three had facial scars in some form, and all three had the steely gaze Zaeed expected of any career military man. The major looked to be the oldest of the three, as his hair was mostly gray.

"Captain Golash Salik, STG," First Lieutentant Baker introduced the salarian.

"Captain," the Major greeted him in a heavy russian accent as he stepped forward and shook Salik's hand. "I am Major Yuri Stadikov. This is Captain Harold Montsammard," he gestured toward the Captain, a man with a deep scar running down the right side of his face, "And Staff Commander Bruce Moore," he gestured toward the third man, a tall, dark-skinned man with a deep scar running from his lip to his jawline.

"Pleased to become acquainted with all of you," Salik responded. "Only wish the circumstances were not so catastrophic," he added, and turned to gesture to Zaeed. "This is Zaeed Massani. And the vorcha is Greck. They are present under my command."

Major Yuri looked over Zaeed briefly and the vorcha even more so. Then he turned his full attention back to the salarian.

"If I may ask, why is an STG operative on Terra Nova with mercenary support? And don't insult my intelligence by suggesting that these two aren't mercs."

"Please, Major," Salik shook his head. "Insulting your intelligence was never part of my plan. Unfortunately my mission here has intersected with your operations, and I need permission to pursue the goal for which I was sent. Am willing to offer what little intel we have gathered on Reaper activities here, as well as the results of STG research on Reaper tech, in exchange for leave to pursue my mission to its conclusion. Once my objective has been attained, I am fully prepared to commit to your command and assist in efforts to repel the invaders from Terra Nova."

"Just what _is_ your mission," Captain Montsammard asked.

"Tracked a group of Cerberus operatives to the planet," Salik explained. "A company here unearthed Prothean ruins south of the city. STG intercepted and decrypted transmissions from Cerberus operatives discussing the discovery and the tactical advantage it would offer Cerberus. Was dispatched to reach the ruins, assess the data, and prevent Cerberus from retaining the information."

"Cerberus is here? Now?" Major Stadikov's brows rose slightly. "Surely they will abandon their mission and join us in combating the Reapers…"

"Foolish assumption," Salik said bluntly. "Cerberus had already occupied the complex belonging to the company that discovered the ruins. They were making no effort to combat Reapers. My superiors in STG believe that they will take advantage of the Reaper invasion to undermine defenses of non-human colonies and military installations. Cerberus is a terrorist organization, after all. Would not take much effort to do just enough damage to ensure that Reapers wipe out the majority of most militaries. Would leave humanity poised to rule the galaxy if the Reapers can be defeated."

"You're here to help your own people, not ours," Staff Commander Moore's deep voice pointed out.

"Of course," Salik sniffed. "Obviously did not hire mercenaries and travel here with knowledge that Reapers would be arriving today. With such foreknowledge, would have avoided this planet altogether. However, since I am present, I will pursue my mission to its conclusion."

"And if we refuse to let you leave?" Major Stadikov regarded the salarian steadily.

"Offer to disseminate all intel in my possession still stands. Logical to assist your cause. Reaper victory on this or any other world is detrimental to overall war effort against the Reapers. Feel compelled to point out, however, that Cerberus motives are unclear, and should they be acting against the interests of galactic community as a whole, leaving their mission unopposed is ill-advised."

Zaeed had been standing silently throughout the conversation, but he had a gut feeling that they weren't going to be allowed to pursue their mission, despite the logic of the salarian's argument. He hoped that whatever Salik had been planning as a backup was a good idea, because he was almost sure they would be forced to make an escape.

"First Lieutenant Baker, you are dismissed. Please escort Mr. Massani and Mr. Greck out," the Major instructed. "Captain, we will discuss your mission after we hear your intel on the Reapers and fill you in on the situation here."

Zaeed turned to follow the First Lieutenant out of the former restaurant, and the vorcha shuffled along behind them both. Once they were outside, the mercenary turned to his Alliance escort.

"What was your name again? First Lieutenant…"

"Anthony Baker," the soldier filled in. "You can call me Baker."

"Zaeed," the mercenary said by way of introduction. "I don't need anything classified, but I want to know… How bad is the situation?"

The First Lieutenant looked around briefly and then nodded toward a vacant storefront. Zaeed strolled along with him, eager to get a feel for the situation on the ground. It was easy to focus on his job when he was actually in the field, but he was still human, after all, and wanted to know how his people were faring against the Reapers.

"It's bad," the young soldier said once they were well away from the vorcha and any other possible eavesdroppers. "The Reapers are wiping us out at a staggering pace. With communications mostly scrambled we have no idea what is happening at several of our other F.O.B.s, but the Reapers have completely decimated two of our bases and the majority of the personnel stationed at each. Survivors we picked up in the field filled us in."

"Do we still have fighters in the air? Ground support?" Zaeed inquired.

"F.O.B. Alpha-5 was positioned a few kilometers south of the city. Most of our air forces were diverted there. But with communications down, we have no idea if they're still fighting. There are a variety of ground vehicles deployed and we're using what artillery we can, but we haven't been able to do any significant damage to the big Reapers."

"We've seen some strange activity from the Reaper ground forces," Zaeed muttered. "How are the front lines faring against them?"

"From what I hear, it's a pretty conventional ground war at the front lines. The Reaper shock troops come in hordes and don't stop. They've been pretty straightforward when our patrols have run into them too. Until-"

"Until that group retreated earlier," Zaeed finished for him. "I noticed that too."

"I'm sure they just had to reinforce a more important position," Baker shrugged. "They're shock troops. Their whole purpose is to keep pressure on us."

Zaeed didn't answer. He wasn't convinced that it was as simple as that. He was once again drawn to the thought that if the Reapers were really responsible for wiping out galactic civilization time and again, they had to know what they were doing.

"I have to report back to my staff lieutenant," Baker interrupted his thoughts.

"Sure," Zaeed nodded. When the soldier started to turn away, however, a thought occurred to him. "Hey Baker," he called after him.

The soldier turned.

"Which way is the mess?"

"Ground floor, all the way to the rear of the building. The cafeteria was still mostly intact."

"Thanks," Zaeed muttered.

He watched the kid walk away and then turned to make his way toward the mess hall. He was carrying rations, but if he could get a little bit of food and perhaps store some extra before they set out again, it would be a bonus. He was eager to get out and start kicking Cerberus ass. Now, however, he was starting to feel the urge to tear into some Reapers as well.

* * *

**Docking Bay B-19, Citadel, Seven Days earlier…**

"_With the batarian comm buoys down, there have been reports of unrest on some of the outlying colonies, where officials and military forces are cut off from their government and economic resources. One batarian politician, who asked to remain anonymous, claims that separatist groups, unhappy with current leadership, are responsible for sabotaging the comm buoys. However, as with the quarian invasion rumors, at this point it is impossible to be certain of the true cause of the loss of contact with Kar'shan._"

Zaeed turned away from the monitor, picking up his gear and heading for the docking collar that was extended to the airlock of his employer's ship. He didn't care what the reason behind the loss of contact with the batarians was. He didn't care for the race as a general rule anyway. However, the Alpha Relay had been in batarian space as well, and he found himself wondering if the Reapers had used some other method to reach the galaxy and begin their invasion. It was just intuition, but he always trusted his instincts, and he had a feeling things were about to get _real_ chaotic. He relegated the thought to the back of his mind for the time being. If the Reapers had arrived, there was nothing he could do about it.

_At least they picked a place to begin their invasion that won't be any real loss._

As he approached the ship, he spotted the salarian standing near the docking collar door. There were a number of heavy cases spread out around him, which he assumed held supplies. There was only one other person present, however, and Zaeed frowned as he studied the man. He was human, wearing mismatched armor that had probably been pieced together over the years, but he carried himself with calm assurance. Zaeed had expected a larger force of fellow mercenaries.

"Is this it?" Zaeed demanded as he walked up to the pair.

"Will be engaging in a brief detour to Tuchanka to gather two more," Salik commented absently, his eyes upon a datapad. "Proceed aboard and choose a cabin. Will arrive on Tuchanka tomorrow to gather the vorcha-"

"Vorcha?" Zaeed repeated with a scowl. "We'd be better off without them."

"Objection noted. After retrieving our vorcha support, other stops will be necessary to procure supplies essential to the mission. After the final detour, two days travel time will put us within the system in which Terra Nova lies," the salarian finished. "Oh. Introductions," Salik waved a hand back and forth between the two without ever looking up from his datapad, "Robert Ellison. Zaeed Massani."

"Good to meet you," Robert extended a hand.

Zaeed merely grunted and shook the man's hand. He would reserve his judgment on whether it was good to meet the lad or not until he'd seen him in action. It was always a bit of a mystery when he joined an unfamiliar group as to the level of professionalism he would be dealing with. He hoisted his duffle and headed aboard the ship. The past week of waiting had been torturous. He needed to start shooting at Cerberus soon. Unfortunately, it would still be several more days before he got the chance…

* * *

**Forward Operations Base Alpha-5, Now…**

Selura opened her eyes groggily, staring at the dimly-illuminated plating of the ceiling overhead. She could hear the soft and steady beep of the VI program that was monitoring her vitals, and she turned her head, trying to bring the holographic display into focus. When she could finally see the miniature representation of her internal systems and the accompanying data readouts, she closed her eyes and allowed herself a smile. When she had settled on the operating table and the doctor administered the anesthetic that would put her to sleep, she had a terrible feeling that something would go wrong and she would wake up with one fewer limb. Seeing two limbs represented on the hologram was extremely comforting.

"Don't try to sit up," a male voice warned her. "Just lie still and answer a few questions for me."

Selura slowly nodded, turning her head toward the male, who she recognized as one of the human doctors that had been sterilizing himself prior to the beginning of her operation. He was a clean-shaven fellow with intense brown eyes and a shaved head. She waited for the questions, but was more occupied with wondering where Neela and the others were.

"What's your name?" the human asked her as he loomed over her, shining a small light into her right eye, then turning it away before directing it into her retina again.

"Selura Leneur," she mumbled. Her mouth was dry and her tongue felt like it wasn't working properly. She swallowed.

"Do you know where you are?" the man asked as he moved the light to her other eye, repeating the process.

"I am thirsty," she muttered.

"Answer the question," he insisted. "I'll get you something in a minute."

Selura sighed and nodded. "I am on Terra Nova… In the infirmary of a human military base."

"Okay," the man held up three fingers in front of her. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three."

"Very good," he smiled at her. "Lie still. I'll get you something to drink."

Selura closed her eyes and waited for the doctor to return, listening to the rhythmic sound of her heartbeat broadcast in digital tones by the VI at her bedside. She was anxious to know how the surgery had gone, but given the fact that the doctor seemed more concerned with her memory than her arm, she was assuming it went well. She raised her head and looked at her arm, which was encased from the shoulder to the elbow in a metal casing of some kind. In a brief moment of dark speculation, she imagined that the metal contraption was her new cybernetic upper arm, implanted because they couldn't save the real thing.

_That is ridiculous_, she chided herself. _It is probably to keep my arm immobile while it heals._

"Here we are," the man returned with a spill-proof bottle of clear liquid, which he held out for her.

Selura took the proffered bottle and greedily took in a mouthful of the fluid, and then almost spit it out again. It was bitter-tasting and thicker than water. She choked it down and coughed, looking at the human in confusion.

"By the Goddess, what _is_ this stuff?"

"It's a synthetic cocktail that will help replace lost electrolytes and stimulate healing. I know it tastes awful, but get used to the flavor. You'll have to finish four bottles of it over the next two days."

Selura grimaced as she took another mouthful, letting it linger before swallowing it in an attempt to get used to the taste. Still, when she swallowed it, her nose wrinkled. "This is some sort of punitive drink that you give to wounded soldiers I am guessing. It is so awful that they take extra care to avoid further injuries just to avoid drinking this stuff."

"We don't punish our wounded-" the man began.

"That was a joke," Selura cut him off. She sighed.

"Of course," he smiled, looking a tiny bit embarrassed.

"So I still have an arm," Selura pointed out. "I am guessing the surgery went well?"

"Textbook," he nodded. "Your medic did an excellent job when she patched you up. Our surgeon just had to clean up the area a little and reposition fragments of bone around a bioplasmic mold, and then reconnect the muscles and nerves."

"A bioplasmic mold?" Selura repeated.

"It is a genetically engineered substance similar to medigel. A VI system forms it into the shape that the pulverized bone should have, and then the bone fragments are pieced together around it. Over the next several days the material will dissolve and stimulate rapid knitting of the bone around it. By the time it is fully dissolved, the bone will be whole again. Your arm should be good as new by the end of the week."

"First medigel, now bioplasmic molds," Selura smiled. "I will give you humans credit for medical ingenuity."

"The brace will allow you to use your right arm for simple tasks without the risk of upsetting the healing of the bone," the man explained. "Don't try to lift anything heavier than a datapad, but you _should_ try to use your arm for simple things like eating. It will help you to more quickly regain function in the muscle tissue as it heals."

Selura nodded and transferred the bottle to her right hand, slowly bringing it up to her lips to take another sip. It was an awkward process and a little uncomfortable, but not half as painful as she expected it to be. The doctor nodded his approval, and was just about to say something else when the door opened and a young soldier stepped inside.

"Doc, the quarian is here to visit her."

"Send her in," the doctor nodded, and then turned to Selura with a smile. "Your quarian crewmate was adamant that she be informed immediately when you woke up. When I was getting your drink, I sent someone to tell her she could visit."

Selura smiled brightly at the news, even though she felt a little guilty that Neela was worrying about her so much. When the quarian stepped inside, her smile only deepened.

"I hope they did not interrupt anything important when they dragged you to see me," Selura grinned.

"Just sleep," Neela responded, walking around the bed to grasp and squeeze Selura's left hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Considering they replaced my upper arm with a cybernetic substitute, I feel wonderful," Selura quipped.

"They… What?" Neela sounded stunned.

"A joke! That was a joke!" Selura was quick to assure her when she realized Neela had taken her seriously.

"You…" Neela paused for a moment, and then she suddenly punched the scientist in her uninjured arm. Hard. "You bosh'tet! Don't joke about things like that!"

"Ow! Goddess! No punching the patient!"

"You deserved that! Do you have any idea how _worried_ I was?"

"Worried?" Selura repeated, and the corner of her lips curled upward. "About me?"

"Of course," Neela said softly. "You're… my friend."

The quarian released her hold on Selura's hand and lowered herself into a seat next to the bed. She looked away and shifted position in a way that suggested she was uncomfortable. Selura was tempted to tease her some more, but something told her she should refrain. So she took another sip of her awful drink and decided that a change of subject was in order.

"I am sorry they woke you," she said sincerely. "The doctor never said how long I was out. But you need your rest. Are you feeling any better?"

"A little," Neela nodded. "The fever will linger for a few days at least, but my hands aren't shaking so much," she raised a hand to display the lack of tremors.

Selura smiled and nodded. "I am glad you feel a bit better. And it means a lot that you came to check up on me."

"I'm glad you're okay."

"Indeed. In a week or so, my arm will be good as new. Or at least so the doctor tells me."

"Does that mean you are stuck in here for a week?" Neela asked.

"I…" Selura trailed off. "Actually, the doctor failed to mention whether I had to stay here or not."

"Let me go find him for you," Neela suggested, rising from her seat.

"No," Selura said quickly. "That is unnecessary. I am sure he will come back to check on me soon. You should go back to wherever you were sleeping and get more rest."

Neela shook her head, and Selura frowned. She felt more than a little guilty that her friend was putting her own welfare aside to stay close to her. It was sweet, but she didn't want Neela to prolong her illness on her account. She was tempted to insist, but she decided on a compromise instead. She gingerly lifted her injured arm, and used her good arm to push herself over to the far right edge of the bed. Then she patted the small bit of space available on the opposite side of the narrow mattress.

"If you refuse to go back to your bed and get some sleep, then at least keep me company here," she suggested, suppressing her natural urge to tease the quarian. "If you happen to fall asleep, then great. If not, you can keep an eye on me like you want."

"I shouldn't…" the quarian's voice was so soft that Selura could have mistaken her for Illitha.

"Please?" Selura persisted. "I would really feel much better if you were relaxing, and being close to a friend right now would be nice."

Selura watched as Neela's hands twisted together, and she imagined the indecision that her friend was wrestling with. The young scientist wasn't blind… she was aware that Neela felt some measure of attraction toward her. In truth, it was mutual. But she also got the feeling that Neela was struggling a bit with that infatuation. She didn't want to push too much. What she _did_ want was for Neela to get the rest it was obvious she needed.

"Okay," Neela said at last, and she carefully climbed up onto the vacant half of the bed.

There was precious little space with the two of them sharing the surface, which meant they were shoulder-to-shoulder, hip-to-hip. Selura reached for Neela's hand, and was gratified to feel the quarian's grip tighten on hers. She focused on the ceiling overhead and concentrated hard on not saying anything to embarrass Neela and drive her from the bed. She opted to talk about simple things, and given the surroundings, the first story that came to mind was about a childhood stay in a hospital on Lusia when she came down with a severe respiratory infection.

She kept her voice low while she talked about the time she'd spent in the hospital, and how she'd made a game out of seeing how many times she could escape her room and go off to find expensive hospital equipment to play with. She smiled as she recounted how angry her mother had been when the nurses discovered her in the phlebotomy lab, mixing the blood samples from a storage cabinet together in a big glass beaker…

However, by that point in her story, she noted with satisfaction that Neela's grip on her hand had loosened, and the quarian's breathing had become deep and even. The doctor reentered the room just then, and Selura was quick to bring a finger to her lips, warning him to be quiet. He nodded and smiled, silently walking out to the adjoining chamber.

* * *

**Port Hanshan, Noveria, Five Days Earlier…**

Selura stood silently at one end of the hangar in her company's facility, watching the Serrice News Service feed on a nearby monitor. Behind her, the team responsible for developing the Armanis fighter prototypes was hard at work, maneuvering the fighters onto a pair of large hover pallets for delivery to the _Sileya_. They were a day behind schedule, and she was looking forward to getting back to Port Hanshan. She and Neela had spoken for several hours a night over the vidcomm, but she was looking forward to being together with the crew again, watching random comedy vids or playing games. And she was most certainly looking forward to Aida's cooking. The food served in the company facility was bland and tasteless for the most part.

"_Batarian officials continue to hurl accusations at the Alliance,_" the asari reporter on the screen was saying. "_After the destruction of the Alpha Relay six months ago, few can blame them for believing the worst of the Alliance's motives. Gorlak Thirken, Governor of the batarian colony Camala had this to say regarding the loss of contact with the batarian home world…_"

The image of a batarian in an expensive suit appeared on the screen, and his raspy voice took the place of the lovely voice of the reporter. "_We know the Alliance has stealth vessels. This is obviously an attack on the seat of our government…_"

Selura shook her head and turned off the monitor, walking over to stand beside the project director. She activated her company datapad and went over the specifications and design notes on the Armanis fighters once again while she waited. She'd lost count of how many times she had studied this material since returning to the facility.

"I look forward to seeing how the testing phase goes," she commented absently.

"We all do," Project Director T'Gira nodded her head. "We have put so much time into this project, and these fighters will be the envy of the galaxy if they test as well as our simulations suggest they will."

"They will," Selura smiled. She was certain that the fighters would surpass any benchmark set for them.

"I do apologize for the inconvenience of keeping you up here," the elder asari turned to look at her. "Thank you for your understanding in the matter."

"Please," Selura shook her head. "I was happy to work with another excellent team in our company. And you allowing me to use the vidcomm every night was more than I could have hoped for. I only wish I had been involved in the design phase of your project. It seems like it would have been a lot of fun."

Selura was lying, of course, but she wanted to part with the team on good terms in case she ever worked with them again. She would definitely have enjoyed being part of the design phase, but she would have hated being on Noveria for the entire length of such a project. She hadn't enjoyed a good night's sleep in days, thanks to the distant – but _constant_ – howl of the wind, and the cold that seemed to penetrate even the deepest levels of the complex. She just hoped that Neela would forgive her for going to bed early that night. She was looking forward to a good night's sleep.

"We've locked out the power and control systems in the fighters, just in case any of the crew on that ship gets curious and tries to examine our prototype," Delisa informed her. "We uploaded the lockout code to your datapad this morning."

"They would never do that," Selura protested. "The _Sileya's_ crew is an admirable group."

"It is simple protocol," the elder asari shrugged. "You can pass the code on to our team member when you meet her at the testing site on Thessia."

"Of course," Selura nodded, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She knew that she was expected to pass on _all_ of the information and schematics regarding the Armanis fighters when she reached the testing site. The code was obviously included in that cache.

The two asari watched as the hover pallets were loaded onto a transport truck. She was looking forward to seeing Neela's reaction when she saw the fighters. She was only sorry about the security lockout. She had been toying with the idea for the past couple of days of fueling one of the fighters and letting Neela take it out for a quick test run, just to brighten the pilot's day. Unfortunately, she couldn't be sure that the testing team wouldn't know the craft had been used when they received it. She didn't want to risk her position with her company. So she guessed Neela would have to be content with an in-depth look at the schematics and simulation vids.

When the rear hatch of the truck snapped closed, the project director turned and smiled at her, bowing her head slightly.

"It has been a pleasure to work with you, Selura."

"Likewise," Selura smiled back. "Hopefully we can collaborate again sometime."

"There is a shuttle waiting on the landing pad to return you to Port Hanshan."

Selura bobbed her head in thanks to her superior, and then hurried to retrieve her bag of belongings from where she'd set them aside. As she left the room behind and headed for the elevator, she knew she was grinning virtually ear to ear. Finally, they would be leaving this horrible, snow-choked planet behind. There would be a brief stop at an unmanned supply depot in an adjacent system, and then they were headed for the virtual paradise of Terra Nova...

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: Thankfully I got through another Chapter in time... I was afraid I wouldn't hit my deadline. But here it is! I know that a lot of the past material in this Chapter is short and simple, but I really wanted to incorporate some of the News Network info that Bioware released leading up to ME3's release. Hopefully the sections are still relevant enough that they don't feel out of place. We're rapidly closing in on the convergence of the timelines, so I'm simultaneously excited and nervous over the upcoming shift in narrative style. The next update should be this coming Wednesday.**

**Thank you all for the interest you've shown in my story, whether by favoriting/following, commenting, or just reading it. I honestly never expected to see the number of regular readers that seem to be keeping up with the story. It means a lot to me to know that I'm entertaining at least a few people out there. You're all fantastic.**


	18. Chapter 18: Uncertainty

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Eighteen: Uncertainty

.

**Terra Nova, Now…**

Neela groaned softly as she woke from her slumber. She was groggy at first, and shifted position, pressing her head against the soft surface beneath it and shifting her leg, which was draped over something warm. The sensations transmitted to her through her suit's tactile emulators confused her a bit, and her mind cleared rapidly. She was curled up on her side, pressed against a warm body, and one leg was draped over a shapely thigh. Her head was resting against her bedmate's shoulder, and a slender arm was wrapped protectively around her. Her own arm was draped across her companion's midsection.

Suddenly the heat inside of her suit was stifling, as she remembered where she had been when she fell asleep and realized who she was laying with. She raised her head carefully and shifted her gaze upward to Selura's face, blushing fiercely in spite of the fact that the asari was asleep. She hoped that Selura hadn't awakened at any point and discovered her clinging to her in that way. Taking great care not to wake the injured scientist, she slowly slipped out of Selura's embrace and off of the bed.

Once she was standing beside the bed and staring at the slumbering form of the scientist, Neela experienced a hormonal rush that left her trembling. She turned away and closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on anything but the memory of the warmth and softness of the asari's body next to hers. She wasn't entirely successful.

While it was true that they had only known each other for a handful of weeks, Neela had come to admire the scientist greatly. Selura was beautiful, intelligent, witty, thoughtful, generous… there was so much to admire in her. But she had been fooling herself into believing that her feelings were just friendship for some time. Over the course of the past day, it had been driven home time and again that her feelings did not end at friendship. When she'd seen Selura injured, she thought her heart was going to stop. When she was seated in front of her in the fighter, with the asari's arm around her, she felt like she was in paradise. Selura's invitation to join her in the bed just a few hours prior had generated such a rush of excitement that she'd had to clasp her hands together to keep them from shaking. And just now, waking up at her side… she couldn't deny her infatuation any longer. She was in love.

She turned and limped from the room and into the adjacent examination room, trying to puzzle out her emotions. She should have been happy to find someone she truly loved for the first time. But a part of her felt guilty over it. There was a feeling of responsibility that had been lurking in the back of her mind ever since she was old enough to understand love and reproduction. She felt obligated to find a nice quarian male, forge a relationship and have a child to help perpetuate her species. She had always simply accepted that it was her duty to her people to do so. But now…

_How could I go back to my people and find a mate among them when I feel so strongly for her? I just… can't imagine being apart from her._

She knew some soul searching was in order. Of all the things she had imagined when she left the Flotilla for her pilgrimage, the idea that she might fall in love with an asari had never been among them. What would her parents say? Would they be disappointed? Would they even understand? And if she decided to truly pursue a relationship with Selura, how would it work? They came from very different cultures. And… intimacy would be tricky, given her immune system and the risks of direct contact between them. She put a hand to her head and sighed. She didn't even know how to _begin_ making sense of this.

"You're limping," a female voice startled her. "Why don't you sit down and let me run a quick scan of your leg?"

She turned to regard the tired-looking human woman who was addressing her, and then she slowly nodded and limped her way over to the nearest seat. The doctor activated her omni-tool and started scanning Neela's leg. Neela tried to sit still, but was still preoccupied with her thoughts.

"I'm Doctor Tillman," the woman introduced herself. "How did you hurt your knee?"

"Hmm?" Neela had only half-heard the question, and it took her mind a moment to focus. "Oh. The magnetic locks in my boots were engaged when our ship was attacked. There was this drone… Well, the floor I was standing on shifted and I lost my balance with my feet locked to the deck."

"I see," the doctor nodded. "You seem preoccupied. Is something else wrong?"

"No!" Neela said… a bit too quickly. Then, seeing the doctor regarding her expectantly, she sighed. "I don't know," she amended. "I… I'm wrestling with some things…" her eyes strayed toward the door to the surgical recovery room.

"Your girlfriend?" the doctor asked.

"No!" Neela felt herself blushing again. "I-I mean… she's not my… I don't think…" she trailed off and sighed.

"I think I understand," the Doctor's smile was gentle. "I won't pry, but if you need someone to talk to, I can hold anything you say in confidence as your doctor. And your knee will be fine, by the way. It's only a mild sprain. You should try to stay off of it for a day or two. Give it time to heal."

"Doctor," Neela began, and then paused, uncertain if she should continue. She wasn't even sure what she wanted to know. But being able to air her concerns to someone seemed like a good way for her to figure things out. "Are you married?"

"Yes," the woman nodded. "My husband and I have been married for nine years."

"Is he human?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever been in love with someone who wasn't?"

"Briefly," the woman nodded again. "In medical school, I dated a turian who worked on the security force."

"What happened? Why aren't you still together?"

"It just didn't work out," the Doctor shrugged. "We were looking for different things in life at that point. When I finished my schooling, I wanted to enlist in the Alliance and serve my people. He didn't want to continue a relationship when we were light years apart."

Neela sighed. "I… never imagined I would fall in love during my pilgrimage," she said softly. "I don't even know if she feels the same. But even if she did, how could a relationship between us ever work? I don't know if I could abandon my people and stay out here with her… and it doesn't seem fair to ask her to commit to life in an environmental suit living with my people. I don't even know if my people would allow it… I don't think it's ever been done."

"Do you want my opinion?" the Doctor asked softly.

"Please," Neela nodded. "I don't know how to make sense of this."

"Any relationship has challenges. I serve in the Alliance. My husband is an architect. Every time I get posted to a new location, he is forced to leave his job and come with me, and then start all over in a new company when we settle at my new posting. But we love each other, so we make it work. My advice is this: Stop thinking so far ahead. For now, you just need to figure out how you feel about her, and whether she feels as strongly about you. If you love each other, the rest will work itself out."

"I know how I feel about her," Neela said softly. "She's amazing. She's everything I ever hoped for in my future mate. I just always imagined my mate as a quarian husband, not an asari bondmate."

"Well, if she feels the same about you, I'd say you have the perfect groundwork for a successful relationship. Problems will always come up. But if you love each other, you work them out together. That's what couples do."

"I feel stupid for worrying about this now," Neela sighed. "I'm on an alien planet that's under siege by Reapers, and I'm acting like a hormonal adolescent who can't stop thinking about her first love."

"This seems to be the one thing almost all races have in common," the Doctor smiled at her. "Our hearts don't wait for what our minds say is a convenient time. Love happens on its own schedule."

Neela had to smile. What the doctor said was true. Falling in love during a war was definitely not a convenient time, but the timing was irrelevant. She decided that the human's advice was sound. She was worrying too much about things that could be sorted out later, assuming they managed to survive and escape Terra Nova. For now, she just needed to figure out how to tell if Selura felt the same way about her. All her worrying would be for nothing if Selura didn't consider her to be more than a friend. Her heart almost stopped at that idea. One way or the other, she would have to find out.

* * *

**Leaving the Pax System, Four days earlier…**

Neela was grinning excitedly as the elevator carried her and Selura down to the cargo bay. She had been on the bridge when the Armanis fighters were loaded aboard the _Sileya_, and thus she hadn't seen them. Now that the captain had taken over at the helm, she had her first chance to see a real fighter up close. Prior to this, she had only ever seen them in space through a viewport. Selura was grinning at her, seemingly as excited to show them to her as she was to see them.

When the door opened, her eyes went immediately to the two fighter craft that took up the majority of the space in the cargo bay. They were sleek and handsome craft, with soft lines, rounded edges and graceful curves. They were beautiful. She approached one of them, running a hand along the underside of its thruster ring.

"All I could think about all week long was showing them to you," Selura said excitedly. "The simulations and the test footage are amazing. These will be the most advanced fighter craft in the galaxy if they test well."

"They're beautiful," Neela smiled, walking around the fighter in a circle. "What I'd give to fly one of these…"

"I wish you could," Selura sighed. "I truly wanted to let you, but I am afraid my company might have a way to detect if the systems have been accessed."

"Oh, I didn't mean…" Neela shook her head. "I was just thinking aloud. I wouldn't want you to risk your job just so I can play with your company's toys."

"Well, I was hoping that the test footage would be enough of an experience for you," Selura grinned, holding up her datapad.

"Really? You'll let me see them in action?"

"Of course," Selura smiled at her, reaching out to take her hand. "I already showed you the schematics for the Prothean stasis pod. I figure I cannot get into any more trouble for showing you some sims and test data for these. What can my company do? Terminate my employment twice?"

Neela laughed, allowing the asari to drag her along. Selura settled to a seat with her back against the outside of Neela's quarters, and Neela slid to a seat beside her. The asari held the datapad out where they could both see it and she brought up a training vid that the designers had put together, which explained the ship's maneuvering capabilities and how it was operated. She imagined many people would have found the information boring, but with her interest in piloting a fighter, the quarian was fascinated.

For the next couple of hours, the two sat together, watching vid after vid that Selura's company had compiled showing maneuvering displays, simulations of combat scenarios, speed tests, and all manner of technical explanations. Neela was amazed. The asari that designed the Armanis had been truly innovative. She wished there was a way that she could steal one of the fighters and return it to her people… not that she would ever do that to Selura, but it was hard not to think of what a great presentation gift an Armanis would make to a new captain. Possession of such an advanced fighter would greatly improve the defensive capabilities of the Migrant Fleet, especially if they could replicate it. When the last vid ended, she sighed.

"They're amazing," she said softly. "If my people had fighters like this, maybe…" she trailed off. The upcoming war with the geth was a secret.

"What is wrong?" Selura asked, perhaps picking up on her sudden uncertainty.

Neela debated whether or not she should answer. The plan to liberate Rannoch was top secret. But Selura had trusted her with classified data from her company, and a part of her really wanted to open up to the asari, if only so she had someone to talk to about her fears. For some reason, there was no one she felt more comfortable confiding in. She made a decision.

"I told you that my family wants me to return to the Flotilla," Neela began.

"I know. I will really miss you."

"I'm not supposed to tell anyone why," Neela continued, though she smiled at Selura's admission. "But… You've trusted me with your company's secrets. I want to trust you with this."

Selura said nothing, but regarded her with a serious intensity that Neela rarely saw in the asari. She swallowed and reached over to grasp Selura's hand, drawing courage from the contact.

"My people intend to retake our home world. In a very short time, we'll be going to war with the geth."

"War with…" Selura looked stunned for a moment, and then perhaps a little panicked. "Neela, the geth are dangerous! They demolished most of the citadel fleet during the battle of the Citadel…"

"I know," Neela bowed her head. "I'm terrified of what this could mean. But my parents said there are rumors that one of the admirals developed a secret weapon to use against the geth. The security of our fleet has always been of paramount importance to our people. I have to believe they wouldn't do this if they weren't sure we could win…"

"I am sure they have a plan," Selura nodded, squeezing the quarian's hand. "But please, whenever you can… would you contact me? Just so that I know that you are safe…"

"I'll try," Neela smiled. "I want to believe that this will work. That we'll have a world of our own again when this war is over… But just knowing that if we fail, it will mean the end of our people…"

Selura let go of her hand, but only so that she could slide an arm across Neela's shoulders, giving her a gentle squeeze. Neela leaned against the asari just a little, comforted by her support.

"Trust in your people," Selura urged her. "You cannot let yourself dwell on the worst case scenario. Your people will fight hard, and when it is all over, you will have a world of your own again. A place where you will never be forced to remain on the ship…"

Neela smiled at the thought. She'd been dreaming of what life might be like on the home world ever since her parents told her of the plan to retake Rannoch, but she'd never considered that angle before. It would certainly be nice to have a place where she would never again be turned away at the docks.

"I have been meaning to ask you something," Selura said softly.

"What is it?"

"You threatened to release a horde of laser-wielding pyjacks on dock security at Illium, right? That is why you were forced to leave?"

Neela laughed. She wondered if the asari was going to _ever_ let that go. After all of the time she'd spent refusing to tell Selura the truth, she had the feeling the asari was going to be disappointed when she found out the real reason behind it. The asari's guesses were always so much grander in scale.

* * *

**Forward Operations Base Alpha-5, Now…**

The roar of engines and shouted orders startled Aida out of her sleep. She instinctively rolled over so that she could sit up, but as she had been passed out at the edge of the narrow bunk, this only resulted in her plummeting to the floor, where she landed on a thin mattress pad, much to her amazement. The soft landing guaranteed bruises at most, whereas she might have broken something without it. She glanced around in confusion at the blank metal walls that surrounded her, and then she remembered where she was. All three of the other bunks in the unit were empty, and she rubbed her eyes, trying to figure out where everyone had gone. A glance at the shutters showed that it was still mostly dark outside… the light trickling in through the slats was artificial, not natural.

Outside, the engine noise and the shouting continued. It was clear from the tone that something was wrong. Aida picked herself up off of the mattress and hurried to the door. When the portal opened, she stared out at the dirt lane that ran directly by the civilian shelters, where several Makos and other vehicles were idling, and injured men were stumbling out of them or being carried out by comrades. Some of the injured were being laid out immediately on the packed earth. All the noise was drawing other civilians out of their shelters, and soon there was an anxious crowd of humans milling about.

Aida quickly grabbed her omni-tool from where she'd placed it before she had climbed into bed, and she hurried out onto the dirt lane, approaching one of the Alliance soldiers.

"What happened?" she asked in concern, looking critically at the wounded that were being laid out in the dirt. It was clear to her that many of them were seriously injured.

"Clear this area," the soldier ordered.

Aida's eyes fell upon a nearby soldier who was laying on the ground, and who seemed to be struggling to breathe. He was clutching at his chest and taking quick, shallow breaths. She pushed past the marine to whom she had been speaking. Kneeling beside the injured soldier, she activated her omni-tool and engaged the medscan. The marine grabbed her and tried to drag her away, but she jerked out of his grasp. The scuffle drew the attention of several nearby marines, some of whom drew weapons and hurried over.

"Get back to your shelter!" the marine she had first spoken to roared as he and another man dragged her to her feet.

"Stop! This man is dying!" she cried. "I can-"

"What the hell is going on here?" a voice demanded, bringing the soldiers and Aida all to an immediate stop. Aida saw Lieutenant Gradian running from a nearby building with several people in tow who were wearing medical uniforms.

"Gradian!" Aida called out to him, jerking free of the loosened grip of the marines. They were quick to seize her again. "This man cannot breathe!"

"Let her go!" the Lieutenant shouted.

Aida knelt beside the soldier once again and returned to the task of scanning him, but she had no tools that she could use to do anything to assist. As she had guessed, he was having difficulty breathing due to tension pneumothorax… a buildup of air in the chest cavity around the lungs. She saw no signs of penetrating injuries, but it wasn't an uncommon complication from pressure injuries or chest trauma.

A young medic came to kneel on the opposite side of the soldier, and he glanced at the holographic image displayed over Aida's omni-tool, nodding once.

"Doctor! He's suffering tension pneumo. We need a chest tube!" the medic called out, prompting one of the doctors to hurry over.

Aida moved out of the way so that the doctor could take her place, and she looked anxiously around at the few-dozen wounded soldiers that were spread out through the area. There were only a handful of doctors present, and far too many wounded for them to attend to, even with a few field medics around to help.

She turned to the two marines closest to her. "You and you, come with me!"

"What?" one of the men seemed surprised. "We don't take orders-"

"You want to see your fellow soldiers die?" Aida glared at the man, cutting off his protest. "If not, then shut up and come with me!"

She didn't wait to see if the marines would listen or not. Instead she hurried toward a group of men that none of the doctors had yet gotten to examining. She went to work, engaging her medscan to assess the first patient she reached. She was gratified to note that a couple of men were crouching beside her, including the marine that had originally attempted to restrain her.

"Activate this man's omni-tool and set it to display the following," she instructed, and then started rattling off the results of her scan. "Fractured right tibia, severe bruising, condition stable, low priority for treatment."

Aida was glad when she received no argument, and she smiled down at the wounded man, nodding and assuring him that he would be fine. She didn't dally for long, however, quickly moving from one patient to the next, assessing their injuries, making a guess as to how urgently they should be treated, and passing it off to one of the marines to enter her findings on the omni-tools, which would continue to display the information until deactivated. There were enough men helping her that by the time the first man finished keying in the information she'd given him, he was able to run over and take notes for the one she was just scanning. She never had to wait for someone to come over and assist.

By the time she'd finished scanning the sixth patient, there were men quickly running back and forth from the medical tent to the packed dirt road, transferring any wounded that could be moved to stretchers and returning them to the infirmary for treatment in a more controlled environment. There were a few that were too critically injured to be moved before being tended to, and doctors were huddled around several such soldiers, working quickly to repair their injuries or at least stabilize them so they could be moved. Aida ran her hands over her scalp crests, anxiously watching the human doctors work.

"I'm sorry," the marine that had originally restrained her said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "I thought you were just some panicky civilian that would get in the way."

"I understand," Aida said absently.

"Thanks for helping," the marine added quickly. "That was good thinking with the omni-tools."

"Yes it was," another voice interjected, and Aida turned to see Gradian standing nearby. "We do it with medical datapads, but using each man's omni was a good improvisation."

"I just wanted to save the doctors some time…"

"It was smart," Gradian nodded. "Listen, Aida… You were the medic on your ship. Do you know human anatomy?"

"A-a little," Aida stammered, tearing her attention away from the spectacle of the surgeons working. "My medical school included a basic primer on other species, and my medscan program includes diagnostics for all council races. I would not be comfortable trying anything invasive…"

"As you can see, we're short-staffed in the medical department. When our base in Scott was hit, the damned Reapers hit the medical wing first. If you'd be willing to help-"

"Gladly," Aida didn't wait for him to finish. "I can act like your field medics. Diagnosing, performing simple treatment… whatever helps."

"Great. Glad to have you here," Gradian smiled and gestured toward the medical building. "Get in there and pitch in where you can. Private," he turned to the marine. "You escort her. Inform the doctors there that she's got medical training and will be working as a medic with my authorization."

"Yes sir!" the marine saluted.

Aida quickly ran for the infirmary structure, with the marine at her side. Once she was inside and the doctors were informed of the situation, she was quickly shown to a supply locker, where she was able to retrieve a medical overcoat and some of the necessary implements for simple treatments, including a large pouch filled with packets of medigel. She was in the midst of grabbing the things she needed when Neela limped up beside her, surprising her. She had wondered where the others had gone.

"Aida? You're helping out?"

"Yes," Aida nodded. "Are you okay? And Selura and Lith?"

"Selura's surgery went well. She's in the recovery room. Or she was, until they wheeled her outside a few minutes ago. My knee is sprained, but I'll be fine. And I haven't seen Illitha in a while, but I'm sure she's around somewhere."

"Well, if you see her, keep an eye on her. I will come find you all when this mess is sorted out."

"What happened?"

"I have no idea," Aida shook her head. "I have to get to work," she dashed into the adjoining room without waiting for Neela's response.

The doctors quickly put Aida to work on simple tasks such as starting IVs, setting broken bones, sealing small wounds, and applying medigel to patients that needed it. She also ran to get supplies when she was asked, and provided other simple types of assistance. While she was horrified to see so many people injured, it made her feel useful to help out.

After having tended to her shipmates before they evacuated the _Sileya_, she was less rattled by what was going on around her than she would have been earlier. And she wanted to think that her assistance might mean one less soldier would die because he didn't get attention fast enough. The Reapers were a threat to everyone on Terra Nova, and if her medical skills could help the Alliance drive the Reapers from the planet, she would be happy to contribute them to the cause.

As she worked, however, her eyes were consistently drawn to the Prothean stasis pod, which was lying on the floor in the corner of the room, seemingly forgotten. She would have to speak to the doctors once the wounded were all taken care of. She would not leave the captain in stasis forever.

* * *

**En Route to the Asgard System, One day earlier…**

Aida hummed to herself as she moved around the _Sileya's_ kitchen, busily chopping up vegetables for the salad she was preparing to go with the crew's dinner. This was the place she was meant to be, and she wondered for the billionth time if she would ever be able to earn the captain's affections and convince her to retire and open a restaurant somewhere. They were her two great dreams – opening a restaurant and earning the elder asari's affection – and she continued to hope that both might one day come true.

"Aida! You need to get in here!"

Illitha's voice startled her when it issued from the emergency channel routed through the ship to her omni-tool. Aida could hear the anxiety and upset in her best friend's voice, and she dropped what she was doing and ran for the door, wondering if perhaps someone had been hurt in the crew lounge. Last she knew, Illitha was going to watch a vid with Selura. She felt the inertial dampeners kick in, causing a brief wave of mild dizziness, and her worries grew. Perhaps they were under attack?

As she was passing through the door into the corridor, she almost ran into Neela, who was sprinting down the hall from the bridge. They both had to pause in their strides to avoid colliding, and Aida was forced to ask the first question that sprang to mind.

"Neela? Who is piloting the ship?"

"We're in the middle of nowhere. The autopilot is keeping our course steady."

Aida's brows rose, and the two hurried into the crew lounge, where the rest of the crew was assembled, staring at the vid monitor with expressions ranging from veiled anger, to astonishment, to extreme upset in the case of her best friend. Neela and Aida hurried over to a position from which they could see the screen, and there the young cook came to a stop, stunned by what she was seeing.

On the screen, a massive ship was descending into the heart of a city, and even as it came down, a red beam tore through a huge skyscraper, demolishing the building in a matter of seconds. Across the bottom of the screen, a scrolling graphic announced that the footage was from London on Earth, sixteen minutes earlier. The footage was replaced by other images of multiple ships descending upon cities. The footage then miniaturized and moved to occupy a corner of the screen, revealing a young asari anchorwoman who was visibly struggling to maintain a professional air… she was obviously upset.

"_The footage you have just seen reached us from Earth minutes ago, and were the last images to escape the Sol system before all contact with the human home world was lost. While the Reaper threat was denied by most governments for the past three years, it seems clear now that the threat is very, very real. Like the batarians earlier in the week, all contact with the Alliance and Earth's leaders in the Sol system have been lost, and Matriarchs on Thessia say…_" the anchorwoman trailed off. Her eyes widened, and she looked even more uncomfortable when she started speaking again. "_We have just received reports that comm traffic from Palavan has been lost as well. Our sources in the Turian Hierarchy claim that the turian home world has also come under attack…_"

Aida sank into the nearest chair, as her legs refused to support her any longer. Glancing at Prathus, she could see his mandibles twitching and the obvious scowl upon his face. Her eyes went to the captain, and the anger in the former commando's eyes was plain to see.

"Goddess…" she breathed, and heard a muttered "Keelah" from Neela at the exact same time.

"Prathus… I-I am so sorry," Illitha stammered. "I am sure that your people w-will be fine. The turian military is the strongest in the galaxy…"

"Those can't really be Reapers, can they?" Neela asked quietly. "I thought they were a myth…"

"Obviously not," the captain spoke up, turning away from the screen, where the footage of the Reapers descending on Earth was replaying over and over.

Aida glanced around helplessly at the others. Prathus's hands were clenched into fists and he was still staring at the screen. Selura's eyes were fixed upon her lap, and she looked like she was in shock. As for Illitha… Aida saw tears slide down her friend's cheeks, and she knew that her friend's heart was breaking at the thought of all the innocent people dying on Earth and Palavan. She bolted from her seat, sitting down next to her friend and gathering her into her arms. The engineer started sobbing.

"I h-have to go home. I need t-to make sure my family is alright," Illitha cried.

"I have to contact the Flotilla... My parents…" Neela muttered, and hurried to the nearest terminal.

"What do we do now, Captain?" Aida felt compelled to ask. "Maybe we should forget this job and go to Thessia…"

"My mother does not live on Thessia," Selura whispered.

"My family is on Palavan," Prathus muttered.

The captain said nothing, but her eyes were fixed upon the painting on the wall… the one depicting the Thessian sunset. Aida was distantly aware that Neela was complaining about the communications system being frozen, but her eyes were upon Julisa.

"Captain?" she prompted.

"Neela, you are not going to get through," the captain said suddenly.

"What? Why not?" Neela turned to look at her.

"Think about it. Trillions of people probably just flooded the extranet with communications requests. You will be waiting for some time."

"What do we do, Captain?" Aida asked again.

"We continue to Terra Nova," Julisa turned, her eyes sweeping her assembled crew.

"Captain," Prathus cleared his throat. "We can't just continue on with business as usual. We all have family-"

"I am aware," the captain's voice was distant, almost cold. "But we are already more than halfway to Terra Nova. When we get there, we will pick up the last of our cargo. Once that is done, anyone that wants to find a shuttle to their family – wherever they are – is free to do so. The rest of us will continue on to Thessia to deliver the cargo, and then this crew will officially be disbanded…"

Aida's jaw dropped. She had never expected to see the crew fall apart. And Reapers were invading the galaxy. It all seemed so unreal that she expected to wake up at any moment and discover it had been some sort of horrible dream.

"What if Reapers are assaulting Terra Nova?" Neela asked.

"Doubtful," the captain shrugged. "Think about it. They are obviously hitting Earth in force. And they would also need to send a huge force to Palavan. They cannot be everywhere at once. They must be concentrating on the home worlds of the galaxy's most formidable militaries first."

"Your concern for my people is overwhelming," Prathus growled. However, the turian did slowly unclench his hands. "But you're right. We should be clear as far as Terra Nova. From there, we can all go where we need to."

"Neela, stay on the comm channels. Open communications requests for everyone's families. You should all try to contact the people you love…" the captain trailed off, and Aida was surprised to see a brief but obvious expression of pain on her face. "I will take the helm for now," the former commando added, and immediately left the room behind.

Aida stared at the door in her wake and held onto her friend, offering her what comfort she could while the engineer cried. Selura slowly slid from her chair, walking over to where Neela was seated, putting a hand on the quarian's shoulder. Prathus, who had been standing like a statue since the captain left the room, suddenly growled and stalked out.

_What can any of us really do? _Aida wondered. She didn't even know what to feel. There was a cold pit of fear in her stomach, and deep down, she felt that perhaps what she'd just witnessed was the beginning of the end of all life in the galaxy. Her thoughts went to her family… Her mother, father and sisters. _Goddess, please guide them somewhere safe…_

* * *

**Forward Operations Base Alpha-5, Now…**

Illitha stared at the ground in front of her while she walked, preoccupied with dark thoughts. She was once again wandering around in places she wasn't supposed to be, and she knew that if she got caught, she would end up imprisoned in an Alliance holding cell. But at that moment, she was too enmeshed in her thoughts to care. The doctor had informed her that she was doomed to experience numbness and tingling in her back for the remainder of her life, and the revelation had shifted her thoughts to a very unpleasant track.

She wasn't feeling sorry for herself. The state of her back was something she'd been a little shocked by at first, but she had adjusted quickly. She would have a few scars and some annoying sensations – or lack thereof – from time to time. She could deal with that. She considered herself lucky to be alive. She'd been certain she was going to die a half-dozen times in the past day.

The dreary thoughts that occupied her mind were centered around her friends. The crew of the _Sileya_ was like family to her. In some ways they were closer to her than her real family – or at least one member of it – had ever been. The fact that the ship had been reduced to a cloud of spaceborne debris saddened her, but a ship could always be rebuilt. The people living _on_ the ship, however, were not so easily replaceable.

The young engineer had been prey to horrible images ever since she realized she had suffered a lifelong injury as a result of the Reaper attack. It had caused her to think of Prathus and the permanent injury he had suffered to his leg. How many of the people she loved would bear similar reminders of the Reapers and their evil for the rest of their lives? How many of the people she called family would die in this stupid war? There was a very real possibility that this planet would become the gravesite of someone she cared about. And that thought filled her with dread.

She was going around in circles in her head, imagining the most horrifying things that could happen to the people she cared about… and try as she might, she couldn't break her train of thought away from these terrible images. She considered going to find Aida, but when she had last seen her best friend, the girl had been passed out in their shelter, getting some much needed rest. She would allow herself to go mad before she ever robbed her friend of sleep just to burden her with such terrible thoughts.

Illitha was weaving her way between huge Alliance ground vehicles, brooding over the horrible things that might lie ahead, when she happened to glance across a stretch of torn-up grass toward where the Alliance fighter craft were lined up. At the end of the row of Trident fighters was Selura's Armanis prototype. It looked horribly out-of-place next to the alliance craft, like a gleaming sculpture of white at the end of a line of jagged gray and blue rocks. There were several humans standing near the craft. It appeared as though they were supposed to be repairing the fighter next to it – she could see part of the Alliance fighter's fuselage lying in the grass – but had been sidetracked by the sight of the asari fighter.

Desperate for anything to pull her attention away from her fatalistic thoughts, Illitha hurried across the dirt lane toward the humans. She knew she might get in trouble, but she would get down on her knees and _beg_ them to let her help with the repairs if she had to. Anything to distract herself…

"-never seen anything like it. Look at those ports. It's like this thing can propel itself in any direction," she caught the tail end of someone's comment as she drew closer.

"There's got to be a tradeoff," another of the humans spoke up. "It probably _devours_ fuel. Give it twenty minutes and I bet the fuel tanks would be bone dry."

"I-It got our pilot from our ship to the ground, and then from the site of our escape pod all the way to this base," Illitha interrupted their conversation.

The humans turned when she spoke, and were almost immediately looking at her with what she thought was confusion. However, none of them had yet pulled a weapon on her or ordered her to leave, so she took it as a good sign. Still, the fact that three strangers were staring at her, combined with the puzzled expressions they wore, made her feel terribly self-conscious. She hunched her shoulders slightly.

"You're an asari," one of the men finally spoke.

It seemed like an absurd statement to Illitha, and she could only nod. Hadn't these humans ever seen an asari before?

"What are ye doin' in an Alliance uniform?" another of the men asked in a heavy accent.

Illitha looked down at herself, and then started to blush. Their confusion suddenly made a lot more sense. The man in the security office had given her an Alliance uniform to replace her ruined clothing. It was probably something of an oddity to see a non-human dressed as an Alliance soldier. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say a word, the third human cut her off.

"You're not supposed to be in this area," he said softly. "You should get back to the civilian shelters before anyone from security finds you here."

"I…" Illitha wanted to protest. She wanted to ask them if she could help. But with the three of them staring at her, she couldn't utter a word. She felt tears roll down her cheeks, and suddenly all three men looked very uncomfortable.

"Uh… Hey," the expression of the man who had reprimanded her softened. "I didn't mean anything by that. I just… didn't want to see you get in trouble is all."

Illitha nodded, wiping her eyes and trying to keep from breaking down completely, though she was already starting to sniffle. One of the men awkwardly patted her on the shoulder.

"What's wrong? Is there… something we can do?" he asked hesitantly.

"I-I just want to help," Illitha whimpered, nodding toward the fighter.

"With the repairs?" the tallest of the men followed her gaze. "Uh, that's nice, but-"

"Please?" Illitha sobbed. "I… I… I think I am driving myself crazy… thinking about… a-about all the things that m-might happen to my friends. I need to _do_ something…"

The three men exchanged glances. Finally, the one that had reprimanded her stepped back and gestured to the fighter in invitation.

"You know anything about fighter engines?" he inquired.

"I w-was the engineer on our ship," Illitha wiped her eyes with her sleeve, trying to get control of herself.

"Well we won't turn away the help then. My name's Todd Harper, by the way," he introduced himself. "The tall guy with the goofy face is Mike Goodman. And the ginger-haired fellow is Ian McSween."

Illitha nodded silently to each of them in greeting, and then turned her full attention to the Alliance fighter. She could see that it had suffered some damage, and several of the components of the propulsion system would need replacing. While she wasn't familiar with Alliance engine design, her skill with engines in general was significant. It wouldn't take her long to puzzle out the function of the parts she didn't immediately recognize.

The humans were mostly quiet at first, and the mood between the four of them was a little awkward. However, as Illitha helped the three men to get the damaged parts out and assemble and install the new components, all four of them started to relax a little. Illitha didn't say much, but at least she was smiling by the time they were done, listening to the three men talk about simple things unrelated to their work. The young asari didn't mind the idle conversation. For the moment, at least, her mind was focused on familiar territory… repairing an engine. And with that focus, she was free from the dark thoughts that had been eating away at her.

* * *

**En Route to the Asgard System, One day earlier…**

Illitha had been sitting in front of a terminal for what seemed like hours, staring at the 'request pending' image on the holographic display. Neela had given up a few minutes ago and walked off to find Selura, but Illitha remained seated, trying to make sense of the surreal nightmare that her day had turned into. In one instant, Reapers had gone from a strange story that she didn't really believe to a reality that might destroy the known universe. She didn't know how to adjust to that sort of shift in her world.

She had a feeling that everyone was struggling with the same thoughts. Aida had returned to preparing dinner, but Illitha knew that since cooking was what her friend loved most, it was the best way for her to settle her nerves. It wasn't necessary that they have a hot meal. Everyone would have forgiven the chef for resorting to ready-to-eat meals that evening. But if cooking helped Aida to remain calm, no one would complain about indulging in their usual gourmet fare either.

Illitha was sure everyone was off doing something to try to adjust to the reality they faced. She knew that she should probably have been doing the same. Some time in engineering performing maintenance would take her mind off of things. But she was desperate to see her family. She hadn't spoken to any of them in quite some time. She'd always been a disappointment to her father, who saw nothing of himself or his people in her. It had always hurt her to bear the weight of her father's disappointment. It was one of the reasons she had isolated herself throughout her childhood… and the reason she told no one about her ancestry since leaving home.

"Connecting," a synthesized asari voice announced, breaking her out of her thoughts.

The young engineer was about to call everyone back to the crew lounge, but decided that it was best to wait and see whose family would answer the call before she bothered anyone. She held her breath. A small part of her hoped it would be her own family that answered the call. It was a selfish hope, she realized – all of them needed to talk to their loved ones – but no one could blame her for wanting to see her parents under the circumstances. Another part of her, however, hoped the call would be for someone else. What would her father say if he saw her with a tear-stained face and heard her admit that she was afraid? She quickly wiped her eyes at the thought, though she knew it did little good… the fact that she had been crying was obvious.

The image that appeared on the screen in front of her was the one that she most dreaded. A stern krogan face stared at her in silence for a moment, and she saw the red eyes narrow slightly. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Even through the holographic screen she could feel the disappointment in his gaze.

"_Glad you're still alive,_" he commented. "_So kind of you to call once in a while._"

"I… I wanted to be sure y-you were okay…"

"_You mean you wanted to talk to your mother and tell her how scared you are that the Reapers will kill us. Or you,_" her father's deep voice was heavy with resigned disappointment.

"Is it so bad to worry…?" she whispered.

"_Grow a quad,_" the krogan snorted. "_I hoped you'd have outgrown this timid phase by now…_"

"I cannot 'outgrow' who I am," she frowned.

"_Uh huh,_" the krogan stared at her. "_You are living proof that genetic traits _aren't_ borrowed by asari during bonding. There isn't an ounce of krogan in you._"

Illitha lowered her head, feeling herself on the verge of tears once again.

"_Timid, weak, scrawny, indecisive…_" the krogan rattled off a list of personality traits that could have been considered curses to his people. And sadly, Illitha knew that every one of them applied to her.

"C-can I speak to mother please?" Illitha cut him off. Despite her best efforts, a tear slid down her cheek.

The krogan snorted in disgust and shook his head. "_Sure. Hold on,_" he vanished from the screen.

Illitha irritably wiped the tear away from her cheek, bowing her head. Just like when she had actually been a child, her father's obvious disappointment cut right to the core of her heart. She had no idea why she was so terribly un-krogan. It had always mystified her why she would be so put-off by fighting and conflict, so indecisive and quick to lose her nerve, so sensitive and respectful of others. She was the antithesis of her father in almost every way. In a way, the conflict with her father had shaped her. If she got hurt playing a game and her father was disappointed that she didn't toughen up and get back into it, she avoided that game in the future… it was better than repeatedly disappointing him. The more she let him down in various areas of her life, the more she felt like something was wrong with her and thus isolated herself from others. Nothing she ever did pleased him, so she eventually stopped trying.

Her eyes strayed to the plush krogan on the couch nearby… a gift from her parents when she was a child. The memory of the argument that had erupted over the name she'd given it returned in force. She'd named it 'Growf' because she was young and thought it was a cute name. But the 'cuteness' of the name had annoyed her father so much that he threatened to take the toy away. He told her it deserved a name that fit with krogan personality… 'havoc,' 'bloodtooth,' 'chaos,' 'battlemaster,' or perhaps a name in honor of a krogan hero such as Shiagur. She had stubbornly stared at the adorable smile on the plush krogan's face and insisted on 'Growf'.

"_Are you okay?_" her mother's gentle voice filled the silence, drawing her out of her thoughts. "_Where are you?_"

Illitha raised her head and smiled at her mother. At least she hadn't been such a disappointment to one of her parents… "Hello mother," she whispered. "I am fine. We are approaching Terra Nova right now. After that we are going straight to Thessia. Are you all safe there?"

"_Of course, Illy,_" her mother nodded. "_Although it seems pretty certain that the war will come here eventually. Your father is sending me and your sister somewhere safe. Then he plans to go to Tuchanka to fight with his people._"

Illitha's smile brightened considerably at the mention of her sister. "Is Esala there? Can I see her?"

"_Of course,_" her mother smiled. "_Esala!_" she called. "_Your sister is on the vidcomm! Come say hello!_"

"How is she adjusting to school? She has to have started by now, yes?"

"_Yes,_" her mother smiled. "_She is not receiving the sort of marks you did, and she has been reprimanded by the headmaster several times. But she likes being there._"

Illitha smiled when she saw the tips of scalp crests drift by in the background, and her mother bent to scoop the young girl into her arms, settling her upon a hip. The engineer stared at the delicate face of her sister with adoration while the girl waved to her. She hated being at home because it meant dealing with her father's disappointment and ridicule. However, she missed her mother and her little sister dearly. Esala had been little more than a newborn when she left. Now she was starting primary school.

"Hello, Esala," she said softly. "How is school?"

"_Good,_" the girl nodded. "_I like it there. The games at recess are fun!_"

"You like the games?" Illitha giggled. "What about classes? Do you have a favorite?"

"_Uh huh! Fitness class!_"

Illitha had to laugh. At least one of their father's children had some krogan in her. It gave her hope. If her sister had been more like her, she would have worried that the girl would face the same childhood she had lived through… feeling out-of-place and awkward, ashamed of being a failure in the eyes of her father… But her sister seemed to have the sort of attitude and personality that her father would view with pride. She shook her head.

"Are you being good for mother and father?" she asked, and noted with amusement that her mother gave a slight shake of her head.

"_No!_" the girl answered cheerfully.

Illitha laughed. "Well, try to be good to mother. As for father… you… you can be as hyperactive and rambunctious for him as you want."

"_I will. Daddy says he is gonna fight soon. I am getting him ready!_"

Illitha stifled a laugh, shifting her gaze to her mother, who was trying to do the same. The elder asari nodded slowly.

"_Our little commando has been ambushing your father with blanket nets and sudden barrages of fresh fruit ever since the news came in,_" she explained.

"Good girl," Illitha smiled. "Keep it up. In fact, you should go get him right now," she suggested.

"_Good idea! He is watching the news. He will never be ready for it!_" Esala giggled gleefully. "_Put me down!_" she squirmed to get free of her mother's grasp.

"_What do you say?_" the elder asari prompted.

"_Damn it woman, don't get 'tween a krogan and her goal!_" the child shouted, shocking Illitha.

"_Esala…_" her mother warned sternly.

"_Sorry,_" the child was immediately sheepish. "_Please?_"

"_Better,_" her mother nodded, putting the girl down. When she returned her attention to Illitha, she gave an apologetic smile. "_She is picking up bad habits from her father. You know him and his 'Damn it woman, don't get between a krogan and his…' Fill in the blank. I have had to punish her several times for saying 'Damn it woman'. She even said it to her teacher._"

"Father must be proud," Illitha said softly.

"_Your father is proud of you both,_" her mother assured her.

"No he is not," Illitha shook her head. "He has always been disappointed in me."

"_I know he rarely shows it, but he is proud,_" her mother insisted. "_Your certification from university is on his trophy wall._"

"M-my cert-" Illitha's eyes widened, trying to imagine the humble certificate among her father's battle trophies. "Are you serious?"

"_Of course,_" her mother smiled. "_You can see for yourself when you arrive home._"

"But you will not be there," Illitha sighed. "Where is father sending you, anyway?"

"_Illium. He insists that the Reapers will be defeated before they can reach Illium._"

"Maybe when I get to Thessia I can hire a shuttle to join you there."

"_Please do,_" her mother smiled. "_I would feel much better if you were with us. But in the meantime, when you reach Thessia, come home. You can stay here while you wait for a transport to Illium._"

"I will," Illitha promised. "Stay safe."

"_You too. We will see you soon._"

"Goodnight, mother. I love you. Tell Esala and Father-"

She was interrupted by a sudden roar from elsewhere in the house. She could vaguely hear the words "_Damn it, girl! I'm trying to watch the news! That berry hit me in the eye!_" Both Illitha and her mother laughed.

"Tell them I love them," she finished.

"_I will. We love you too._"

The communication signal shut down, and Illitha sat back in her chair, smiling softly after having had the chance to speak with her family. At least her mother and sister would be on the far side of the galaxy from the Reapers. And perhaps in a few weeks she would be with them. She didn't speak to her family nearly as much as she should have. It would be nice to actually spend time with her sister, rather than speaking to her once every few months on the vidcomm. As for her father… she wasn't sure what to think of the idea that he might actually be _proud_ of something she did.

She shook her head. He had probably just put her certificate up to placate her mother. It had been silly to even think that he might have viewed one of her accomplishments with pride. She sighed and stood up, wandering over to the couch, where she stretched out wearily. Her eyes fell upon Growf, and she picked him up, hugging him to her chest. She might have been an adult, but she drew a great deal of comfort from the presence of her childhood friend. Right now, she needed that comfort.

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: So... the past scenes have reached the day prior to the beginning of the story. Which means starting next Chapter, the timelines have converged and it's nothing but Terra Nova from here on. This is a moment I've been simultaneously looking forward to and dreading since I started writing. On one hand, the pacing issues some of you have pointed out seem... in my view, anyway... to be all but gone from here forward. On the other hand, the shift in narrative structure is something I hope won't be too distracting for those of you who are kind enough to read my little story. We'll see, but one way or the other, we're here!**

**Another thing I've been anxious to get to... Illitha's family. Before anyone says that I'm retconning Bioware's canon regarding the asari bonding process and traits of the father species, please know that's not what I'm getting at this chapter, and I don't intend it that way going forward. Hopefully those of you who are reading this story can see that. This is just a little bit of nurture vs. nature, and has always been the core of the character in my view. Hopefully hints from past chapters, issues mentioned in this last section, and future content will make things clearer for anyone who is surprised by her parentage. I'd be interested to hear thoughts in reviews or PMs as always, but hopefully if you all bear with me, everything will work out in the end. :)**

**And since I've been unusually verbose in my author's notes this chapter - I'm guessing a few hundred words of this chapter are me talking at the end here - I'll just say thank you all once again for your interest and support. The feedback has been invaluable, and even to those of you who don't comment, just knowing there are people reading really brightens my day and reinforces my inspiration. You're all fantastic.**

**Next update should be Monday morning. Until then, continue to be excellent :)**


	19. Chapter 19: Alliance

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Nineteen: Alliance

.

**Walters Center Ruins, Scott, Capital of Terra Nova…**

Zaeed was seated at one of the dirty tables in the remnants of the Walters Center food court, shoveling down a bowl of thick, gooey oatmeal without much appetite. It became clear to him during his hunt for excess supplies that the Alliance hadn't had much time to salvage food when the Reapers struck; there was no stockpile of field rations to be found. When he was given his bowl of oatmeal, he was informed that it was his ration for the day.

It had been hours since he'd last seen the vorcha, but when he looked up and scanned the area, he found his employer headed toward him. He hadn't expected the salarian to find him so soon; He had expected the exchange of tactical data to consume much of the night. He hurriedly spooned down the last few mouthfuls of the awful, pasty substance and stood up, waiting expectantly for the verdict.

"Your knowledge of the unreliability of Alliance agreements obviously exceeds mine," Salik stated as he approached. "The commanding officers were eager to take all intel I could make available to them, but refused to resupply and release us until the 'sector could be stabilized'," the salarian accented these last words with air quotes. "They ordered us to report to the quartermaster for assignment to one of the squads as fire support."

"So you gave them all your info and they drafted us," Zaeed grunted in amusement.

"Oh, not at all," Salik shook his head. "Attempted to draft us, certainly, but once the inevitability of denial became clear, I held back the majority of the vital intel. If collaboration is to be one-way, I refuse to collaborate at all."

"Wait," Zaeed scowled. "You held back _vital_ intel? They could use that info to-"

"Irrelevant," the salarian cut him off. "The information is in my possession, and I will not provide payment for a favor denied. If their denial costs them a few hundred soldiers-"

"You son of a bitch," Zaeed's hand strayed to the maglock at his hip, but it wasn't until he didn't find a pistol waiting for him there that he remembered the Alliance had confiscated it.

"If you disagree with my methods, feel free to report to the Alliance for reassignment," Salik said evenly. "By the time you have alerted them to my lack of disclosure, the vorcha and I will be well on our way to dealing with Cerberus at the Prothean ruins… the job _you_ were hired for."

Zaeed glared at his employer, tempted to pummel him right then and there. He would lose his chance to question Cerberus, but he was more than a little infuriated by the amphibious bastard's lack of concern for the human lives that could be lost as a result of his refusal to cooperate. Zaeed didn't particularly care if Alliance soldiers or even civilians died, but he got the feeling at moments like this that Salik's lack of care extended to him as well. It left him with the suspicion that he was once again being used as an expendable pawn. And _that_ made him angry.

"I understand your frustration and outrage," Salik spoke up again. "Remember that I am here for the protection and benefit of _my_ people, not yours. Were our positions reversed, you held information vital to the tactical decisions of my people, and we demanded your cooperation but refused to allow you to help your people in return, would you truly hand over the data and join our forces?"

Zaeed swallowed. He had to admit that Salik was right. If the positions were reversed, he would have been telling the salarians to shove their demands up their arses and would have deleted the data before he ever handed it over. Still, the nagging feeling that he was being screwed over persisted. He was tired of being double-crossed. The Illusive Man's deception had been quite enough.

"Listen," the salarian's expression was serious. "Your skills are essential to completion of my assignment. I do not believe that the vorcha alone will provide adequate assistance to enable successful access of the Prothean data cache. Remain in my employ, and I will transfer all tactical data I have over to you in addition to the promised payment. You can present it to the Alliance and assist your people at that point if you wish."

"I've been screwed over recently with a promise like that," Zaeed warned. "You better be playing this straight…"

"As I said, if the collaboration is one-way, I refuse to collaborate at all. Multidirectional ultimatum. Unacceptable to demand service from you without promised payment being given in reward. The data _will_ be yours once my goal has been attained."

"Right then," Zaeed nodded. "But there's still the problem of me having no goddamn weapons, and there being Alliance soldiers between us and the exits."

"Mined data from the computers in the Alliance command post while I was uploading the miniscule sum of data I gave them," Salik smiled. "Including scans of this structure. Already sent our vorcha assistant to scout out maintenance tunnels below us. Possible that some of the exterior accesses survived the damage to the building. May have solved the problem of your weapons in the process. Follow me to the access doors leading into the lower levels."

Zaeed nodded, looking around briefly at the weary, solemn faces of the soldiers in the area. He hoped that whatever information the salarian had was worth the lives that would be lost before it was given to him… The veteran mercenary's first loyalty had always been to his paycheck, but it was a dark moment in galactic history, and he reminded himself that he had to concentrate on the job. Whatever he needed to do to get to the Illusive Man would be worth it.

The pair headed through one of the empty storefronts and into the storerooms behind the shops. There were no portable lighting units in the storeroom areas, so Salik activated his holographic visor, which Zaeed assumed had vision-enhancement features. The mercenary brought up his omni-tool's search light, shining it around to get an idea of the surrounding area. Salik led the way through several doors and into a stairwell that led down to the underground tunnels. At the bottom of the stairs, they encountered the bodies of two Alliance soldiers. Both had multiple stab wounds in their backs. There was an Avenger assault rifle lying near one of the corpses, and Zaeed quickly claimed it. He deactivated his search light and turned on the tactical light attached to the rifle instead.

With his new weapon at the ready, he stepped over the bodies and approached the sole door leading out of the stairwell at this level. The portal had been pried open and now stood ajar, which he assumed was the vorcha's work. Pointing his rifle into the darkness beyond the door, his tactical light illuminated a corridor with cracks in the walls and small chunks of concrete lying in piles on the floor here and there. But the tunnel looked mostly intact, at least in the limited range of the light.

Zaeed took the lead, moving down the corridor slowly. He frequently turned his weapon upward while they walked, checking the ceiling for signs of instability. However, aside from small bits of fallen concrete and some damage to the walls, the tunnel was intact all the way up until they encountered the first turn. Zaeed crept to the corner and crouched, quickly leaning out and pointing his weapon, scanning for signs of danger.

"Clear," he said softly.

The new stretch of tunnel was in far worse shape than the first. After just a few meters, there was a huge section of the ceiling that had buckled inward, forcing them to crawl beneath it to proceed. Zaeed had extremely steady nerves, but he had his moment of doubt about trying to crawl under an obviously-unstable section of ceiling. The fact that he could hear small bits of dirt or other grit raining down upon the floor while he was crawling through did not help.

When he reached the other side, he rose to a crouch immediately and trained his weapon along the corridor. Just at the limits of his light was another collapsed section of tunnel, but this collapse was much more extensive. There was a tiny space at the bottom of the pile of broken concrete and dirt that looked like a grown man might fit through by crawling, but he was less than eager to try.

A scraping sound caught his attention just as he was about to ask if they should proceed. He crouched and aimed the light into the gap under all the debris, and could see something working its way through the space toward them. He assumed it was the vorcha, since he'd seen no sign of the ugly bastard, but he kept his rifle trained upon the opening just in case. Only when the vorcha's head came into view did he lower the weapon.

"Greck get through," the vorcha growled. "Not easy, but tunnel lead to outside access."

"Excellent," Salik nodded. "Then you lead the way. I will follow, and Zaeed will bring up the rear."

The vorcha scrambled out of the hole and turned around, crawling right back inside. Zaeed glanced at his employer while they gave their comrade a bit of a head start. The salarian was staring at the pile of debris with a faraway look in his eyes. Zaeed was just about to prompt him to get moving when Salik suddenly nodded and dropped to the floor, crawling into the hole with apparent ease.

"Must be nice to have a skeleton mostly made of goddamn cartilage," Zaeed muttered.

The mercenary waited a short while and then got down on the floor, pushing his rifle into the space ahead of him so that he could see where he was going. With his armor, he was the member of the team with the greatest bulk, and he hoped he wouldn't get stuck somewhere along the way.

The crawl through the debris was slow and frustrating. Several times he had to back up to free part of his armor or gear from some protrusion that it had caught upon. The space through which they were crawling seemed to stretch on forever, and at one point he had to flatten out completely and drag himself along the floor by wriggling like a worm. By the time he reached an area where he had room to breathe and could see open tunnel ahead, his arms were scraped and cut, he was covered in grit and sweat, and he felt the desperate urge to shoot something.

A clawed hand seized his wrist and dragged him the rest of the way out of the hole. He took a moment to get his feet under him, and then pulled his arm from the vorcha's grasp, brushing past him to stand next to Salik, who was standing at the foot of a ladder that seemed to lead up to street level. He raised his rifle, shining his light up into the shaft.

"Want me to take point?" he asked.

"Please," Salik nodded, removing a small orb from a compartment in the thigh of his armor.

"What's that?"

"Proximity explosive," Salik told him. The salarian clicked a button on the orb and then turned and rolled it into the gap under the debris from which they had emerged. "Should Reapers find this entryway, the explosive will detonate when the first enemy attempts to crawl through. Resulting blast should collapse the access point entirely, thus preventing a surprise attack upon Alliance forces above."

"Good thinking," Zaeed muttered.

He slung his rifle and started climbing the ladder to the surface. He knew that many human cities had mazes of corridors and accesses beneath them through which power lines, cables, utility pipes and similar equipment ran. He wondered how many of them were now hiding places for human refugees in need of defensible positions. And how many were crawling with Reapers looking for a way into the bowels of the buildings throughout the city.

* * *

**Airfield, Forward Operations Base Alpha-5…**

Illitha grunted as she helped to lift a piece of hull plating into place against the Alliance fighter's frame, assisting McSween and Goodman in the task. Harper quickly went to work, using his omni-tool to seal the panel in place. Illitha smiled to herself, satisfied with the quick work they'd made of the repairs as a team. She considered the humans' insistence on using their surnames a little odd, but she found them to be relatively pleasant people overall. Once the panel was fully secured to the frame, they all stepped back, admiring their handiwork.

"Good job," Harper nodded in satisfaction.

"Th-thank you for letting me help," Illitha murmured.

"Hey, no problem," Harper smiled at her. "I understand the need to keep yourself occupied under stress. And we can use all the skilled engineers we can get."

"W-well, if you… If I can… uh… If there should be anything else I can help with…"

"Aye," McSween spoke up. "We should 'ave a talk wi' the Lieutenant Commander. Ye should be workin' wi' us on an ongoing basis."

Illitha blinked in confusion. Her translator had a bit of trouble with the red-headed human's accent, and inserted odd words here and there. It had told her several times during the repair process that the various components they were working with were blood-covered. Still, she got the gist of his suggestion.

"I… I would be very grateful," she offered a timid smile.

"What about this ship?" Harper gestured toward the Armanis. "Did you help build it or something? I've never seen anything like it."

"M-me? No," Illitha stammered. "It is a prototype. Our ship was transporting it to Thessia for… for testing. My f-friend Selura works for the company that built it."

"Some of the pilots were talking about it," Goodman commented. "They said it was pulling maneuvers that bordered on impossible."

"Are these ports for lateral movement?" Harper asked, reaching out to touch one of the small ports in the propulsion ring.

"I… uh… I am not actually sure," Illitha admitted. "I only saw it fly briefly, and then only in a straight line."

"Hmm… I'd love to get into the guts of this thing and see some of the tech in the propulsion unit," Harper commented.

"I do not think that is-"

Illitha was about to protest the idea, but she was cut off by the approaching rumble of engines. Several vehicles rolled up the strip of dirt that ran through the middle of the airfield, stopping in a line between the row of fighters and the row of Makos opposite. Illitha could see that several of the vehicles had scorch marks, damaged armoring or other signs of distress. A group of humans was walking up behind the last of the vehicles.

When Harper and the others spotted the approaching group, they immediately lined up and stood at attention, saluting crisply. Illitha stood nervously behind them, wondering what was going on. The approaching soldiers were mostly dressed like Harper, but there were two at the front of the group, a man and a woman, who were wearing coats and hats, and had a slightly more official air about them.

"At ease," the man at the front of the group instructed.

Harper, McSween and Goodman all relaxed their stance, but Illitha noted that they still stood fairly rigid. However, she saw the eyes of the man they had saluted come to rest upon her, and he stepped forward.

"Who have we here?" the man inquired.

Illitha shrank from the attention when all eyes in the area turned toward her. She stared fixedly at her own feet. "Uh… Illitha," she said softly.

"Sir," Harper came to her rescue. "This is Illitha. One of the refugees staying in the civilian shelters."

"This is a restricted area, Corporal," the man turned his attention to Harper, his expression hardening. "You should have escorted her back where she belongs."

"Yes, sir… But…" Harper trailed off, glancing at Illitha.

"Speak freely, Corporal."

"Sir, she was… crying… when she walked up to us. Said she wanted to get her mind off of things. Asked to help us with the repairs. We didn't see the harm, Sir. She's actually a very competent engineer."

"I see," the elder man regarded Illitha once again. "Illitha, was it?"

"Y-yes sir," she nodded.

"I am Captain Micah Tarrislav," he introduced himself. "I am the base commander here. You are an engineer?"

"Y-yes," Illitha murmured. "I am… uh, was… the engineer aboard the _Sileya_… until the Reapers destroyed it."

"And you're interested in pitching in and helping out?"

"Y-yes," she nodded. "When I-I'm busy, it helps to keep my mind off of… of… things," she sighed.

"Lieutenant Commander," the captain called.

The woman Illitha had spotted among the group stepped forward, saluting the elder soldier. "Sir?"

"Can you make use of another engineer?"

The woman examined Illitha speculatively. Her gaze was hard and her expression was difficult to read, but Illitha stared at her hopefully, waiting to see if she would be allowed to stick around and stay busy. To her delight, the woman finally nodded.

"I can, Sir. She can work with Corporal Harper's team, since they are already acquainted."

"Excellent," the captain nodded. Then his eyes shifted to the Armanis. "This is the ship in your report Lieutenant?" he spoke up.

A young man stepped away from the group and walked up beside the captain, nodding once. "Yes sir. I never saw anything maneuver like that before."

Illitha watched as the captain walked in a circle around the prototype fighter, inspecting it with a critical eye. When he completed his circuit of the vehicle, his gaze returned to Illitha. Given the questions Harper and the others had asked her about the Armanis, she already knew what the captain was going to ask.

"Are you responsible for building or maintaining this?"

"No," she shook her head. "Our ship was transporting it to Thessia. My friend Selura is responsible for it."

"I see," the captain nodded. "I would like to see it in action. Perhaps we can get a pilot in it-"

"You cannot do that," Illitha spoke up before thinking about it. When every pair of eyes in the area turned toward her, including the glaring gaze of the captain, she shifted nervously. "Th-there is some sort of security lockout," she muttered.

"I see. Would your friend Selura have this lockout code?"

"I-I think so."

"Then I'll go to the shelters and speak to her about it," the captain turned to go.

"She is not there," Illitha spoke up again.

When the man turned to face her again, Illitha thought she could see a trace of irritation in his expression. She smiled weakly.

"Sh-she had a serious injury. She w-was going to the medical tent f-for surgery when I last saw her."

The captain didn't say a word. He simply nodded and turned, striding away from the group. Once he was gone, the human woman took charge, gesturing toward the line of damaged Makos and transport vehicles.

"Alright, let's get to work. We need these vehicles repaired ASAP," she called out. "Harper, your team is responsible for the two Makos in front. Jeilland, your team covers the transports. Maitland, your team repairs the Mako at the rear. I want every one of these vehicles in pristine condition in five hours or less. Now move!"

Illitha watched as the men scattered to do as instructed. The woman in charge walked over to stand in front of her.

"I'm Lieutenant Commander Kara Broussard," she introduced herself. "You still want to help us with our work?"

"Y-yes," Illitha nodded.

"Then I expect you to follow instructions like any other member of the Engineering Corps," Kara said simply. "When I tell Harper's team to do something, it includes you."

Illitha stared at the woman for a moment, and then at Harper and his friends, who were busily inspecting the first Mako in the line. Comprehension finally dawned upon her, and she nodded, blushing a little bit. Without another word, she hurried over to the rest of her new team, activating her omni-tool to scan the exterior of the vehicle.

_Apparently I have just been drafted into the Alliance military,_ she thought with amusement.

* * *

**Outside the Medical Shelter, Forward Operations Base Alpha-5…**

Selura shifted restlessly in the recovery bed that was to be her home for the next two days. Already she felt trapped, and longed to get up and walk around or find something to do. Having Neela nearby helped to settle her nerves a small bit, but the fact that the quarian was distracted and visibly uncomfortable lessened her calming influence somewhat. She sighed and lifted the bottle of awful medicinal drink to her lips, grimacing as she choked down a mouthful. Only two more bottles to go over the next two days…

Her eyes lingered on Neela while the quarian peered in through a small window in the medical shelter. They'd been outside for hours; the doctors had hurriedly wheeled her bed outside to make room for emergent cases. She didn't think the young pilot had looked at her for more than a second at a time since she'd awakened. It made her wonder what was on her mind. The thought was nagging at her that perhaps asking the girl to share the bed with her had been a mistake.

"It's nice that Aida found something to do," Neela said softly. "They've been keeping her really busy in there."

"Maybe they will put all of us to work," Selura smiled. "I would not complain about having something to do."

"Not until your arm is healed up," Neela's tone was firm. "You need to let yourself recover."

"This coming from someone who has been pacing around on an injured knee for hours?"

"It's fine," Neela insisted.

Selura knew better. The pilot's limp had been getting steadily worse with the passing of the hours. The injury was _obviously_ bothering her. She sighed and started inching her way toward the edge of the bed. Perhaps there was a way to force the quarian to sit down and give her knee a rest. As soon as she was out of the bed's installed medscan range, the VI interface issued a warning beep.

Neela turned around just in time to see her preparing to slide off of the bed and stand up. The quarian hurried over to her and put a hand on her uninjured shoulder to restrain her.

"What are you doing?" Neela demanded. "You're supposed to be resting."

"If you are going to walk around on your injured knee, I am going to do some walking around too. We can walk together," Selura was dead serious.

"You can't! You could hurt yourself."

"Well then make a decision on my behalf. Are we _both_ going to sit on this bed and rest, or are we _both_ going to walk around?" Selura regarded her expectantly.

She wished she could see the quarian's face through her visor, because the silence that reigned after her statement seemed to stretch on for far too long. Finally, however, Neela's shoulders slumped and she nodded.

"Fine. Let's get you back into bed."

With a little support from Neela, Selura slid back into position on the bed, reclining against her pillows. She watched anxiously to see if Neela was going to join her, fully prepared to climb out of the bed if the quarian didn't keep her part of the bargain. To her relief, Neela sat down on the edge of the bed, staring at the medical shelter quietly.

"It just hit me," Selura said suddenly. "You left Illium because you were imitating a statue, and it was making people uncomfortable… right?"

Her statement drew a soft snicker from the quarian, and she grinned at the small victory. However, she wasn't going to leave it at that. Something was obviously bothering her companion and she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"Will you please tell me what is wrong? It could not be more obvious that something is bothering you."

Neela shifted uncomfortably, and she watched the quarian's hands as she clasped them together, her gaze seemingly fixed upon them. She waited patiently to see if the girl was going to give voice to her thoughts, but the silence stretched on. She was mystified.

"You trusted me enough to tell me about your people and the geth," she broke the silence, since it was becoming obvious Neela wouldn't. "What could possibly be so hard to tell me?"

"There's something I want to ask you," Neela finally said. "But I don't know how… And I'm afraid of what the answer might be…"

"You can ask me anything. Just say it. What is the worst that could happen?"

Neela's body language suggested that she was more than a little uncomfortable. In fact, Selura was startled to note that the quarian's hands appeared to be shaking. She wanted to reach out and take hold of them, but Neela was sitting too far toward the end of the bed. So she silently held a hand out to her.

"Are you Selura?" A deep voice interrupted their conversation.

Selura turned to look at the source of the voice with irritation. A human in a uniform was approaching, and his gaze was locked upon her. She let her hand drop with a sigh.

"Yes, I am. Selura Leneur."

"I'm Captain Micah Tarrislav, commanding officer of this base," the human introduced himself. "I understand the asari fighter in our airfield belongs to your company, and that you have the lockout codes and design specs."

Selura studied the human more closely. His features were angular, his gaze intense, and his face was clean-shaven. His posture was rigid as he came to a stop beside her bed, clasping his hands behind his back. She had been a little worried that the Alliance might try to confiscate her company's property, and something told her that this was the moment when it would happen.

"The fighter does belong to my company," she said finally. "But the specs and the lockout codes were on a datapad aboard the _Sileya_ when it was destroyed."

"And yet you got the fighter here," Captain Tarrislav pointed out. "So you obviously know how to bypass the lockout."

"How do you even _know_ about the lockout?" Selura demanded. "Have you had people trying to hack into my ship's systems?"

"Not at all, Miss Leneur," the captain was quick to assure her. "Your ship's engineer was talking to some of our engineers about the vessel. I asked her about it, and she said I should come speak to you. I understand your ship has some incredible maneuvering capabilities. It could really help us in our efforts against the Reapers."

"It is a prototype," Selura shook her head. "It is unarmed and probably low on fuel."

"We can arm it and refuel it, if you'd give us your permission to use it."

"The Armanis's controls are unique. It takes a pilot familiar with its operation and capabilities to fly it."

"Miss Leneur, I assure you that the Alliance employs some of the best pilots in the galaxy. Our men will learn to pilot it in short order, with your permission."

Selura studied the captain again, trying to read his expression. Somehow, she felt like coming to her to ask permission was a formality. If she refused, she imagined they would commandeer the craft anyway. However, if they were serious about getting her blessing, perhaps she could get something out of the deal.

"I am not comfortable with the Alliance taking control of my fighter," she said. The human opened his mouth to speak, but she quickly held up a hand. "_However_," she quickly added, "My friend here is an excellent pilot, has studied all of the specifications, and has actually flown the craft. If she wants to pilot the Armanis as part of your squadron or whatever you call it, I would agree to that."

Selura turned and smiled at Neela, and the captain's eyes turned to the quarian as well. Neela, for her part, seemed more than a little surprised by the turn of the conversation. Selura could see that her eyes widened beneath her visor.

"I would be more comfortable with an Alliance pilot at the controls," the captain admitted. "But if this is the only way you will agree, I will authorize the collaboration. It would be an honor to have your support, Miss…" he trailed off.

"Uh… Neela," the quarian introduced herself. "Neela'Xara nar Ganaza."

"Miss Xara, then," the captain nodded. "Are you willing to pilot as part of our fighter corps?"

"Yes!" Neela was quick to respond. "Absolutely!"

"Good," the captain nodded. "Then if Miss Leneur will provide you with the lockout code, you can report to the airfield in one hour. I will have our pilots assemble there so that you can meet and do a few training runs. In the meantime, we will get your ship armed and refueled."

"She will have the code," Selura promised.

"I'll be there," Neela's voice was filled with excitement.

The captain nodded and walked away. Once he was well out of earshot, Neela slid closer to Selura and grabbed her hand.

"Thank you for insisting that I should be the pilot," her voice was full of warmth. "It means a lot to me."

"Just be careful up there," Selura said softly, squeezing Neela's hand. "_You_ mean a lot to _me_, and it would kill me to learn you were shot down because I suggested you go up there."

Neela's grip on her hand tightened until it was almost painful. Selura could tell that the quarian was staring at her.

"Do you mean that?" Neela asked in a voice just barely above a whisper.

"What, that I want you to stay safe?"

"That I mean a lot to you…"

"Of course," Selura smiled playfully, and then it hit her all at once. The reason that Neela had been so uncomfortable around her for the past hours, and the question she was afraid to ask. Her expression sobered. "Is… that what you wanted to ask me? If I care about you?"

Neela nodded and bowed her head.

"Of course I care about you," Selura assured her. "I have never met anyone like you. I was drawn to you the first day I met you, while you were giving me a tour of the ship. And the more I have learned about you, the more I came to adore you."

"Why didn't you say anything before?"

"I could tell that you were attracted to me," Selura admitted. "But you seemed somehow conflicted about it. So I kept my mouth shut. I thought it would be better to have you as a friend than to risk driving you away by making you uncomfortable."

Neela laughed nervously. "I never imagined myself developing a romantic interest in an asari," she said softly. "I kept denying how I felt. And then this morning… it just hit me."

"Yeah, waking up in bed with someone will do that to you," Selura joked, and even though she couldn't see it, she knew the quarian was blushing.

"I don't know how this will work," Neela said softly. "We live very different lives… I'm confined to an enviro-suit, and you-"

Selura lifted Neela's gloved hand to her lips and softly kissed the back of it, effectively silencing the quarian with that simple gesture. The corner of her lips curled upward.

"We will figure it out," she murmured. "But that comes later. For now, you should be getting ready to be a fighter pilot…"

* * *

**In the Terra Nova Wilderness…**

A soft rustling sound reached Prathus through the veil of sleep that had claimed him. He stirred and opened his eyes, peering blearily in the darkness. It took a moment for his mind to get active, and he struggled to recall what had awakened him. It wasn't until he heard the soft rustling sound again that he recognized it as the sound that woke him. A surge of adrenaline shot through him, and he lifted the rifle from his lap, inching his finger over the trigger, listening intently for the sound so that he could pinpoint its location. He wondered if perhaps the Reapers had tracked them down.

The sound came again. It was a subtle rustling sound with a slight creak to it, similar to the sound made by the protective foil used to package food when someone was tearing it open. He could barely hear it over the rustling of leaves when the wind picked up. His thumb crept to the trigger on his omni-tool, and he prepared to activate it for the illumination it provided. In doing so he would make himself a target for anything hostile in the area, but without the light, he'd just be shooting blindly into the darkness. If it was Candice moving around instead of something hostile, he didn't want to accidentally shoot the girl.

The orange holographic display flared to light, and he quickly scanned his surroundings for signs of danger. There were several rustling sounds, as if something was scurrying away through the brush. He didn't actually see anything… until his eyes fell upon the bundle of supplies he'd left on the ground near Candice's slumbering form. One of the boxes of field rations had been torn open, and a number of the packets were scattered across the grass, shredded and partially eaten.

"Damn it," he muttered, scanning the brush around him. Sure enough, he spotted small eyes shining from among the thorny shrubs nearby. "Scavengers…"

He lowered the rifle and crouched next to the scattered supplies. He was glad to see that his supply of dextro-based rations and medigel hadn't been touched, but the majority of the levo-based varieties of both had been gnawed upon. He tossed aside any packet with bite marks on it, and gathered the few unspoiled ones up, depositing the medigel into a compartment in his armor and wrapping the rest up in the environmental suit. He really had no one to blame but himself. He was the one that dumped everything out while working on Candice's arm and then left it there while he dozed off.

He stretched out his back, which was a little stiff from sleeping in a sitting position, and glanced at the chrono on his omni-tool. He'd been asleep for quite some time. He hated to disturb Candice's sleep – it had been a rough night for the girl – but he wanted to reach the Alliance facility sooner rather than later. He supposed if they started walking now, they might be able to reach their destination by midday. He just hoped Candice could tell him exactly where they were going. Her parents had only given him a vague direction and distance…

He crouched beside her and shook her gently. However, that was all it took. She bolted upright with a startled scream and started to scramble away from him, but when she put pressure on her injured arm, she winced. The pain seemed to bring her to her senses. She stared at him for a moment, and then he saw the shiny trails of tears glistening upon her cheeks.

"Please don't cry," he said softly. "We don't have time for it. We need to get to Emergency Site A. Do you know where it is?"

The girl sobbed softly, cradling her injured arm. Prathus struggled to suppress his irritation. Her misery was more than a little understandable, but he just wasn't used to dealing with children. He took a deep breath to calm himself and reached out to touch her shoulder, keeping his voice as gentle as possible when he spoke.

"I'm sorry. I know this is hard. But I need to get you to a safe place. Can you help me?"

The girl stared at her arm, sniffling. Just when Prathus was about to try again, however, she nodded.

"You can? You know where the place is?"

"No," she whimpered. "But it's labeled on the colony maps."

"I don't have a colony map," he muttered.

"Mom does," her voice broke, and she started sobbing again.

His mandibles twitched in frustration. It appeared they would have to settle for a direction and distance. He slung the rifle over his shoulder and rose to his feet, looking around the darkened forest uncertainly. He had to refer to his omni to figure out which way was north so that they could get underway. Once he had a direction, he held out a hand to her.

"Come on, kid," he said softly. "We need to get moving."

Candice only cried, sitting stubbornly in place. He watched her for a moment with a scowl, and then came to a decision. He crouched and lifted her with one arm, intending to carry her if he had to. As long as they were moving, he didn't care. She wrapped her arms around him and continued to sob, while he set off in the general direction of their destination.

As had been the case when he was carrying her while she was unconscious, he soon found that carrying a sobbing child through the tangled undergrowth was both difficult and frustrating, made even more so by the persistent sound of a child's sobbing. It wasn't long before his leg was aching, and he knew that they had quite some distance to cover. Of course he felt sorry for the child and sympathized with her loss, but he would be extremely glad when he reached a place where he could leave her in the care of others. He was just hoping that he might find the rest of his crewmates when he arrived. If the civilians were being urged to go there, it seemed reasonable to expect that other refugees like him might also head that way.

* * *

**Over Forward Operations Base Alpha-5…**

Neela grinned as she whirled through the air in the Armanis. When she had first arrived at the Alliance base, she actually hadn't been sure she would ever find herself in the cockpit of the prototype again. She was more grateful than she could ever have put into words that Selura had insisted she be given the task of piloting the ship for the Alliance. It put her right back into the role she had always hoped to perform for her people.

When she first arrived at the airfield, she had been introduced to the pilots, a group of about a dozen men and women, and had been given an overview of Alliance aerial tactics. They liked to fly in wings, as they called the groups of fighters into which they were organized. The idea was that a single enemy couldn't engage the group without two members of the group splitting off and circling around to get behind it. These wingmen were support, and they all looked out for one another in the air. It seemed like a solid tactic.

Once she'd heard the basic explanation and gone through all the introductions, the base commander had insisted on seeing the Armanis in action. And so, for the past ten minutes, she had been performing the most difficult aerial maneuvers she could think of, executing dives and turns, corkscrews and the like, simply demonstrating the amazing maneuverability of the craft.

The path upon which Neela's life had been set over the past day amused her. Of course, she'd had plenty of happy times in her life. She loved her family and had been surrounded by good people more often than not. But she found it ironic that now, faced with a Reaper invasion and the possible destruction of all life, she would be the happiest she could ever remember being. She was in an actual fighter, and soon would be training in fighter tactics and combat. It was something she had long dreamt of. And on top of that, she was in love and was still giddy with the revelation that her romantic feelings were reciprocated. There was a tiny feeling of guilt deep inside of her over the fact that she could be so happy while surrounded by so much fear, uncertainty, and even death. But she was far too joyful to let that sliver of guilt sour her mood.

"_That's enough maneuvering,_" a distorted voice told her over the comm channel she had been told the Alliance fighters used. "_We want to see how the fighter handles in combat. Disable the weapons, but activate the weapon tracking systems. We'll send up a fighter for you to engage in a mock dogfight. If one of you can achieve weapons lock and fire, we will consider it a kill._"

"Acknowledged."

"_Circle the base once to give us…_" the transmission faded out briefly, "…_our fighter should be in the air by then._"

Neela had heard enough to get the picture. She banked and started a slow circle of the entire base, giving them the time they needed to get a fighter into the air so they could start on even terms. Sure enough, when she was almost through circling, she saw an Alliance fighter rise from the airfield and rocket off toward the horizon.

"_Aerial duel is a go. I repeat. The aerial duel is a go._"

Neela grinned and pushed the controls forward, accelerating to maximum speed. While she had no experience as a combat fighter pilot, she was confident in her skill at the controls and the maneuverability of her craft. The sky was only just starting to brighten with the approach of dawn, making it nearly impossible to spot her opponent's fighter visually, so she paid close attention to the laser scanning system, ready to act the instant it detected her foe.

A warning alarm sounded and the inbound Alliance fighter showed up behind her, according to the scanner. She quickly rolled the fighter over and dove downward, looping around and up toward her foe from underneath. The turn was so tight that the other craft had no chance to follow. The Alliance pilot was forced to roll the opposite direction and attempt to circle, which gave Neela the chance to get behind him.

She gave her opponent marks for skill. While the Armanis was capable of much sharper turns, she couldn't get a decent weapons lock on the Alliance craft. The other pilot was twisting, banking, rolling and otherwise engaging in evasive maneuvers with such frequency and skill that it was all she could do just to stay on his tail. And while the Alliance's Trident fighter didn't have the maneuverability of the Armanis, it easily matched its speed, so she couldn't close the distance.

Unfortunately for the Alliance pilot, she doggedly remained on his tail, despite his best efforts to shake her. And so it was only a matter of time before she managed to get him in her sights long enough to achieve a positive weapons lock and squeeze the trigger. Without the weapons engaged there was no actual mass accelerator fire, but the computers on both fighters registered it as a kill.

"_That's a confirmed kill. Trident Victor-Five is down._"

Neela grinned at the confirmation of her victory, breaking off pursuit and circling around toward the base. The Alliance fighter did the same, falling into formation beside her.

"_Nice piece of maneuvering_," the deep voice of her opponent commented.

"_We want to see a wing-on-wing combat,_" Captain Tarrislav's voice joined the channel. "_We're sending up four more fighters. Neela, Johnson and Walker will work as one wing. Hutchins, Gallis and Yakuto will make up the second wing. Sync up your IFF systems accordingly_."

Neela nodded slowly. She had no idea which fighters her teammates were flying, so she activated the IFF system in the Armanis and waited for others to link into it. She figured the humans would know each other and it was obvious which vessel was hers. Sure enough, within moments there were two blips on her scanner that turned green, identifying them as friendly vessels. One of her teammates had been her opponent for the first exercise, so they were already flying together. A second Trident fighter joined the formation.

"_Good morning,_" a cheerful female voice greeted her. "_Andrea Walker. You can call me Walker. It's nice to fly with you, Neela'Xara._"

"It's an honor," Neela answered with a smile. "And Neela is fine."

"_Neela,_" the deep voice of her former opponent repeated. "_Pretty name. I'm glad to be on your side this time. It's kinda embarrassing to be shot down by a rookie. Name's Johnson, by the way._"

"I've never flown as part of a formation before," Neela admitted. "What do we do?"

"_It's simple. Stay together as much as possible. If they break us apart, circle around quickly to cover your teammates. If you end up with one of them on your tail, give us a heads up so we can hit him from behind. And if we call for help, you do the same for us_."

"Seems simple enough," Neela nodded.

As Neela discovered almost immediately once the exercise started, it wasn't as simple as it sounded. Things began nicely enough. They were together in formation, and they spotted the other trio ahead of them. They all accelerated to begin the engagement, which prompted the other team to split up, veering off in three different directions. Johnson called for them to stay on the leader, and the three of them pursued that one craft. Then chaos erupted.

The other two craft on the opposing team had circled around and come in from behind and to the right, which forced their team to break up in turn. Neela soon found herself alone and being pursued by one of the enemy fighters. She twisted and turned frantically to keep out of his sights. However, she knew from her engagement with the Harvester as night was falling that even with the Armanis's maneuverability, she couldn't evade incoming fire forever.

"I've got one on my tail," she informed her teammates.

"_Take evasive action,_" Walker responded. "_I'm trying to get one off of Johnson's ass at the moment._"

Neela pushed forward on the controls, accelerating to higher speeds. She had learned in the first duel that the Alliance fighters lost maneuverability as their speed increased. The Armanis did too, but the maneuverability bleed wasn't as dramatic. She twisted around and dove, looping a couple times, doing her best to shake the pursuit. However, in trying to avoid one, she'd forgotten that there was a third fighter out there. When she spotted a second craft on the scanner coming in from her side, she quickly went into a dive, only narrowly avoiding the second enemy's weapon lock.

"_Trident Victor-Five is down. That's a confirmed kill._"

Neela remembered that identifier from her first duel. It meant her former opponent had been shot down again, and this had just turned into a three-on-two engagement. She banked hard and spiraled around, throwing off one of her pursuers through the sheer tightness of the turn. Following the maneuver with a quick turn in the opposite direction, she managed to get on the second fighter's tail.

"_I've got one on my tail_," Walker's voice interrupted. "_Neela, get him off of me!_"

Neela sighed and broke off her pursuit, circling around toward the position of her teammate on the scanner. There was no choice, really. If Walker was eliminated as well, she stood no chance three-on-one. She kept her eyes on the display, and noted that at least one of the fighters was pursuing her.

As soon as she was on her enemy's tail, Walker veered sharply to the right. Her target banked in the opposite direction, and she remained in pursuit while her teammate circled around.

"_Don't worry. I've got your six. Stay on him._"

"Acknowledged," Neela replied.

Accelerating to match her target's speed, she stayed with him on every twist and dive he executed. She tried to keep an eye on her scanner while she chased her opponent, just to be sure one of the others wouldn't sneak up and take her out while she was busy, but it was difficult to watch the scanner and match him maneuver for maneuver at the same time.

"_Damn. Got one behind me. I have to break off. Watch your six._"

Neela frowned, but she never wavered in her pursuit. Even when another enemy signature appeared on her screen, she kept on her target's tail. She knew that she might be shot down if she didn't break off soon, but she was determined to even the odds. It was then that her opponent made a mistake. He veered hard to the left, attempting to circle around her. Because the Armanis could perform tighter turns, however, it gave Neela the chance to cut him off, putting the top of his craft squarely in her sights. The moment the heads-up display turned green, she squeezed the trigger and veered off.

"_Confirmed kill. Victor-Nine is down._"

"I have one on my tail," Neela called out.

"_Me too. Turn southward. If you can get behind mine, he'll break off. Then we can work together to get rid of yours._"

"Acknowledged," Neela smiled.

She performed a quick turn, heading generally southward. However, as she banked, an idea came to her. The Armanis was made to be able to move laterally in an instant. She wondered if she might be able to use it to her advantage with a surprise maneuver to evade pursuit rather than simply to dodge fire. She leveled out and started swerving back and forth, making sure that her pursuer was firmly on her tail. Then she performed a quick lateral jump, simultaneously pulling back on the controls to cut the throttle almost completely. Her ship started to fall toward the ground, but the maneuver surprised her pursuer, who sailed right past her. Neela grinned and pushed forward, accelerating to stay airborne and pick up the pursuit.

"_Neela, I'm in trouble here!_"

"I've almost got this guy," Neela responded. "Just give me a few seconds…"

In the distance, a streak of light hurtled out of the sky toward the ground. There was a distant rumble, and the horizon brightened with the flash of the impact when the object met the planet's surface. Several more similar displays followed. Both Neela and her prey stopped their maneuvers, circling lazily so they could watch the spectacle. Their little war game was forgotten.

"_Jesus,_" Walker's distorted voice came through the comms, "_I think that was a strike from orbit…_"

"A strike on what? And by whom?" Neela wondered aloud.

.

* * *

.

**Author's Note: Well, first chapter on a single timeline. I opted to keep the location tags and just drop the timeframe identifiers so that the transition is as unobtrusive as possible. Hopefully this is the least jarring in terms of the shift in tone of the narrative. Other than that, I don't have a lot to say about this Chapter. Glad to be caught up and moving forward with the cast's struggle to survive Terra nova.**

**I failed utterly to meet my self-imposed deadline this time, and thus I am uploading this Chapter before I have finished writing the one I was working on. However, I'm still optimistic that I can finish the next one on schedule. So the next update should be on Saturday. Thank you as always to all my readers, followers, and reviewers for your support. As always, I'm eager to hear any comments or criticisms. :)**


	20. Chapter 20: Portents

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Twenty: Portents

.

**Terra Nova Wilderness…**

Prathus slumped to a seat on a rock, rubbing his leg absently. He had been walking for over an hour, and the sky was just starting to brighten with the approach of daybreak. He was finally able to put Candace down just a few minutes before; the girl had finally calmed down enough to walk on her own. But the strain of fighting through the brambles while carrying the child over uneven terrain had taken its toll. There was a long day of walking ahead, so he was seizing the opportunity to sit down while he could.

Candace had been quiet aside from the occasional sniffle and sigh. While Prathus didn't know the child well, she had been opinionated and verbose when he first encountered her by the lake. He was concerned about her silence. The grief was still fresh, so he supposed it was understandable, but still, he would have expected her to speak at least a little. He expected her to rage about her parents. To blame him for their death. To demand explanations for leaving them behind. _Something_…

He was considering trying to get her talking, since he needed to give his leg a few moments of rest. She looked exhausted and miserable. Anything that would take her mind off of her loss would probably do her some good, he imagined. However, before he could think of anything to say, his attention was drawn by a flash of light through the trees to the north.

An instant after the flash, there was a rumble like a distant explosion, and a tremor ran through the ground beneath him. He stood up, staring to the north with a sudden feeling of dread. While he'd never been on the ground during an orbital strike before, he was pretty sure that was what he had just seen. Several more flashes quickly followed the first, and the ground shook more violently with each one.

"The ground is shaking," Candace said softly.

"Yeah," Prathus nodded in a preoccupied fashion.

While he had no knowledge of the terrain or the placement of the settlements on this planet, he had a fairly vivid mental picture of what had just happened. Candice's parents had said that Site A was a hardened facility buried in a mountainside. Assaulting a facility like that with ground forces would be a slow and taxing process. If the facility was particularly well-supplied and fortified, it could have taken months or even years. But if it was bombarded from orbit… Even buried in a mountain, there would be massive damage, and those inside might be buried alive if the facility wasn't destroyed outright. The humans had foolishly broadcast the instructions to move to the site. While they hadn't said the exact location, the Reapers could easily have watched from the air or from orbit to see where civilians were heading.

"What was that?" Candice interrupted his thoughts.

"I'm not sure," he said softly. He wasn't exactly lying. He couldn't be positive that he was correct in his assumption. And he didn't want to frighten her. But he did want to get moving and see if he was right.

"Why are these monsters after our planet?"

"They're horrible creatures," Prathus said softly. "They hate everyone who isn't like them."

"But why did they have to kill my mom and dad?" Candace asked in a sullen tone.

This was the sort of questioning Prathus had been expecting. He didn't have any good answers, but it made him feel somewhat better to have the girl starting to demand them. It was natural to want a reason for the loss of someone special.

"Like I said, they're horrible," Prathus kept the answer simple. "They just want to hurt people. That's why we need to get you somewhere safe."

Candice fell silent, scowling at the ground, apparently lost in thought. Prathus glanced to the north, allowing her to think. She didn't need to know the rumors behind Reaper activity… that they had successfully wiped out Prothean civilization. Knowing that they were dangerous was enough. Perhaps the girl was old enough to understand a less simplified explanation, but he didn't want to get into it.

"What about you?" Candice asked at last.

"What about me?"

"Don't you have to get somewhere safe?"

"No," Prathus said softly. "I need to get you to a safe place, and then I have to go find the rest of my crew. I know they will be somewhere on this planet. I have to find them."

"More turians?"

"Actually, no," Prathus shrugged. "I was on an asari ship. Most of my crew are asari. One is a quarian."

"Oh," Candice nodded slowly. "Asari are pretty. Blue is my favorite color."

Prathus snorted. For some reason, the majority of the galaxy seemed to find asari beautiful. Why should humans be any different? His gaze drifted northward. Unfortunately, he couldn't see much of anything through the trees in the near-darkness, but he was sure there would be a sizeable cloud of debris coming down if it had truly been orbital strikes that they had witnessed.

"Candice, we need to get moving. We have to get to the emergency shelter."

The child nodded slowly, and the two of them set off. Prathus took the lead, forcing his way through the brush whenever they couldn't avoid it so that the way would be clear for the child to follow, since she wasn't wearing armor to protect her from the thorns. The turian set as brisk a pace as he felt was fair to the much smaller human, and he was impressed that she managed to keep up with him without complaint.

He couldn't be sure what they would find as they got farther north, but he had an idea. His guess was that they would find chunks of stone and a fine dusting of dirt and ash over everything as they got closer to the impact site. The one thing of which he was sure was that they would know well before they reached ground zero whether there had been an attack from orbit or not.

* * *

**Forward Operations Base Alpha-5**

Aida stepped out of the way with a weary sigh as another soldier was wheeled into the recovery room of the medical shelter. She hadn't even been doing any of the complex work, and she was tired. How the poor Alliance doctors managed to hold it together and get through such frantic situations on a regular basis, she would never know. All of the doctors, nurses and surgeons looked absolutely exhausted.

A quick glance through the window told her that the sun was rising, and she activated her omni-tool, glancing at the time displayed there, which was still set to the _Sileya's_ schedule. According to her omni, it was midday. The fact that the sun was just rising proved that Illitha had been correct. This planet had a very long day cycle.

The thought of her friend had her wondering where Illitha had gone. She'd seen Selura and Neela since waking, but hadn't seen any sign of the shy engineer. She was about to go and find her when she spotted the captain's stasis pod in the corner. Her expression fell. She had been so busy she'd almost forgotten about her captain, and that made her miserable. Captain Nisaria had already waited far too long for treatment.

"Excuse me," she headed toward one of the men she knew was a surgeon. "I know it has been a long and tiring morning. But my captain is still in need of care," she gestured to the Prothean pod.

"We are all exhausted-" the man began wearily.

"I can see to her," another of the doctors, a younger man, was quick to volunteer. "If I could get a few people to assist?" he looked around at the other doctors in the room.

"I will," a weary-looking human woman nodded.

"I can too," Aida smiled. She would be only too glad to assist in tending to the captain's injuries.

"Fine," the doctor Aida had originally approached said softly. "The operating room should have been cleansed by the decontamination cycle by now, so use that. We'll start bringing the patients in from outside."

"How do we open this pod and get your captain out of stasis?" the surgeon that had volunteered asked.

"The pod opens easily. As for the stasis… I actually have no idea," Aida said sheepishly. "It is Prothean technology. My friend Selura was in charge of transporting it for her company. She might know how to end the stasis."

"Selura?" the man's brows rose. "I helped repair her arm. She's some kind of Prothean expert?"

"Not that I know of," Aida shook her head. "She is an expert on Mass Effect and propulsion drives. But the stasis pod was something her company was shipping to Thessia."

"Let's get it up onto a gurney. When they bring her inside, we can ask her."

"What was your name?" Aida asked him.

"Richard Friedburg," the doctor introduced himself. "Call me Rick. And this is Rebecca Tillman," he gestured toward the human woman that had volunteered to help them.

"You can call me Rebecca," the woman smiled, extending a hand.

"It is a pleasure to meet you both," Aida's return smile was full of warmth. She shook the woman's hand. "Thank you for agreeing to help her," her hand came to rest on the stasis pod when Rebecca released it.

"It's no trouble at all. You've been a great help to us this morning," Rick assured her.

"Hopefully we'll have the majority of the day to rest when we're done," Rebecca added. "Barring any further disasters."

"_Please_ don't jinx us," Rick muttered.

Aida smiled at the two, and then her smile increased further when she saw a few of the medics wheeling Selura's bed back into the room. She expected Neela to walk in after them, but to her surprise, there was no sign of the quarian. Her brow rose quizzically.

"Where is Neela?"

"She is flying the Armanis to help the Alliance fighter pilots," Selura smiled with obvious pride. "Why?"

"I was just surprised she was not with you," Aida shrugged. "We are about to take the captain into surgery. But we need to know how to get her out of stasis…"

Selura's expression fell, and she looked away uncomfortably. Aida didn't like the sudden shift in the girl's demeanor, and had a feeling she wasn't going to be happy about what the scientist had to say. She sighed softly.

"Not good news then… Just tell me. You do not know how to end it, do you?"

"When Neela first told me you all used the pod, I told her… We have no way to end the stasis. It cannot simply be shut off. That is how the Protheans housed in these pods originally died. The loss of power without the proper signal to end the stasis led to a bunch of frozen corpses thawing over time. That sort of slow thaw causes all sorts of damage, from what my company's research said, and there was no revival routine working to restore function to the bodies."

"What are you saying?" Aida didn't want to believe what she was hearing. "By putting the captain into stasis, we killed her?"

"I… Well, no. Not exactly. As long as the power holds, she will remain in stasis and thus alive. But without the precise signal to initiate the revival programs and bring about a proper end to the stasis, we cannot open the pod without killing her."

"We'll leave you two to talk," Rick interrupted. "I'm sorry we can't help her right now."

Aida sighed and covered her face with her hands. She felt like she was about to cry. She knew it was rude not to answer the humans, but she didn't know what to say just then. Selura, however, answered on her behalf.

"She understands. She is just disappointed."

"I understand," Rebecca said softly. "When you figure out how to end the stasis, we will be happy to perform the surgery to repair her injuries."

"Thank you," Aida forced herself to speak up.

The two humans left them alone save for the few injured soldiers lying in recovery beds around the room. Aida put a hand on the Prothean stasis pod and closed her eyes, trying to figure out what she was supposed to be feeling. There was a very good chance she had put the captain into a stasis she would never come out of. But had she done nothing, the captain would have died for certain. She supposed that between the two, this was the better option.

"I am sorry," Selura's voice was soft.

"What about hacking the pod's systems? Lith managed to hack in and initiate the stasis. Perhaps she could do the same to find the revival program?"

"Maybe," Selura said softly. "But if she accidentally triggered the wrong protocol, there is no way to predict what this pod might do to captain Nisaria. She could end up in a permanent coma, with irreversible brain damage, or could even be killed. Even if we _do_ find the proper signal to end the stasis, there is no way to be sure she will emerge unharmed. This pod was created with Prothean physiology in mind. Putting a non-Prothean into stasis could have unforeseen complications."

"Goddess," Aida whispered. "The captain saves me from a terrible future, and in turn I condemn her to death…" She covered her eyes with a hand. She was on the verge of breaking down crying.

"How did she save you?"

Aida turned toward the other asari. She had forgotten that Selura didn't know that story. She bowed her head, shrugging a little bit.

"She… purchased me."

"What?"

"Maybe I should start at the beginning."

"Please. I am a little confused," Selura admitted.

"Well, growing up, I wanted to be a chef. I wanted to own my own restaurant and treat people to all manner of culinary delights. I went to a culinary academy and was just months from graduation when things went bad for my family…"

Selura silently patted the edge of her bed in invitation. Aida was quite tired, so she decided that if she was going to tell the story, she might as well sit down and give her legs and back a rest. She smiled softly and settled on the edge of the gurney.

"My parents invested heavily in a volus trading company. They were promised that their investment would return a four-hundred percent profit or more, and they were eager to save some money for my sisters to attend university. They were barely getting by with the costs of my tuition added to their monthly expenses."

"How many sisters do you have?" Selura interrupted.

"Three," Aida smiled. "Nyssa is just over a hundred years old. Aniya is seventy, and Menira is forty-five."

"Must be nice to have sisters," Selura smiled. "I would love to hear more about them. But please, continue your story."

"Oh. Well…" Aida sighed softly. She would much rather have talked about her sisters. "Well, the investment turned out to be a scam. The volus disappeared and left my parents and dozens of others without a credit to live on. My parents had to sell our home… it had been in my mother's family for nine generations… and they moved into a cramped little apartment. They had already paid for all my tuition, but it was impossible for me to open a restaurant without money for startup costs. And university was never going to be a reality for my sisters unless they could find patrons."

Selura nodded silently, waiting for her to continue.

"I decided that my dreams could wait. I knew I needed to get a job with greater earning potential so that I could help my family out. So I found a medical company that was willing to pay for my schooling in exchange for a ten-year contract once I graduated. And I started studying to be a doctor. At the start of my third year, I was being transferred to a clinic on Lusia for an internship, where I would get some hands-on experience. But the transport I was on was raided by pirates. They took us all prisoner."

"You were captured by pirates?" Selura repeated, seemingly a little stunned.

"Yes. They were ransoming off the prisoners to their families. They dragged me into a room when they got my parents on the vidcomm, so that they could prove I was still alive. And they demanded an amount that there was no way my parents could ever pay. I was terrified. My mother begged them to let me go. She promised to give them everything we had. But it wasn't enough for the humans. They said they could get a better price from the batarians if they sold me as a slave."

"Goddess, Aida…" Selura breathed. "How can you be so calm talking about this? I would have been traumatized for decades if I were in your shoes."

"Well, it all turned out for the best," Aida smiled softly. "The pirates made a deal with some batarian slavers to purchase me, and took me to this run-down old space station to hand me off to them. I was going to be sent to some moon to labor in a mine or something… they were never really clear on the details. But when we arrived at the meeting place, Captain Nisaria was there, handing off some cargo to the slavers. When she saw me… she demanded to know what was going on."

"And she purchased you from the batarians?"

"Yes. Like I said. She told them she would waive the delivery payment if she could have me instead. I guess it was a good deal, because the batarians seemed pretty eager to accept."

"And she just let you go?"

Aida nodded, smiling at the memory. "She said no one deserves to live as a batarian slave. She said I could go home that day if I wanted, and she would trust me to pay back the cost of my purchase in tiny increments whenever I had the money."

"That was nice of her," Selura smiled. "But how did you end up on her ship?"

"Well, it was the alternative she suggested. She told me I could work on her ship, and she would withhold a quarter of my share from each job until my debt was paid off. It was a steady job that paid well, and it would let me repay her kindness with more than just money. To tell the truth, I had a little case of hero worship. I agreed to stay aboard."

"And there were lots of nice people aboard to welcome you…" Selura added.

"Oh, none of the current crew was aboard at that time. Except the captain, of course. There was a krogan named Tredak, a salarian named Monir, and an asari called Daniya. They were all welcoming enough, if you put aside the fact that Tredak refused to call me anything but 'Slave-girl'."

"So you have seniority on the ship?" Selura seemed surprised. "Why is Prathus the XO then?"

"To be honest, I have no idea. Maybe because he has military training. Or maybe the captain wanted an executive officer that was willing to challenge her. I never argued with her over anything. If she said 'cook', I asked what she wanted. It seemed the least I could do for the woman that saved me from life as a batarian's slave."

"When did Illitha come aboard the ship?"

"About two months after I did. Monir was the engineer before that, and he wanted to leave the crew and return to Sur'Kesh. So the captain hired Lith, and Monir trained her for a couple weeks. Then he was gone, and she was there. I liked her right away," Aida smiled brightly. "It took months to get her to say two words to me, but once she opened up to me, we got along quite well."

"And Neela?" there was a subtle change in Selura's voice when she asked the question.

"About a year ago?" Aida smiled. "She had to leave Illium because-"

"No!" Selura cut her off anxiously. "Do not tell me."

"Why not?"

"It is something of a game between us. And at this point, I do not want to know unless she wants to tell me."

"Okay, I understand."

"Thank you."

"Actually, I should be thanking _you_," Aida said softly.

"For what?"

"Well, thinking about the captain's predicament…" Aida glanced toward the Prothean pod. "I was starting to get pretty upset. Your curiosity got me focused on something more positive."

"Being captured by pirates and sold to slavers is _positive_?" Selura laughed. "You have a funny idea of positivity."

"Well, that part of it was not fun," Aida admitted. "But it led me to a job on a ship full of wonderful people, in the service of an asari I adore, and not only will my monetary debt to the captain be paid off soon, but the rest of the money I have earned has enabled me to set aside a fund for each of my sisters to attend university, _and_ paid back the cost of tuition to the company that was paying for my medical training, since I backed out of the contract."

"I see," Selura nodded. "Well, I would definitely call all of _that_ positive."

Aida smiled. Her gaze was drawn once more to the Prothean stasis pod, but for the moment she was comforted by the fact that the power source was stable and would continue to provide adequate power for weeks if necessary. Perhaps Illitha would be able to hack into the pod's systems and determine which function would end the stasis. She refused to lose hope while there were still options available.

The door opened, and Neela limped inside. Aida glanced at Selura, and smiled when she saw the other asari's expression light up with a radiant smile of her own. The scientist extended a hand to the quarian. Obviously, something had happened between the two… it was written all over the scientist's face. The medic was happy for them both.

"I thought you would still be flying the Armanis," Selura said with a smile as Neela took her hand.

"Training was cut short," Neela said softly. Her tone suggested that she was worried.

"What happened?" Aida asked with concern.

"Something was firing from orbit," Neela told them.

The implications were unpleasant. Aida didn't believe for an instant that the Alliance had returned and seized control in orbit. Which meant the Reapers were bombarding targets from space. How long would it be before they decided to obliterate the base upon which they were all staying? She had briefly felt safe there among the Alliance soldiers. Now she was wondering if they would be safer out in the wilderness on their own…

* * *

**Scott, Capital City of Terra Nova…**

Zaeed stood upon the crumbling roof of a building in southern Scott, grimly surveying the scene below. The problem with their plan to travel to the Prothean Ruins had just become apparent to them all, though he wasn't sure what to make of his employer's calm silence. To get to the dig site, which lay to the south, they had to cross through the southern reaches of the city, which was the central battleground between the Alliance resistance and the Reapers.

From their vantage, they watched the dark tide of Reaper forces pouring through the streets, while the Alliance struggled to push back the onslaught. Trident fighters and oculus drones crisscrossed through the skies overhead, and the explosive sound of Mako cannons reverberated off of the surrounding buildings whenever the vehicles fired, drowning out the other sounds of combat. The Alliance was clearly fighting a losing battle; even as Zaeed watched, one squad after another retreated from the advancing Reaper horde.

Over all of it towered one of the massive Reaper ships, which was slowly stomping its way through the ruins, supporting the ground forces with destructive blasts from its main "eye." Every time one of those crimson beams was fired, it shook everything around it. Even from dozens of blocks away, where Zaeed and his companions were standing, he could feel the building shaking beneath his feet when the Reaper unleashed such a blast. Entire squads were incinerated by single shots from the Reaper. The second Reaper was visible against the brightening sky further to the west.

He was looking forward to shooting some Reapers, but he wasn't sure he would get the chance. It seemed clear that they would have to avoid the battlefield. They had no chance of actually forging a path through the ranks of the Reaper ground troops. Circumventing the battlefield would add hours to their journey, but there was no other option. Zaeed's gaze went to his employer, and he wondered what the salarian was thinking. His gaze was far away, and he was muttering under his breath.

"We're going around, right?" Zaeed asked, more to break Salik from his thoughts than because he needed to hear the answer.

The salarian blinked and shook his head slightly, seeming to regain awareness from his surroundings. "Obviously. Impossible to navigate the battlefield without becoming embroiled in the conflict."

"There'll be Reapers all over the side streets too. I'll take point."

"Imperative that we avoid all enemy contact," Salik reminded him. "This close to the main Reaper force, any enemy contact could result in extremely unpleasant consequences."

"I hadn't considered that. Thanks for pointing out the completely goddamn obvious," Zaeed snapped.

"The sarcasm is charming, but uncalled for. Let's get moving," Salik muttered.

Zaeed raised his rifle and headed for the roof access door, leading the way down the stairwell to street level. Scouting the area through which they were going to travel was a necessary step, but the climb up and then the walk back down had been a bit more time-consuming than Zaeed would have liked. He had no idea how much headway Cerberus would make in sifting through the Prothean data to find the information they were after, but he was acutely aware of the delays they were suffering. He was starting to worry that by the time they reached the ruins Cerberus would already have the information and would be gone. How long could it really take to hunt down a bit of information in an archive?

Once they were on street level, Zaeed kept close to the buildings, with his rifle always at the ready. He set a steady pace, pushing the group eastward several blocks before turning south. More than once, they were forced to stop and hide while a roving group of cannibals passed by. Fortunately, their luck was holding insofar as they remained undetected. The further south they traveled, however, the more frequently they ran across Reaper scouting parties.

The three of them were crouched behind a crashed skycar, waiting for a group of cannibals to move past, when Zaeed spotted something new. Among the cannibals was what looked like a Turian with pieces of metal in the place of some of its flesh. One of its mandibles was formed of shining metal, and its left eye was glowing red with synthetic light. He realized that it was probably some poor turian that had been living on the colony and had been taken by the Reapers, but it was still surprising to see a turian husk among the enemies. He kept his eyes upon it until the group moved out of sight.

"They managed to mutilate a turian," Zaeed muttered. "But it's different from the husks and cannibals."

"Predictably so," Salik nodded. "Reapers will undoubtedly twist each race in its own way, augmenting strengths and ridding them of weaknesses. Each creation will fill a role. Cannibals serve as shock troops. Husks apply pressure to enemies and force them out of cover. Unsure of the role filled by Turian version, but likely to be different from the others."

"They managed to capture a Turian and pervert it pretty bloody fast," Zaeed muttered. "Must've been living in the colony."

"Reasonable assumption," the salarian nodded. "Impossible to predict what sorts of Reaper ground troops we will encounter. Might find krogan, drell, asari, perhaps even my own people among Reaper troops. Depends entirely upon the materials at their disposal."

"We should go," Greck interrupted the conversation.

"Indeed," Salik nodded. "Best to proceed before the next group wanders by."

Zaeed nodded and shuffled out from behind the remains of the skycar, quickly sweeping his weapon in an arc around the area, watchful for any sign of danger. The street seemed clear, so he stepped away and motioned for the others to leave cover. However, just as the vorcha was leaving cover, a trio of husks emerged from a nearby doorway. Zaeed spotted the creatures just as one of them opened its mouth and let out a howl of rage.

The three husks sprinted for them, and Zaeed raised his weapon, squeezing the trigger. He wasn't used to the lower recoil and comparatively lesser stopping power of the Alliance-issue rifle, but his aim was true. The bullets tore through the head of the lead husk, and it staggered and dropped to its knees. Beside Zaeed, the vorcha activated an omni-blade and then charged toward the husks, leaping onto one of the humanoid corpses and jamming the weapon into its throat with a vicious snarl. Salik activated his tactical cloak and vanished.

Zaeed frowned. He appreciated having someone with a tactical cloak on his side just in case stealth became necessary. However, he was irritated with Salik's habit of vanishing without a word to anyone. It made him hesitant to fire, lest he accidentally shoot his employer. He had to trust that the salarian would stay out of the line of fire. There was still one husk closing on him. He turned his rifle upon it.

A dark orb struck the husk in the side and blossomed into dark bands of metal, wrapping around its upper torso and head, forming a layer of armoring in seconds. Zaeed's finger was already tightening on the trigger when the orb hit the husk, and yet by the time he fired, the bullets were ricocheting off of the new layer of armoring. He glanced in the direction from which the orb had come, and saw the turian Reaper and several cannibals dashing down the street toward them. But the moment of inattention cost him.

The husk leapt upon him, driving him back into the wall of the building, and it drew its hand back to punch him. However, Zaeed was fast enough to raise his rifle to block the incoming blow, and he hurled the creature to the ground, driving the butt of the rifle into its nose with a resounding crack. He was just drawing the weapon back to strike it again when a canister landed almost on the husk's head. As soon as he saw the blinking light on the canister, Zaeed instinctively turned and dove behind the skycar they had been using as cover.

The grenade exploded just as he hit the ground, sending a tremor through the pavement beneath him and hurtling chips of stone and dirt into the air. The debris rained over the battlefield a moment later, and Zaeed scrambled to his knees, inching out to where he could see the approaching group. He should have known that the husks' shouts would draw the other group back. His eyes went first to the turian creature. It was the first such Reaper that he had seen, and thus its role was an unknown.

As he watched, the turian withdrew a dark orb from a hole in its side, and it hurled it toward one of the cannibals. The orb blossomed into bands of armoring on contact, just like had happened with the husk. Zaeed's eyes narrowed. The turian creatures were some sort of support unit. They carried armoring that could be deployed in an instant to assist allied creatures. That made them dangerous. He sighted in on the turian and fired.

The bullets were deflected by kinetic shielding. Zaeed snorted and shook his head. It was the first Reaper he'd faced that had any form of barrier. The turian raised a rifle and returned fire, forcing him to duck behind cover once again. Bullets ricocheted off of his cover and hit the wall behind him, and he waited for a break in the fire so that he could respond in kind. The moment there was a lull he leaned out and fired on one of the unarmored cannibals. Since the turian was shielded, it would serve them better to even the odds quickly.

He had to pull back behind cover before he could completely disable his target; two other cannibals and the turian were quick to fire upon him. However, he spotted the vorcha charging in to take some of the pressure off of him, peppering the reapers with fire from the Avenger rifle he had scavenged. Zaeed seized the opportunity and rose from behind his cover to resume fire, and between the two of them, they quickly put down two of the cannibals.

Greck had continued to close in on their opponents as he fired, and Zaeed saw the vorcha leap upon one of the armored cannibals, jamming his omni-blade into its shoulder. However, the cannibal retaliated with a powerful strike from its forearm, knocking the vorcha onto his back. The cannibal leveled its gun arm upon the fallen vorcha, and Zaeed quickly fired on the Reaper, drawing its attention away. Just as he was ducking back behind the skycar, the glowing orb of a combat drone drifted into the fray.

The combat drone went directly for the turian, discharging an electrical bolt against the creature's shield. Zaeed leaned out of cover and fired on the turian to add to the punishment the shield would absorb, and saw the vorcha leap upon the armored cannibal once again, repeatedly jabbing the creature in the ribs with his omni-blade. The turian and the other cannibals fired upon the combat drone. However, when the holographic orb collapsed, it exploded, knocking all of the surrounding Reapers – and the vorcha – flat.

Zaeed charged out from behind the skycar, covering the distance to the fallen turian in seconds. He slammed his boot down upon the turian's rifle to keep him from lifting it and aimed his weapon at the creature's head, unloading a full volley of shots into it until there was no recognizable semblance of a skull left. The other cannibals were starting to rise, but the vorcha gleefully charged from one to the next, using his omni-blade to disembowel and decapitate each of them in turn. By the time the last one fell, the vorcha was covered in gore.

"Excellent work," Salik commented, seeming to materialize out of thin air. "However, it is now imperative that we move. The commotion will inevitably draw additional enemies to our location."

Zaeed nodded, warily scanning their surroundings. They couldn't afford any more delays. He resumed his position at the lead, moving southward as quickly as he felt they could travel without the risk of drawing more attention. There was a long way to go.

* * *

**Forward Operations Base Alpha-5…**

Neela sat on the foot of Selura's bed, doing her best to ignore the growling in her stomach and concentrate instead on her omni-tool. She was scrolling through captures of the sights she had seen on her pilgrimage, smiling at the ones that were particularly memorable for one reason or another. Selura was dining on the small meal they had brought her, which consisted of a bowl of stew and a hunk of stale bread… at least Neela assumed it was stale from the crunching sound it made when the asari bit into it. It was extremely difficult for the quarian to ignore the smell of the stew, even muted as it was after passing through the filters in her breathing apparatus.

Selura had tried to decline her meal. Neela's ration of food had been brought at the same time and consisted of a tube of dextro-based protein gel, not all that different from the paste into which the Migrant Fleet's crops were processed. It wasn't exactly tasty, but it had the nutrients her body needed. The asari's discomfort over the thought of eating in front of Neela had been obvious, and the gesture made Neela smile. But she had insisted that Selura eat; the girl needed to get the proper nutrients to aid in her healing. Still, the persistent smell of the hot food was torture.

Neela had saved two-thirds of the container of gel. She was aware that there were only about ten such tubes on hand in the Alliance food supplies; when she first arrived on base she'd been warned that dextro-based rations were in short supply. If she stretched it out and used up only a third of a tube a day, she had thirty days before she would truly begin to starve. That time would be significantly reduced if the Alliance found Prathus or if they rescued any other turian or quarian refugees. She sighed softly and tried to focus on the captures in her omni. But the smell of the food lingering in the air was making her think that she should go for a walk until Selura was finished.

"Do you think the Alliance will move the camp into the woods or something?" Selura suddenly asked.

"I don't know," Neela shrugged.

"Well, they have to do _something_. Keeping the camp out in the open while the Reapers are bombarding targets from orbit seems… well… less than brilliant."

Neela smiled a little bit.

"Especially with all the lights spread through the camp. At night we must make a wonderful target from the air," Selura continued. "Unless the plan is to make the Reapers think we are a decoy target. Something to waste their time on… You know, all two seconds it would take to aim and fire at us."

"Finish your food," Neela suggested, struggling not to laugh at Selura's sarcastic observation.

"You should finish yours too," Selura countered. "I saw you stuff most of it into a pocket. Does it really taste that bad?"

"No," Neela said softly.

_Did she forget that my food is in short supply? Or is she joking…?_ Neela wondered, and then it clicked. _Oh… She was already being prepped for surgery when I told Aida and Illitha about that. She doesn't know._

"Then why not finish it?" Selura persisted. "You need to keep your strength up. Especially if you are going to be flying into combat."

_She doesn't need to know about it,_ Neela decided. _The last thing I want to do is worry my… my…_ she paused, trying to figure out what the proper term would be. _My girlfriend? Is that too presumptuous? We are attracted to one another, but does that really mean she is my girlfriend?_

"Neela?" Selura was regarding her curiously.

She shook her head and laughed a little bit. "Sorry. I was getting lost in my thoughts," she admitted.

"Oh? What thoughts would those be? Still worried about having to leave Illium for that scam you were running selling 'effzo, the amazing discovery that would replace eezo'?"

Neela giggled, shaking her head ruefully. "No, my thoughts had nothing to do with Illium."

"What then?"

Neela felt herself blushing over the idea of telling Selura what had been on her mind. But if they were going to try a relationship, it was only right that they would be open with each other. She supposed that things like this would be natural to share with someone she was dating.

"Actually, I was trying to figure out how to refer to you," Neela said softly.

"Comedienne? Brilliant scientist? Source of constant irritation?" Selura suggested.

"That's not what I meant," Neela laughed. "I meant… Well… I was thinking…"

"That is a _fantastic_ Illitha impression!" Selura grinned mischievously. "I would applaud if I thought I could do it pain-free."

"Oh, shut up," Neela glared playfully at the scientist.

"I cannot be quiet," Selura's grin deepened. "I think it has something to do with the salarian in me. If I stay quiet for too long, I start to feel like I will turn inside out. So you should tell me what you were thinking. Otherwise I might start lecturing you on the advantages of using thermal conduction gels in propulsion elements to lessen the buildup of heat during peak-"

"Okay, okay!" Neela cut her off. "I'll tell you!"

"Ha!" Selura grinned triumphantly. "Boring academic lectures… the _ultimate_ torture tool."

"I'm attracted to you and you to me," Neela said softly. "So with that established, I was trying to decide what I would call you if… if I were introducing you to someone. My… girlfriend?"

Selura's grin faded to a soft, almost embarrassed smile. She scooped one last spoonful of her stew into her mouth and then pushed the swiveling table to the side, scooting over to make room beside herself. When she patted the spot next to her, Neela felt no hesitation. She crawled up and reclined next to Selura. Their hands met and fingers intertwined.

"That is what you want, right?" Selura asked softly. "A relationship between us?"

"Is… that what _you_ want?" Neela countered. Unconsciously, she was holding her breath while she waited for the answer.

"No," Selura squeezed her hand. "I am attracted to you, and therefore want no form of relationship whatsoever."

The first word had nearly stopped Neela's heart, so when it became clear that Selura was teasing her, she quickly punched the asari in the uninjured shoulder, growling, "Bosh'tet…"

"Goddess," Selura grinned. "If you are this abusive now, what will you do to me on the day I tell you I have gambled away our combined life-savings?"

"You're already considering sharing our savings? I think you've thought further ahead in our relationship than I have," Neela teased.

Selura stared at her for a moment, and then she laughed and bowed her head. "Guilty… apparently."

"So… we haven't gone on a date, and yet I can call you my girlfriend?"

"Special circumstances," Selura smiled. "I would invite you out for dinner and a movie, but Reapers are the most inconsiderate moviegoers in the galaxy. They block your view, drown out the movie with the sounds of destruction, and I am told they vaporize your popcorn if you chew too loudly…"

"Keelah," Neela shook her head. "Has anyone ever told you how strange you are?"

"Never. I receive nothing but compliments."

"Of course," Neela grinned. "Your strangeness is part of your charm."

A sudden ping from Neela's omni-tool interrupted the playful banter. She sat up, activating the messaging system, and found an alert message from the Alliance waiting for her. She had been informed after their training exercise had been called to an end that she would receive an alert when she was needed for a live mission.

"What is it?" Selura asked.

"The Alliance fighters are being mobilized. I have to get to the airfield."

"Oh," Selura nodded. "Then you had better get going."

"Sorry," Neela sighed.

_Sooner or later, we need to really talk about how this will work…_

"When you get into the Armanis, link your omni-tool into the mainframe and activate the program called 'Diagnostic Encyclopedia'," Selura told her.

"Why? Is there something wrong with the Armanis?"

"No," Selura smiled softly. "Even before you told me how you feel about me, I had been planning to copy the data from my company's datapad when we reached Thessia. I wanted to give it to you as a present… for your pilgrimage."

Neela stared at her. Schematics for something like the Armanis would have been a presentation gift without parallel. The idea that the asari had been considering breaching her confidentiality contract with her company on her behalf was both shocking and exhilarating.

"I cannot give you the full statistical rundown and test data anymore," Selura continued, "but if you activate the diagnostic encyclopedia in the Armanis and download the systems schematics, it will give you most of the technical readouts and design blueprints."

"I… don't know what to say," Neela said softly.

The truth was that she wanted to tear her mask off and kiss the asari… this was a gift that meant more to her than she could ever convey. But to present it to a prospective captain, she would have to survive long enough to do it… exposing herself to whatever contaminants were in the air on Terra Nova didn't seem like the best idea.

"There is no need," Selura smiled at her. "Go to the airfield. We will talk when you get back."

"Thank you," Neela said with heartfelt gratitude.

"Just try not to crash my company's prototype," Selura grinned.

"I promise nothing."

* * *

**Forward Operations Base Alpha-5, Airfield…**

Illitha suppressed a giggle as the humans she was working with groused about their inability to access the Armanis. She had heard that Neela was flying the fighter several hours earlier, and apparently when the quarian was finished, she had reengaged the lockout. As a result, Harper and his team had refueled all the other fighters in the line, but they could not access the fuel ports for the Armanis.

"I don't think your friends trust us," Harper turned to Illitha with a frown.

"Aye," McSween nodded. "We're all on the same side… Ye could leave the bloody thing unlocked…"

"M-maybe I can talk them into giving me the lockout code," Illitha murmured. "As a compromise."

"That'd be somethin'," McSween nodded. "At least then we would'na be standin' around with our thumbs up our…" he trailed off, "Uh… We would'na be wastin' time," he amended.

"Why don't you guys get back to the hangar?" Goodman suggested. "They called the pilots to assemble, so when the quarian shows up, I can get the refueling completed."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Harper nodded. "We still have to get the new linkage assembly into that old Grizzly."

Illitha smiled and nodded to Goodman, and then followed the other humans toward the large prefab shelter that they referred to as 'the hanger'. In truth it was just a huge domed metal roof with a series of steel supports holding it up, not an actual building of any kind. The Alliance kept crates full of vehicle parts and other equipment neatly stacked around the edges of the structure, and the center was kept open for vehicles to be brought inside for repairs.

Once they were inside, Illitha quickly excused herself to go and find a restroom. She wandered along the narrow row between prefab shelters, making a note of each building she passed. She was doing her best to learn her way around the base, since it seemed they would be staying for a while. She passed an armory, a communications headquarters, and was just passing a building designated as the 'Operations Center' when she was brought up short by a voice coming from right around the corner. It sounded vaguely familiar to her.

"I'm telling you, something is very wrong in the city," the voice belonged to a male, and the speaker was speaking softly, as if afraid he would be overheard.

"You're overreacting," a female voice answered. "Long-range communications have been down since the invasion started. The Reapers are trying to keep us all divided. They probably shot down the recon drone."

"Maybe," the first voice grudgingly agreed. "But the message on the last drone to return said my recon team was investigating a signal coming from somewhere near the Walters Center. And since then… nothing."

"Walters Center was supposed to be the HQ for the remaining brass. It would be fortified heavily. Maybe they were drafted to assist there," the female voice suggested.

"I hope so. Because if the Reapers followed that signal…"

Illitha slowly backed away from the corner of the building. She wasn't sure what was going on, or if she would be in trouble for overhearing the conversation, but she didn't want to find out. Something about the tone of what little she'd heard troubled her. If the Alliance leadership was wiped out, she wondered what it would mean for the soldiers on bases like this one. And then there had been the talk earlier in the day of orbital strikes by Reaper troops. The situation seemed so bleak…

She was just glad that she wasn't one of the people in charge. She didn't envy the ones who were responsible for the decisions that determined whether this war was won or lost, or whether soldiers lived or died. She knew that war was sometimes a matter of sacrificing some so that more could live… and she didn't think she could ever make a decision like that. It required someone with a stronger will than hers.

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: Here it is, right on time. And once more, I must thank everyone who is reading, following, commenting, reviewing or otherwise paying attention to my story. I really appreciate the interest. As for this Chapter, I know that the thing with the Marauder hurling orbs that expand into armoring is a slight departure from how they work in the game. I just couldn't bring myself to write the Marauder holding up a glowing hand and spawning armoring that stretches across the battlefield to attach itself like they do in the game. It just seems a little _too_ space magic-like for me. So I tried to come up with an alternative that accomplished the same thing - armoring allies - but did so in a slightly less magical way. Hopefully it's not too imersion-breaking for fans of the series. I really try to stick to canon as much as possible, but in this instance, I just needed to tweak things a little more logically.**

**I have a busy weekend ahead, and then my brother's birthday is on Tuesday, and mine on Wednesday. So while I hope to remain on schedule and put up the next Chapter Thursday morning, I won't hold myself to that as a hard deadline this time. So instead I'll say the next Chapter will _hopefully_ go up on Thursday, but possibly on Friday instead. After all, I expect to be partying pretty hard over the course of a 36-hour period or so this coming Tuesday-Wednesday. My birthday will likely be a lost day as far as writing goes. Hope you all have an awesome weekend. :)**


	21. Chapter 21: Targets

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Twenty-One: Targets

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**Over Southern Scott, Capital City of Terra Nova…**

Neela glanced to her left and right in awe. It was a surreal moment for the aspiring fighter pilot, to see the Alliance's Trident fighters flanking her in a line and to know that she was going into combat with them. Her pulse was racing, as much from fear as excitement. This was her lifelong dream, but deep down, she had always wondered if she would have the nerve to actually serve as a fighter pilot in war, facing the very real possibility of death. She believed she could handle it, but there was really no way to know until she had actually done it. She was about to find out if she truly had what it took.

Their briefing had been quick. They were being dispatched to the capital, where the Alliance forces were trying to fall back. The Reapers had deployed their fighter drones, which Neela now knew were called oculus fighters – a fitting name, in her experience – and the drones were making it impossible for the Alliance to withdraw in safety. The fighter wings already in the city were experiencing heavy losses, and an Alliance reconnaissance drone had arrived at the F.O.B. with an urgent request for help.

Their mission was straightforward, but not exactly simple. They had been ordered to engage the oculus fighters and take the pressure off of the retreating ground forces. The complicating factor was the two huge Reapers that were stomping around in the area. No one believed that the Reapers were going to ignore the influx of new fighters, so they would have to be watchful not only for enemy fighters, but for incoming fire from the Reapers themselves.

Neela's gaze returned to the horizon, where she could see the ruined skyline of the city, and the two huge silhouettes of the Reapers among the buildings. Smoke rose in plumes throughout the city, as well as in thick columns of black from the mountains to the west. It was clear that the Reapers had already done a lot of damage. As the squadron drew closer to Scott, Neela could see swarms of little black dots streaking over the buildings amidst the smoke against the backdrop of the morning sky.

"_Break off into…_" the incoming transmission cut out.

Neela waited for the transmission to return. The interference had always been intermittent in the past. However, the only sound to issue from the speakers for long moments was digital distortion. She frowned. If they had no radios, how were they supposed to coordinate? Glancing to the side, she saw the other groups of fighters break off into their individual wings, and she remained close to the ships assigned to her own wing. She had been partnered with her training team from earlier that morning… Johnson and Walker were her wingmen.

They closed on the city quickly, and each wing veered off so that they wouldn't all be grouped together if they were spotted incoming. Neela silently counted down the seconds until they would reach the city itself, glancing frequently at the scanner display to watch for any red dots that might appear on the screen. Her adrenaline surged, and she pressed the holographic keys to activate her weapons systems and remove the safeties.

The skies over the city were a chaotic maelstrom of speeding fighters. Oculus drones and some Alliance craft were chasing each other all through the airspace. Neela realized when she saw the number of aircraft involved – dozens on each side – that this wouldn't be as simple as their training exercise had been. This would be as confusing as a battle could possibly be.

The battle was joined. Neela stayed with her wing for as long as possible, watching Walker's back while Walker watched Johnson's. It all seemed to be going well at first. Johnson managed to shoot down two oculus fighters, and saved a Trident fighter in the process. Then warning alarms went off, alerting Neela to the fact that there was an enemy targeting her, and she quickly rolled the Armanis over and veered off. From that point onward, the situation was as frantic as she expected it to be.

The oculus fighters, she discovered, were considerably more maneuverable than the Tridents she had faced in training. The crimson bursts of weapons fire flashing past her fighter one after another added to the difficulty of her attempts to maneuver. She forgot all about her wingmen, diving low over the city skyline in an attempt to lose her pursuer. As before, the Armanis's maneuverability was her saving grace, allowing her to avoid the incoming fire when she was sure any other ship would have been shot down.

Just when she was positive she would be destroyed before she ever managed to shake the enemy, there was an explosion behind her, and the red dot vanished from her scanner. She saw a Trident streak over her, and she breathed a sigh of relief. One of the Alliance pilots had come to her aid. She came around and scanned the area, selecting an oculus that was chasing one of her allies. She accelerated toward it, quickly getting on its tail.

Her enemy engaged in some minor evasive maneuvers, but it was doggedly pursuing its target, which gave Neela an advantage. She was patient, swerving and diving, following the two fighters until she got a clear shot. When the H.U.D. flashed green, she squeezed the trigger and smiled when the Armanis's weapons discharged, tearing through the armor of the Reaper drone, which plummeted onto a rooftop below and exploded.

"Not so tough now that I can fight back, you bosh'tet!" Neela grinned triumphantly.

Her good humor was cut short, however, when a massive crimson beam flashed by, and she saw a nearby Alliance fighter get pulverized by the blast. She swerved and dove out of the path, wheeling around to see the Reaper ship that had fired the shot. Destroying the oculus drones was fine, but eventually the Alliance would have to somehow destroy the Reapers themselves. Neela had no idea how they were going to do it.

Her eyes were drawn away from the towering form of the Reaper when she spotted two oculus fighters diving into a street below, chasing down a group of fleeing figures. She turned and pursued the two drones, grinning to herself because of the limited maneuverability between the buildings. The Reaper fighters would have nowhere to go.

She quickly lined up her sights on the first of them and fired, damaging it with her first two shots. The third caused the drone to explode in midair, and she flew through the cloud of smoke and debris to chase down the other one. Within moments, it followed its companion into history. Neela pulled up and circled a building, looking for another target.

Her pre-combat nerves had vanished. Now that she was in the thick of the battle, she was focused on doing what she needed to do. She quickly discovered that the lack of self-preservation instincts that the oculus fighters displayed was her greatest advantage. She looked for any oculus that was chasing a target, whether it was a vehicle, a group of humans on the ground, or a fighter in the air. She repeatedly chased these down, shooting down one enemy after another and saving allies in the process.

A sudden impact upon the Armanis's barriers startled her. She'd been able to avoid coming under attack for a while by chasing enemies down, but now she had earned attention from a hostile drone. Another shot struck her barriers, and she swerved quickly, diving low into the midst of the buildings in an attempt to evade pursuit. She dodged a few more shots, but then a third one struck her barriers, and the shield collapsed under the punishment.

Neela frantically rolled and banked to avoid the shots that flashed all around her, waiting for the shields to reset themselves and come back online. While she was fairly sure the radios were still down, she decided to try calling for help.

"This is Neela'Xara. I have a fighter on my tail and my shields are down. I need help!"

She banked hard to the right, barely avoiding another burst of enemy fire. However, a second enemy shot was much more accurate, and with her shields down, there was nothing to defend her from the damage. She was in mid-turn, so the blast struck from behind and above, tearing through the nose of her fighter. She was showered with fragments of shattered metal, and suddenly found herself sitting behind a massive hole, with air rushing in through the breach. It was only pure, dumb luck that the shot had struck the very tip of the Armanis's cockpit, and the controls had been spared any damage. Still, most of the screens and systems had gone dead. She braced herself for the follow-up shot that would finish her off…

There was a flash from behind her, and the thunderous sound of an explosion. She turned in her seat and looked over her shoulder to see what had happened since her scanner was dead, and she saw a cloud of smoke and debris behind her. She had no idea who or what had come to her aid, but her pursuer had been destroyed. She faced front once again, staring at the hole in the front of the craft, just half a meter beyond her feet.

It was time to break off and flee. She couldn't stay and fight with her vessel crippled. She veered off and headed east as fast as the Armanis could go. The wind rushing in through the hole buffeted her, and she found that without an enclosed and intact cockpit, flying a fighter wasn't fun and exciting… It was terrifying. She kept expecting pieces of the twisted metal to break off and impale her. Once the city fell behind and she was reasonably sure nothing would pursue, she turned southward, intending to return to the F.O.B.. She hoped that the engineers there could repair the damage.

More importantly, she hoped Selura wouldn't be mad at her for letting it happen in the first place.

* * *

**Terra Nova Wilderness…**

Prathus slowed his pace when the trees started to thin out. He and Candice had been walking for hours, and they were both tired. However, aside from some complaining, the child had been behaving admirably in the turian's eyes. She kept up with him, didn't demand that they stop, and had been mostly quiet throughout the walk.

A fine rain of ash was falling over the area. It was the first time Prathus had noticed any such thing, likely because they had been shielded by the thick canopy of the trees. Now that the growth was thinning out and he was noticing the drifting ash, however, he scowled. He had been correct about the orbital strike, it seemed. They might still be kilometers from the point of impact, but the results of such devastation would be carried by the winds for quite some distance. He turned to glance at his companion, who was holding out a hand, watching the small black bits of ash land in her palm.

"Black snow?" she asked.

"Ash," Prathus frowned. "Something must be burning nearby."

He knew that 'nearby' was a bit of an exaggeration in this case, but he saw no need to explain it to the child. He sighed softly and motioned for her to follow, forging ahead. Over the next kilometer or so that they traveled, the vegetation thinned further and eventually dwindled into open grassland. The rain of ash became heavier, and the sky grew darker. Much like with a volcanic eruption, a kinetic impact with the force of an orbital strike hurtled tons of dirt and ash into the atmosphere. Dark clouds of dust and smoke were lingering in the air and blotting out the sunlight.

Across the grassland, he could see a mountain range that extended into the distance. One of the closer peaks, however, had been shattered into a massive crater that resembled an actual volcano, and there was a dark furrow down the side of the mountain that was visible even from their current vantage, kilometers away. The foliage on all the surrounding mountainsides was ablaze, and smoke rose toward the sky in a thick haze.

"Spirits," he muttered.

"The mountains are on fire?" Candice sounded amazed. "Is that where we were going?"

"I think it was," Prathus nodded. "But not anymore. We have to find somewhere else to go."

"Where? To the city?"

"The Reapers are in the city for sure," Prathus muttered. "We need another-"

He trailed off. He had just spotted something moving across the field and then lost sight of it behind a hill. He couldn't be certain, but he thought it was a vehicle of some kind. He waited to see if his suspicion had been correct.

"We need another what?" Candice asked.

"Shh," Prathus hissed. "I thought I saw something."

"Monsters?" the child's voice was suddenly filled with fear.

"I don't think so," he assured her. "Just stay still and be quiet for a minute."

The child didn't argue, and Prathus waited, staring at the hill that was blocking his line of sight to the shape he had spotted. It would be emerging any second if it was indeed a vehicle…

The dark shape reappeared, drifting out from behind the hill. Prathus felt relief wash over him. It was indeed a vehicle of some kind. He couldn't be sure it wasn't a Reaper vehicle since he didn't know much about their capabilities, but they had to take the chance and try to flag it down. If it belonged to friendly forces, perhaps they could be taken to a safe location.

"Hey!" Prathus shouted, waving his arms. "Hey, we're over here!"

He broke into a run, trying to get to a position where the driver would see them. Behind him, he could hear Candice running along and shouting as well, but he quickly left her behind, even though his stride was awkward because of the impairment to his leg. Getting the attention of the vehicle's occupants was more important than waiting for the child.

The vehicle rolled to a stop, and Prathus stumbled to a halt when it did, waving his arms wildly. When he saw the vehicle turn and start rolling toward them, he let out a sigh of relief, slumping to his knees in the grass. Candice finally caught up to him and stood beside him, watching the vehicle approach. The turian was sure the child was feeling the same thing he was: Thankfulness for the rescue.

The vehicle rolled to a stop and a hatch on the side opened up. A human male with unkempt brown hair and a day's growth of beard climbed out and slowly approached the two of them.

"Are you both okay?" the man asked them.

"We've been walking for hours, trying to get to Emergency Site A," Prathus answered. "Her farm was attacked. She..." he paused, trying to think of the least hurtful way to explain with the child standing there listening. "…she is all that's left."

The man's gaze softened, and he nodded once. "It's a good thing you didn't get here sooner," he said softly, turning and gesturing toward the burning mountains. "That was Emergency Site A."

"Can you get us to safety somewhere?" Prathus asked wearily.

"I was bringing my family here because we thought it would be safe," the man sighed. "I'm not sure where else to go. But you're welcome to ride with us. The name's Brian, by the way."

"Prathus Ganarius," the turian struggled to his feet and extended a hand, which the human shook. "And she's Candice."

"Candice Ulrich," the child added in a soft voice.

"Come on, sweetie," Brian smiled at the child. "Let's get you into my rover. You can keep my daughter company on the trip."

"You have a daughter?" Candice looked up at him. "How old is she?"

"She's a teenager," he smiled and held a hand out to her. "But she'll be happy to have someone to talk to, even if you're a little younger."

Candice took the man's hand, and he led her toward the waiting vehicle. Prathus limped along behind the two, but his eyes strayed to the smoke rising from the mountainside in the distance. Would the same sort of devastation strike Palavan? His mandibles twitched in an unconscious display of agitation. He hoped that his family would be able to find safety…

They climbed into the back of the human's vehicle, which was some sort of land rover. Prathus had never seen anything quite like it. It had six wheels and a fairly standard driver's cab at the front, but the back was oval-shaped and wider than it was tall. It reminded him of vehicles used in times long past on Palavan to store and transport fuel. There were no seats in the back section, but there were two females reclining on the floor amidst a few crates and some blankets and clothing.

"This is my wife, Maria," Brian gestured to the older of the two females, a woman with long, light brown hair, who nodded a greeting. "And this is my daughter, Samantha," he motioned to the younger of the two, who bore a striking resemblance to her mother, save for her hairstyle. "This is Prathus and Candice," he introduced them to his family.

"It's nice to meet you both," Maria smiled at them.

"Candice is… alone," Brian added with a meaningful nod toward the child.

His wife seemed to understand immediately. Her expression softened, and she patted a spot next to herself on the blanket she was seated on. "Come over here, Candice. Let me have a look at that arm," she gestured toward the girl's injured forearm.

The human male started to withdraw from the compartment, but Prathus was quick to touch his arm, bringing him to a stop. The turian's hatred for humans was such a long-standing grudge that it was still difficult for him to suppress, but at the moment he found it much easier than normal to say what he wanted to say.

"Thank you."

"Glad to help," Brian smiled at him. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll consult the navigational maps and see if there's any other facilities nearby that we could use as shelter. You two look like you could use the rest."

"Indeed," the turian nodded. He couldn't remember the last time he had been subjected to so much stress and exertion all in one day. Even when Illitha went missing on Noveria, he hadn't been under such a constant tide of pressure.

Brian stepped out of the compartment and closed the hatch, and Prathus settled on the floor, allowing himself to relax. Within moments, the vehicle set off with a lurch, and they were on their way. Maria and Samantha spent their time talking with Candice, and did a wonderful job of avoiding the subject of her family. They kept the girl's focus on just about anything else – vids, games, music, and the like – and Prathus was thankful for that. The last thing he wanted was to see the child succumb to another period of sobbing. He'd heard enough of the child's crying to last him a lifetime.

He closed his eyes and let the gentle rocking motion of the rover's journey through the fields soothe him. He wasn't tired enough to doze off, but he was able to relax, at least, and he was glad to do so while he had the chance.

* * *

**Hangar, Forward Operations Base Alpha-5…**

Illitha sighed and arched her back in an attempt to stretch out the muscles. She wasn't sure if it was a result of the nerve damage or something else, but the outside edges of her back felt tight. It was as if there was a cramp in the middle of her back that she couldn't feel, which was pulling all the surrounding muscles toward it. She had been hard at work with the Alliance engineers for hours, repairing damaged vehicles and tech, performing diagnostics on equipment, and otherwise inspecting and maintaining their gear. While she was unfamiliar with most of the technology, she was able to puzzle it out quickly, and her skill seemed to be earning her the respect of her group.

She was still dwelling on the meaning behind the conversation she'd overheard, and she wondered what sort of complications it could cause for her and her friends if things went bad in the city. She knew that Neela and the other fighter pilots had been dispatched to the city to help there, but no one seemed to know why. And she didn't dare ask about any of the information she'd gained by eavesdropping, even if it was unintentional; she was afraid they might label her a spy and take away the privilege of working with the engineers.

Spending time on the Alliance base had been strange. She heard all sorts of dire things and saw the damaged vehicles and wounded soldiers return, but there was still an odd feeling of security. It was as if being on a military base made her safe by default, even though intellectually, she knew the reverse was true. The Reapers would inevitably consider the military installation a target.

"Start packing up all the tools and equipment," Harper called out as he strode into the hangar. "I've just been told that the base is going to be relocated. We have four hours to stow everything in the crates and dismantle the shelters."

"Dismantle the shelters?" Illitha repeated. "In f-four hours?"

"They're prefabs," Goodman smiled at her. "They're made to be quickly assembled and disassembled."

Illitha nodded slowly, though she wasn't sure how the engineering corps would manage to break down the whole base in just four hours. While it wasn't huge, there was a good deal of equipment and several dozen structures all together. She glanced out toward the airfield. She was curious what would happen if they moved the base before the fighters got back. She had to smile a little at the thought, picturing the confusion that would result from the pilots returning to a big empty field.

A strange mixture of a buzz and a hum suddenly filled the air. Her mind had just enough time to register the sound, and then it felt like the world exploded. The next thing she knew, she was lying amidst a pile of crates, some of which had fallen on top of her. Her ears were ringing, she was seeing double, and she tasted blood. Her mouth hurt, and she touched her fingers to her lip, finding a deep cut in it, which was bleeding. More severe than the pain, however, was her confusion. She had no idea what had just happened.

She struggled to push the crates off of herself, thankful that most of the ones on top of her were empty. Once she accomplished that, she looked around dazedly, trying to figure out what was going on. The crates and equipment that had been neatly piled around the perimeter of the hangar were now spread across the area, as though a giant hand had descended from the sky and hurled them across the floor. She turned slowly toward the airfield, and her jaw dropped.

The entire airfield was shrouded in smoke and flame. The vehicles, which had been lined up in orderly rows, were now strewn across the field, twisted and broken. And even as she watched, two massive steel objects settled upon the ground with a thunderous crash that sent a violent tremor through the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and grit that left her coughing. It took a moment before she realized that they were… legs. The legs of a Reaper.

The realization left her shaking. A Reaper had fired on the airfield and then landed in its midst. She staggered backward, stunned by the horror of what she was witnessing. The Reaper's legs shifted position, and the bulk of its body slowly settled to the ground. Through the smoke, she could just barely make out the metal of its shell shifting outward. A deluge of creatures poured out from the breach.

Seeing the bloated, twisted cannibalistic monsters and the desiccated human husks spill from the Reaper's innards was what finally broke her from her horrified stupor. She quickly scanned the area, looking for Harper, Goodman and McSween. She spotted one motionless figure lying beneath a large crate, and she hurried over to him, struggling to shift the crate to the side. She could hear a chorus of howls and roars from nearby, and she tried to ignore them so she could help the injured human, even though her whole body was shaking with terror.

The crate rolled to the side slowly, and she knelt next to the inert figure, which turned out to be McSween. He was bleeding profusely from a head wound, but she didn't see any other signs of injury. She grabbed his wrist and started dragging him away from the Reaper troops, toward the rear of the hangar. Up until that point, the Reaper monsters hadn't noticed her, but that was the point at which her luck ran out. Several husks spotted her, and suddenly a stampede of the cybernetic corpses was headed her way.

She felt a wave of panic rise up inside of her, threatening to rob her of her reason. She would have screamed and run, if not for the warmth of the wrist she held in her hand. Only the knowledge that McSween would be torn apart if she fled kept her from fleeing. She swallowed and released her hold on his wrist, concentrating and forming an orb of biotic energy in her hand. She wasn't well-practiced in forming singularities, but it was vital that this one worked… so she held her breath as she threw the orb into their midst.

To her relief, the singularity blossomed in the middle of the group, and all of the husks were hoisted into the air, floating serenely in the grip of the field. She grabbed McSween's arm and dragged him out of the hangar, into the lane between prefab buildings. The sounds of gunfire were echoing throughout the camp with increasing frequency, and she was both saddened and encouraged by the knowledge that the Alliance soldiers were fighting back. She wondered how many would lose their lives.

_Goddess… I need to find Aida and Selura_, she realized.

A pair of Alliance soldiers emerged from a door in the prefab she was passing, and both men hurried to assist her with McSween's unconscious form, lifting him and carrying him into the building. Illitha followed them inside, and her hands shook as she pulled the door closed.

"Did you see it? It's a Reaper. There's a fucking _Reaper_ standing fifty meters from us," one of the Alliance soldiers said. He sounded more than a little panicked. "We have to get the hell out of here."

"I'm with you," the other one nodded.

"Y-You cannot just run away," Illitha offered a meek protest. "There are people that w-will need your help. C-civilians... Children!"

"What are we supposed to do? Destroy a Reaper with assault rifles?" the first soldier demanded. "If you wanna stay here, go ahead. I'm getting the fuck out. I'll regroup later with anyone who's smart enough to run now."

Illitha watched helplessly as the soldier headed for the door. The second man hesitated, and then he bowed his head and did the same. Outside, Illitha could hear the continued sounds of gunfire, and an occasional explosion. Both sounds grew more frequent by the second.

"Please," Illitha grabbed the sleeve of the second man. "Y-you cannot leave us here…"

He looked at her for a moment, and then bowed his head. Illitha thought that perhaps he might stay, but he suddenly jerked his sleeve from her grasp and walked out. She covered her face with her hands, feeling a sob rise up in her throat.

"Bloody hell," a hoarse voice muttered in a thick accent. "What the devil happened?"

Illitha sobbed in relief. She hurried to McSween's side and knelt beside him, looking down at him with concern. He stared up at her for a moment, blinking as if he was trying to bring her into focus, and then put a hand to his head, wincing when his fingers came into contact with the laceration on his scalp. He pulled his hand away and stared at the blood, seeming a bit dazed.

"C-can you stand?" Illitha asked anxiously.

"Where the 'ell am I?"

"A-A building. I am not sure which one. A R-Reaper is attacking."

"Ye're joking…"

Illitha shook her head, grabbing his arm and pulling him insistently to his feet. She held onto him while he wobbled unsteadily, and then when he seemed stable, she let him go. He looked around briefly and then turned to face her with a scowl.

"Goodman? Harper?"

"I only saw you. There was no time to look for them."

The strange buzzing sound returned, but this time it was much, much louder. The entire structure in which they were standing rattled violently, prompting Illitha to wonder if it could be the Reaper's main gun that was responsible for the commotion. The first time it fired, it had been in the air above, she guessed. Now that the source was on the ground, the effect was considerably more disruptive.

"We should get the 'ell out o' 'ere."

"I have to find my friends," Illitha said softly.

"Ye're daft," he shook his head. "They're either dead or runnin' for their lives."

"I will not leave them," she insisted. "You go… b-but please tell me where to get a gun first?"

McSween stared at her with a look of stunned amazement. It seemed like he wanted to argue with her, but in the end, he just pressed his hand over the wound on his scalp and shook his head, heading for the door. Illitha thought he was going to leave her like the other soldiers had, but he surprised her when he finally spoke.

"Fine, lass. The armory is two buildings down. Should be some bloody medigel there too."

Illitha closed her eyes, silently thanking the goddess for the help. Then she hurried over to the door, following the human outside. The two of them pressed close to the wall, and Illitha saw McSween staring over her head. She turned, following his gaze, and when she realized what he saw, she could only join him in staring.

The Reaper towered over the base, rising high into the smoke-filled air. Even as they watched, it lifted a leg and brought it down upon the hangar, collapsing the shelter with a tremendous crash and the shriek of twisting metal. The plating at the front of its body opened, revealing a glowing red eye, and from that eye, a massive red beam burst forth. The buzz of the beam was deafening, and the ground shook so violently that Illitha almost fell over.

"C'mon," McSween grabbed her arm and pulled her down the lane and away from the Reaper.

Illitha stumbled along after him. The horrifying reality of the situation was difficult to get past, and she struggled to keep her mind focused on the task ahead. She needed to get some weapons and supplies, find her friends, and get out. If she let her fear overwhelm her, she would never succeed. They reached the armory quickly, and she stumbled inside, letting out a breath she hadn't even been aware she was holding once they were safe in the building.

_Safe…_ she shook her head. _As if this building would protect us if the Reaper decided to step on it…_

"Pick a bloody weapon, lass," McSween urged, gesturing at the racks of rifles and submachine guns. "Find some armor that'll fit ye too. Do it before the Reapers bust down the door."

Illitha glanced at the door uncertainly. Now that he had mentioned it, she was sure they would be searching the buildings soon, if they weren't already. She concentrated her energies and formed a singularity just inside the door, so that anything entering would be caught in the field. Once the biotic trap was in place, she turned toward her companion, only to find him staring at her.

"W-what?" she asked nervously.

"That's a bloody _brilliant_ idea," he complimented her.

Illitha managed a small smile, and she started opening the crates and equipment lockers, looking for any armor that might have fit her. Most of it was made for human males, which made it all much too large and heavy for her. However, she eventually did find something that was sculpted with a woman's shape in mind. The shape suggested it was made for a female with a much more… ample bust than hers, but it would be good enough to protect her. She hurriedly slipped into the armor.

"'ere…"

Illitha turned at the word from McSween, only to find an assault rifle sailing toward her. Startled, she bobbled the weapon a little before managing to get a firm grip upon it. The human quickly pulled on some light armor and slung a rifle over his shoulder, then activated his omni-tool, scrolling through the functions installed upon it. Illitha stared at the assault rifle for a moment, and then at the rack of submachine guns. The smaller weapons seemed much less intimidating.

McSween followed her gaze and shook his head. "Ye don't want one o' those. The recoil is just as bad as the assault rifles, and ye 'ave one less hand t'steady it wi'."

Illitha nodded slowly. The only weapon she'd fired to date had been a pistol. Something with more power and a higher rate of fire was bound to be a lot harder to be accurate with. She supposed having something large enough to require two hands might give her a better chance at steadying it. In thinking back on her previous combat experience, however, she remembered the problem she'd run into when she tried to use her omni-tool on the husk.

"D-do you have combat software on your omni?" she asked.

"O' course."

"C-could I copy some of it?"

"Ye dinnae 'ave combat software on your omni?"

Illitha shook her head. "I-I deleted it… It is… a long story."

McSween shook his head and opened a link to Illitha's omni-tool. She quickly cloned his entire combat software suite, and was just cycling through the programs and selecting one when the door opened. She whirled at the sound, and saw the bloated form of a cannibal being yanked into the room, spinning helplessly in her singularity. It tried to bring its gun arm to bear, but the gravity of the field was too strong for the creature to pull its arm free.

"Bastard," McSween growled, quickly taking aim with his assault rifle and firing. Within moments, the creature was dead. Her singularity collapsed a moment later, and the bullet-riddled corpse dropped to the floor with a soggy splat.

Illitha examined the assault rifle she had been given, trying to figure out how to use it. She located the button to extend it to firing position easily enough, but beyond that, she was confused by the various buttons and switches. Something of her confusion must have been visible in her expression, because McSween suddenly gave an irritated groan and snatched the weapon from her hands.

"Ye 'aven't used an assault rifle before?"

Illitha shook her head, shrinking away from his ire. McSween sighed and held the weapon out, quickly showing her the different features and how to enable or disable them. He also grabbed several mods from one of the lockers and quickly installed them into their weapons. As he worked, he explained that since she was new to using an assault rifle, he was installing a stabilization system and an improved heat-management system into hers. He assured her that it would allow her to fire more shots before she needed to replace the heat sinks, and that the weapon's recoil would be a bit more manageable for her. Then he handed her a half-dozen extra thermal clips.

McSween grabbed several packets of medigel from a dispenser on the wall, ripping one open and smearing the gel liberally over the wound on his head. He also tossed one to Illitha, and she spread a small amount of the gel over the split in her lip.

With the crash course on assault rifles, the necessary modifications and emergency medical treatment out of the way, the two of them crept to the open door. McSween leaned out to take a look around, and then quickly ducked back inside, frowning.

"Damned Reapers are all o'er the place," he muttered.

Illitha nodded and focused once more on her biotics. First she manifested a barrier for defense, and then concentrated on offense. Within moments, an orb formed in the palm of her hand, and she gestured toward the door.

"I will f-form a singularity in the middle of the lane so they cannot chase us. We have to reach the medical shelter. At least one of my friends was there when this all started."

McSween nodded, and Illitha quickly stepped out into the lane between buildings, hurling her singularity into the midst of the nearest group of Reaper troops. She didn't wait to see if the biotic field would form as she expected. Instead, she turned and ran for the corner of the building, while the sounds of gunfire filled the alley behind her. As soon as she reached the building's edge, she ducked around it and into the narrow alley between structures. However, much to her surprise, when she turned the corner she found herself facing a husk that was barreling toward her. Acting more out of fear and instinct than anything, she raised her rifle and pulled the trigger.

The recoil of the weapon rattled her entire body, and despite her best efforts, the weapon drifted further and further upward as she held the trigger. As a result, the first few bullets pierced the husk's abdomen, slowing its charge, and the successive shots left a trail up through its torso and into its head. The husk collapsed, and the last several shots sailed into the air before Illitha realized the creature was dead and released the trigger.

McSween came around the corner behind her, joining her in the cramped space between prefabs, and then he leaned back out into the lane, firing a quick burst toward the Reapers out there. Illitha looked around nervously, trying to figure out the best way to the medical shelter. Her thoughts were interrupted when the Reaper fired its main gun again, sending tremors through the ground and rattling the walls around them. The force of the weapon's discharge was incredible.

The two of them crept down the alley and toward the next lane, quickly darting across the path and into another space between buildings. They made their way through the base in this fashion until they reached the site of the medical shelter. Illitha's heart was pounding through the entire journey, even though the two of them didn't run into any more Reapers on the way. Once they were within sight of their destination, however, Illitha came to a dead stop.

Where the medical shelter had been, there was only a smoking crater, surrounded by bits of twisted metal. She felt her tears come in a flood, and her knees gave out on her. McSween hurried to her side when she collapsed into the grass.

"Pull ye'self together, lass," he said firmly. "Your friend could 'ave got out o' there before it was hit."

Illitha nodded slowly, but she could still feel tears sliding down her cheeks, and her hands shook as she raised her rifle and looked around helplessly. She didn't know where to go or what to do now. She wouldn't leave the base without Aida and Selura. But without any idea where they could have gone… if they were even still alive… she was at a loss.

A trio of cannibals shuffled around the corner of a partially-collapsed prefab nearby. McSween was quick to turn and fire at them. The sound of the gunfire startled Illitha into action. She hit the activation trigger on her omni-tool with her thumb and launched an incendiary drone at the group. The projectile hit one of the cannibals and exploded, showering all three with flame. A horrible charred smell filled the air as the creatures staggered around in a panic momentarily before collapsing.

"Get down!" Illitha heard a distant voice shout.

She scanned the area, listening carefully, and heard the sounds of gunfire concentrated off toward the civilian shelters. There were shouts and screams coming from that direction. The two of them started off toward the commotion, running to the nearest building and moving along the wall until they came to the corner. From there, they would be able to actually _see_ the civilian prefabs. Illitha leaned out to take a look, and her eyes widened.

The civilian shelters were under siege. There were more cannibals and husks swarming toward the area than Illitha had ever imagined seeing. Alliance soldiers – or at least she assumed they were soldiers – had taken up positions in the prefabs, firing through the gaps in the shutters, trying to drive back the horde. McSween leaned out to take a look at the situation, and he shook his head.

"We cannae help them out o' that mess," he muttered.

"There are children in there," Illitha said softly. "I have to help if I can."

"Lass, it would be suicide."

Illitha turned to look at the human, and she smiled softly, trying to hide the fear she felt. "Y-You should go. Get to safety. Find some… some reinforcements or something and tell them what happened here."

"Come wi' me, lass," he urged.

"I cannot abandon them," she said softly. "Go."

McSween's expression was one of extreme indecision. He stared at her, then at the cannibals and husks pressing toward the prefabs, then at the gate leading out of the base. Finally he sighed and offered a regret-filled smile.

"I hope ye survive this, lass," he said softly. Then he turned and ran for the gate.

"Me too," Illitha whispered. She didn't blame him for running while he had the chance. A large part of her wanted to do the same. But she couldn't live with herself if she abandoned her friends and innocent children just to save her own life.

Illitha pressed her back against the wall, trying to steady her breathing and calm her racing heart. Then, when she was ready, she focused her energies and prepared to create one more singularity. She stepped out of cover and hurled the singularity in the largest concentration of Reaper forces in the road between her position and the civilian structures.

She saw the field yank several of the Reapers into the air, and she followed it up by launching another incendiary drone into the back ranks of the group, hoping to draw their attention away from the civilians. The biotic field and the fiery explosion in their ranks had precisely the effect she hoped. About half a dozen husks turned and sprinted toward her, and several nearby cannibals turned and fired at her. She wasn't quite fast enough in ducking back behind cover; the first few bullets ricocheted off of her barrier before she was concealed.

She ran back along the wall of the building, and then turned and aimed toward the spot where she had been hiding. As the husks ran into view, she aimed her rifle at them and squeezed the trigger, firing until the recoil resulted in her shots sailing over their heads, releasing the trigger to aim again and repeating the process. The bullets sheared through each of the husks in the line, dropping them one after another. Each husk got closer to her than the one before and by the time the fourth one fell, the fifth husk was close enough to leap toward her. Faster than she would have ever thought possible, Illitha focused and hit the husk with a biotic throw, sending it rocketing backward into its remaining friend; the two tumbled over in a heap.

Illitha turned and ran, circling around the building to approach from the opposite side. When she got within sight of some of the Reaper forces again, she smiled grimly. Her surprise attack had worked. While many of the Reapers were still firing upon the civilian shelters, a large portion of them were swarming in her direction, looking for the source of the attack. She aimed and fired at a cannibal, wounding the creature, and then ran behind another building when several others shot back.

She hoped that her distraction would help the Alliance soldiers that were defending the human families. She wasn't very optimistic of her chances of surviving for much longer, but if she managed to save some people from the Reapers, perhaps it was worth her sacrifice. Unfortunately, her lack of battle experience was beginning to show. She'd forgotten that her biotic throw wouldn't have killed the two husks she knocked down. As she was backtracking to hide behind the building, she almost ran into them headlong.

One of the husks leapt upon her, driving her into the ground beneath its weight. It pounded against her barrier with its fist, and in just a few blows, the field collapsed. She caught the creature's hand as it descended again, and she wrestled with the walking corpse, barely shielding herself from repeated strikes. Its friend grabbed her ankle and started dragging her off with the other husk still straddling her. Illitha screamed for help, but she doubted anyone would hear her over the gunfire and explosions. She kicked her legs, trying to yank her ankle from the vice-like grip of the second husk to no avail.

Desperation filled her. She grabbed the head of the husk that was on top of her with both hands, pulling its forehead down against her shoulder to keep it from beating her any further. Then she held out her omni-tool toward the husk that was dragging her away, praying that the armor she was wearing and the husk on top of her would shield her from what was to come. Her thumb pressed against the activation trigger.

An incendiary drone streaked out toward the desiccated figure and exploded into a rain of fire. The smell of burning flesh and melting polymers filled the air. The husks howled in pain. The one that had been dragging her released her ankle and staggered away, collapsing into a smoldering pile of flesh and tech. The other husk's back arched in agony, giving Illitha the opening she needed. She focused all of her power into a biotic punch, slugging the creature in the jaw. It pitched over to the side and she quickly scrambled out from under it, stomping on its head until it stopped moving.

Feeling both nauseous and terrified, she stumbled away and dropped to her knees, vomiting into the grass. She was shaking violently and her endurance was nearing its limits. The armor covering her legs and her left arm was melted and blackened, and when she noticed the flexible parts of her glove still smoldering, she hurriedly yanked it off and threw it aside, afraid that the thermite from her incineration program might eventually burn through to her skin. She crawled over to where her rifle had fallen, grabbing it and cradling it to her chest, looking around fearfully for further signs of danger.

She could faintly hear voices shouting. They were coming from the direction of the airfield, which was further away from the civilian shelters, but the words caught her attention.

"Hold them off for two more minutes and I'll have this thing running! Hold them!"

"There's too many! We have to go!"

Illitha hoped that she had heard correctly. If someone was about to get a vehicle running, it could be just the thing they needed. She forced herself to her feet and sprinted in that direction, muscles burning from the exertion, darting between two partially-collapsed buildings toward the shouts and the sounds of gunfire. When she reached the opposite end of the lane between the buildings, she came upon a group of three Alliance soldiers who were huddled behind crates next to a Mako. Two of them were using the crates as cover, firing at a group of about a dozen cannibals that were spread out around them. The third Alliance soldier was underneath the Mako, and seemed to be welding something with his omni-tool. The Reaper creatures were crouching behind chunks of debris, crates, bits of shattered vehicles, and other makeshift hiding spots.

The cannibals were slowly but surely surrounding the trio, firing to keep their heads down as they spread out to flank them. Illitha was tiring rapidly, but she focused and dug down deep inside, finding the energy to hurriedly manifest one more singularity. The biotic field blossomed above a pair of cannibals that were crouched behind a large crate, yanking them both into the air. She immediately turned to the cannibal furthest out on the flank of the humans and fired. Her aim was far from precise, but bullets riddled the creature's back, and it slumped to the ground.

She saw one of the Alliance soldiers glance her way, and several of the cannibals whirled around and fired in her direction. She hadn't manifested a new barrier, so the first few shots struck her armor. One impact was stopped entirely by her chest plate, though the impact rocked her backward. The second one penetrated and bit into her shoulder, drawing a cry from her. There was an immediate and uncomfortably gooey sensation as her armor flooded the area with medigel. Fortunately, the humans came to her rescue, rising and shooting the cannibals in the back while their attention as on her. She pressed her back against the wall beside her and tried to catch her breath, pressing a hand over the shattered armor at her shoulder. It didn't hurt thanks to the medigel, but she was aware that she was wounded just the same. Illitha was afraid that the recoil of her rifle would make the shoulder wound worse if she tried to fire it, so she dropped it.

Between herself and the humans near the Mako, the remaining cannibals never stood a chance. They worked in concert. When a cannibal focused on the humans and started firing, Illitha quickly hit it with an incendiary burst. When the cannibals turned toward her, the humans did the same. Within minutes, they had killed the entire group of Reaper creatures. Illitha staggered over to the humans on legs that were only barely supporting her.

"Thank you," one of the humans said. "If you hadn't come along, I think we would have been killed."

"I-I just wanted to help," Illitha murmured.

"You did," the human that had been repairing the Mako smiled at her. "And we're good to go."

"This tank works now?" Illitha smiled in relief.

"Yeah. The axle was cracked, but I got it lined up and welded it back together. It'll hold long enough to get us out of here."

"No," Illitha shook her head.

"What do you mean 'no'? You're hurt. And there are Reapers everywhere. We need to go."

"The civilians are in trouble," she explained. "We… We cannot just… We have to take this tank over there and help them."

"They were supposed to be evacuated," one of the humans muttered.

"Must have been cut off," the human mechanic sighed. "If they're trapped, then she's right. We have to go bail them out."

"Alright," the eldest of the humans nodded. "Get in. Let's get over there."

Illitha felt herself once more on the verge of tears. Though this time, they were tears of relief. She was glad that at least some of the humans felt the same sort of obligation to help others that she did. She had been sure they would refuse and would drive away in their tank. She climbed inside and waited for the others to enter. Now they could go save the civilians. She just hoped that her friends would be among them.

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* * *

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**Author's Note: Well, obviously I got the Chapter I was working on finished in time for my normal deadline despite the celebrations that ate into my writing time. Obviously, things are heating up for the resistance on Terra Nova, and the crew of the _Sileya_ are right in the thick of it. Hopefully the action and uncertainty in the Chapter comes through to all of you the way I hoped to convey it. Action sequences and the like are always tricky, and I've really tried to make this Chapter exciting and tense in spots, but also believable. But whether I succeeded or not is up to you all. :)**

**A heartfelt thank you goes out, as always, to everyone who is reading, reviewing, following and otherwise giving my story any attention. It always makes me smile to see the reader statistics and especially the reviews and PMs with thoughts about the content. The next update should be this coming Tuesday, and I have no reason to believe it should be delayed. I hope you all have an awesome weekend, and thanks again for reading.**


	22. Chapter 22: Retreat

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Twenty-Two: Retreat

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**Civilian Housing, Forward Operations Base Alpha-5…**

Selura pressed her back against the poly-steel exterior of one of the prefab civilian shelters, closing her eyes and trying to slow the beating of her heart. While she had been frightened aboard the _Sileya_ when dealing with the Reaper drone and all of the near-death experiences there, she had found it in her to master that fear and do what needed to be done. In fact, when she was shooting at the oculus drone in the cargo bay, her fear had vanished completely, leaving her only with the exhilaration of finishing her enemy. Now, however, she was finding it much more difficult to keep her emotions in check.

The sound of gunfire and explosions echoed through the morning air all around her. Shouts and screams came from every direction, and she was beginning to think that she and Aida would be killed before they could ever get off of the Alliance base. It was lucky that they'd survived thus far; the medical shelter had been reduced to little more than a smoking crater, and they were far too close when it was destroyed. She glanced over at the other asari, who was standing protectively in front of the gurney that held the Prothean stasis pod. Aida didn't seem to be afraid. She tried to draw courage from the medic's example.

"Get down!"

At the shout, Selura slid to a seated position against the building, waiting for the explosion that she knew was coming. The Reaper troops were making liberal use of their explosives, and warnings like that one were becoming commonplace. Within seconds there was a thunderous detonation from somewhere in the next row of buildings. She struggled to her feet, wincing at the pain sent through her arm by even that simple motion, and looked around helplessly. The Alliance soldiers had corralled them all into the civilian area and set up a perimeter, but the decision had only bottled them all up in one place. It seemed to be only a matter of time before the Reaper walked over and destroyed their entire group with a single shot.

No sooner did she imagine that end than she heard the deafening hum of the Reaper's primary weapon discharging. The ground shook when the projectile impacted with the earth, and she released a sigh of relief… the blast obviously hadn't been aimed at them. She had very nearly been killed by such a blast already, and had no wish to repeat the experience.

"We have to get out of here!" one of the humans shouted nearby.

"Tell me something I do _not_ know," Selura muttered.

She crept closer to Aida, intending to ask the medic if there was any chance they could make a run for it with the captain's gurney. It wasn't easy to move the heavy pod around on the wheeled bed, but at least it was _possible_; It was how they had gotten the device this far. Perhaps they could manage together to get it across the fields that surrounded the base. There was a great deal of smoke in the sky, and it might have provided them the cover they needed.

"Aida-"

A sudden chorus of screams cut her off before she could do more than get the asari's attention. She glanced around fearfully and saw a group of three husks dashing toward her. Apparently the trio had rushed past the defenders on the perimeter. She scrambled backward, hastily activating her omni-tool and initiating the incendiary dispersion program. A brief moment of thankfulness for the brace on her injured arm flashed through her mind. The support allowed her at least enough mobility to use her own omni-tool instead of asking others to do it for her.

She extended her omni and unleashed an incendiary burst directly into the face of the lead husk. The creature staggered and flailed briefly, before the one behind it knocked it over and leapt toward her. Selura gasped and tried to scramble out of the way. Fortunately, the panic was unnecessary. A glowing blue orb streaked past her legs and curved sharply upward, striking the husk as it descended. The force of the biotic throw sent the creature rocketing skyward. A burst of gunfire tore down the last of the three, and an Alliance soldier stepped from between two prefabs to fire one last shot into the creature's skull.

Selura put a hand to her chest and closed her eyes, thanking the Goddess for sparing her the experience of having a human corpse tackle her to the ground. She stumbled over to the captain's stasis pod and leaned against it.

"Thank you, Aida," she said softly.

"You are welcome," the medic smiled at her.

"We need to get out of here. This place is a death trap."

"I know," Aida sighed. "But what can we do? The Reapers have the whole area surrounded."

"Maybe we could slip out somehow. The smoke might cover-"

A chorus of jubilant shouts from one side of the perimeter cut her off. She exchanged glances with Aida, and the two of them hurried between the prefabs toward the commotion. Once they reached the outer row of structures and could see the cause of the excitement, Selura grinned. A Mako tank was speeding through the Reaper ranks, running down everything in its path. The cannon atop the vehicle turned and fired into a group of cannibals, sending the bloated creatures flying in all directions. The Alliance soldiers on the perimeter fired wildly into the Reaper crowd. Selura shared their sudden enthusiasm. A turn of fate in their favor was an inspiring thing. She gleefully picked a target and launched an incineration drone at the creature, shouting a taunt as the twisted monstrosity was engulfed in flame.

The Mako turned sharply and sped along their left flank, and Selura hurried in that direction, eager to see what was going on. The running was unpleasant – the up-and-down motion jarred her injured arm roughly – but she was too excited by the prospect of escape to care. When she reached the outer edge of that side of the block of shelters, she saw that the Mako was backing into the area at full speed. She watched in astonishment as the massive tank rammed the side of one of the shelters, knocking it roughly out of place so that it could fit into the area between two buildings.

Dozens of people rushed to surround the Mako. There were Alliance soldiers and civilians alike, and Selura did her best to get close so she could hear and see what was going on. She noted that the cannon on the Mako was still moving, and it fired here and there when a target presented itself in the gunner's line of sight.

The rear door of the tank popped upon and descended, forming a ramp, and two figures quickly stepped out. Selura was startled to see that Illitha was one of them. She pushed her way through the crowd, and noted that Aida was right behind her. When the two of them got to the front of the group, Aida pushed past her, almost tackling the slender engineer with an enthusiastic hug. Selura smiled at her fellow asari, glad to see the two of them clinging to each other.

"Lith!" Aida cried. "I am so happy you are alive."

"Goddess," Illitha sniffled. "I thought I had lost you all."

"Good work, soldier," the Alliance's base commander was addressing the human that was with Illitha. "Your support couldn't have come at a better time."

"Thank you, sir," the human saluted his superior.

Selura ignored the two humans, instead focusing on Illitha. It was strange to see the shy engineer dressed up in Alliance military gear, looking grim and exhausted. She stepped close and put a hand on the girl's shoulder, squeezing gently. Illitha smiled at her.

"Good thinking on the tank," Selura commented, and her eyes strayed to the massive vehicle. "Now maybe we can get out of here."

"I am not… I… It is not a good idea," Illitha said softly.

"What? Why not?"

Before Illitha could answer the question, the human leader, Captain Tarrislav, was barking orders.

"I want all of the weapons, medical supplies and food loaded aboard the Mako, right now! The Mako will forge a path, and all squads will form up behind it. We are moving out in five minutes!"

"That is a terrible idea," Illitha spoke up loudly.

Astonished stares and uncertain murmurs followed the announcement. The engineer shrank away from the sudden influx of attention, including a very angry glare from the Alliance leader. Despite the sudden signs of uncertainty in her posture, however, Illitha's expression remained defiant.

"You have your orders!" Tarrislav repeated.

"No!" Illitha shouted. "Stop! You cannot load everything on the tank!"

Selura was surprised. She'd rarely heard the engineer raise her voice, and especially not to challenge anyone's authority. The human glared at her, and then at the soldiers who hesitated. Under the angry gaze of their commanding officer, the humans quickly went to work, shuttling supplies from the pile at the heart of the civilian prefabs to the tank.

"You are making a mistake," Illitha pleaded. Aida put a hand on the engineer's shoulder, trying to draw her away, but the smaller asari jerked free of her friend's grasp.

"You are a civilian, and have no say over the commands I give my men," Captain Tarrislav growled at her. "So keep your mouth shut."

"The Reaper will d-destroy that tank the minute it is not sheltered by the surrounding buildings, you idiot!" the engineer shouted at him. "And then you will have starving and ill-equipped soldiers, and there will be no medical supplies to save all the ones that get hurt following your stupid order!"

Aida firmly pulled the young engineer away from the human, who was glaring at her in a decidedly hostile fashion. Selura stepped between the two. She briefly noted the signs of fury in the human's posture before turning to look at Illitha, whose expression was full of anger and resolve.

"Lith, the tank is the best way to move the supplies," Aida pointed out.

"And calling the leader of the human soldiers an idiot is not the best way to get your point across," Selura added.

"The minute we started moving in that tank, the Reaper took a shot at us," Illitha said evenly. "We only barely got out of the path and behind the buildings. When it landed, it destroyed almost everything on the airfield. It is preferentially targeting vehicles. If they move that tank out in the open, it and everything on it will be lost!"

"How can you be so sure?" Selura asked. "Maybe it took a shot at you because you were the only enemy it saw moving at that point."

"Why else would it have destroyed the vehicles on the airfield first?" Illitha demanded. "It is out to deprive us of transportation and artillery. That moron is playing directly into the Reaper's hands."

"Lith, what else would you have us do?" Aida asked.

"I… I do not know," the engineer sighed. "But we definitely should _not_ put all the supplies on the tank and follow it out into the open. It is the middle of the day! They could not turn that tank into a better target if they put lights on it and parked it on a giant bullseye!"

Selura couldn't keep from snickering at Illitha's last comment. It was precisely the sort of image that was flashing through her own mind as the girl spoke. While she wasn't sure Illitha was right about the Reaper's tactics, she _was_ sure that the engineer was right about the tank becoming a target once it was in the open. As the girl had said, out in the plains in the middle of the day, it would be too tempting for an enemy to pass up.

"Let me find Gradian," Aida suggested, and dashed off in search of the Lieutenant.

Illitha slumped to a seat on the ground against one of the prefabs, sullenly ignoring the constant stream of Alliance soldiers rushing back and forth. Selura crouched beside her, gently patting the engineer on the shoulder.

"You did the right thing by getting the tank over here," she said softly. "And you may be right about the human's plan too. Maybe the three of us should take the Prothean pod and head out in a different direction."

"We should," Illitha nodded, and then her eyes widened. "Selura! You have to get Neela's food from the Alliance food supplies. You cannot let the Reaper destroy the only dextro food we have!"

Selura's eyes widened. If Illitha was right, and the Reaper was going to destroy all their supplies, having the only dextro-based food in their possession incinerated would be a disaster for the quarian. She nodded and rose to her feet, dashing off toward the pile of supplies. She was not going to watch the girl she adored starve to death because some humans held onto the only food she could eat.

There was a young human soldier standing beside the pile of crates and supplies, comparing the numbers on the crates to information on a datapad. Selura found it rather odd to see someone performing inventory, especially since there was still gunfire echoing from the surrounding perimeter, but she supposed any military operation needed to keep records.

"I need the dextro-based food," she announced. "Which crate is it in?"

"It's going to be loaded with everything else," the human said absently.

"My friend says the supplies will be destroyed by the Reaper if they go out in that tank. I will not see the only dextro food on the planet destroyed with them," Selura was adamant. "You cannot eat dextro food, and neither can any of the other Alliance soldiers. Just tell me which crate it is in."

"I can't let you take any of the supplies-"

"I am not asking," Selura cut him off with a glare. "I am telling you. You are _going_ to give me the dextro food."

The human turned to stare directly at her for the first time, and Selura glared back at him. She was perfectly willing to pummel him if she needed to do so to get Neela's food from him, even if she had to do it one-handed. Fortunately, before it could come to that, she spotted Aida and Lieutenant Gradian standing near Illitha. She hurried back over to them. Perhaps the Lieutenant could authorize her to take the dextro supplies…

"You have to talk to Captain Tarrislav," Aida was pleading with the Lieutenant when Selura approached. "Illitha may be right. That Mako will make a fine target, and if it is loaded with all of the supplies…"

"You're not military, so I don't expect you to understand," the Lieutenant sighed. "But we do not disobey our superiors. The chain of command is important. If soldiers don't follow orders, discipline and unity break down. And it isn't like we're going to roll out of here without cover…"

"Your superior is going to get all of your supplies destroyed, cover or no," Illitha said bluntly. "Y-you should remove him from command for stupidity."

Selura managed to choke back an amused giggle. She wasn't sure what had gotten into the young engineer, but she liked this directness from her. However, it seemed clear to her that Gradian wasn't going to countermand his leader's orders. So she hoped to get a small concession from him at least.

"Lieutenant, can you at least authorize me to take any dextro-based food and medical supplies you have?" she asked. "You do not need them for your soldiers, and we have a quarian in our group. I think we will be leaving separately from the rest of you. We could sure use them…"

"As I understand it, there's only enough dextro protein gel for ten days," he sighed. "But you can only take half of the food and meds. If we rescue anyone who needs them, we should have some on hand."

Selura's brows rose at the mention of the limited supply of food. Why hadn't Neela told her that the food supply was so scarce? The way Neela had been sparing in eating the food she was given made a lot more sense now. Even if she ate only a little each day, she would run out before long… especially now that her supply was going to be cut in half. She frowned.

"Your soldier over there would not let me have the dextro supplies," she informed the Lieutenant, pushing her worries to the back of her mind for the moment. "Can you inform him that I can take them?"

"Of course," Gradian nodded. "I'll have him put them all into one crate and set them aside. Excuse me," he walked away.

"What do we do now?" Selura asked once the human was gone.

"Th-the Alliance will have to clear the Reapers from one side, I think," Illitha said softly. "When they do, we should leave immediately with the captain's pod. But… I… I feel we should not follow them. I think we should head directly across to the fence and cut through. Then we can flee in a different direction from the humans."

"North?" Aida asked. "The Reapers might not expect anyone to head toward the city since they already have forces up there."

"Sounds good to me," Selura nodded.

"Me too," Illitha sighed, pressing a hand to her shoulder.

"Lith, are you hurt?" Aida suddenly asked.

"I got shot," the engineer said softly. "But you can look at it later. Right now… I think… we… we should get ready to move."

"You were shot?" Aida repeated. "Lith, let me see," she pleaded.

"Later," Illitha said firmly. "We need to be ready. We should move the captain's pod to the perimeter."

It was clear that Aida wanted to argue, but she didn't protest further. Selura turned and headed for the supply pile, watching the Alliance soldier pile the dextro supplies into a crate. As soon as he was finished, she took charge of the container, smiling triumphantly at him when she noticed the way he was scowling. She wrestled the crate onto the shelf under the gurney that held the Prothean pod, and helped the others push the conveyance to the perimeter of the civilian prefabs.

The waiting was hard. The Alliance soldiers continued to hold back the onslaught of Reaper ground forces, and they loaded their supplies into the Mako. Selura stayed close to Aida and Illitha, and as time wore on, she started to share Illitha's concern about what was coming. She had been a little uncertain at first, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized the young engineer was correct… if the Reapers wanted to hurt their ability to fight back, they needed to deprive them of vehicles and artillery.

"Why do they refuse to listen?" Illitha muttered. "I hate the idea of letting them drive off to die."

"You tried to tell them," Aida said softly. "You cannot do more than that."

When the Alliance was ready to move, they went into action quickly. The Mako pulled out from between the prefabs and went to work immediately on clearing the surrounding area. The ringing sounds of cannon shots echoed through the air. The Alliance soldiers broke cover and charged out after the tank, following the vehicle through the Reaper horde toward the gate, while a bunch of drones took off into the air, peppering the grasslands outside the fence with canisters that immediately started spewing thick clouds of smoke.

The sight of the smoke gave Selura some hope for the humans. At least they weren't complete idiots. They had cover to guard their escape. In hindsight, she should have known they would have a plan of some sort, especially given Gradian's comment. A trained military force couldn't possibly be so stupid as to try to withdraw without cover.

Illitha, Aida and Selura still held to their own plan. They guided the gurney directly across the dirt lane toward the remains of the mess shelter, which was positioned against the fence that surrounded the base. After quickly circling around behind the building, Illitha and Selura set to work with their omni-tools, using the plasma cutter functions installed in them to cut a hole through the fence.

Once they were outside, they headed north, struggling to get the gurney across the uneven ground of the fields toward the hills in the distance. There was a sparse stand of trees on the hilltops that would give them some cover and a place to rest. They were fortunate that the wind was blowing northward, bringing a fine haze of smoke across the field to give them some cover. Even so, the run across the fields was one of the most terrifying things Selura had experienced on Terra Nova. She was certain that at any moment, the Reaper would spot them and destroy them. Her heart raced from the moment they left the fence line until they reached the trees atop the nearest of the hills.

Upon reaching the shelter of the trees, all three of them slumped to the ground, both exhausted and relieved that they'd made it that far. However, when Selura turned her gaze southward, her good humor fled. As she watched, the Reaper shifted position and the plating of its hull opened, revealing a red, glowing eye. From that eye, a beam of crimson light flashed outward into the heart of the trail of smoke that stretched across the grasslands.

As Illitha had predicted, the first shot seemed to strike the Mako directly. Rather than a cloud of dirt and grit rising into the air as she would have expected from a ground impact, there was a brilliant explosion mixed with the sediment. The shots that followed scattered the Alliance soldiers, who had no solid cover to hide behind. They could see a few figures stumble out of the smoke and run into the open. The thick haze made it impossible to see the rest, and there was a good chance that the Reaper was firing blind, but given the destructive force of its shots, it was almost certainly killing humans with every blast. Selura turned away, sick with the knowledge that not only soldiers, but civilian families and children were out there.

"I tried to tell them," she heard Illitha whisper miserably.

"Where do we go from here?" Aida asked softly, slipping an arm around her friend to give her a reassuring squeeze.

"I say we stay here until the Reapers leave or it gets dark," Selura suggested, following Aida's lead and not mentioning the possible fate of the soldiers. "Then we head west."

"Why west?" Aida questioned.

"I heard one of the humans yesterday say that there was a tramway in that direction that led to a small town. Maybe we could find some shelter and supplies there."

"Or Reapers," Illitha muttered.

"Maybe," Selura nodded. "But it is worth a try."

"Agreed," Aida said softly, supporting Illitha, who was leaning against her wearily.

Selura turned her gaze northward. She desperately hoped that Neela was safe and that she would not be returning to base too soon. She also prayed that the quarian would be able to find them. Unfortunately, she didn't dare try to activate a beacon to help her track them, even if the beacon was intermittent. The Reapers were too close to risk it. Neela would have to search without help. She sighed softly. Why couldn't anything ever go their way?

* * *

**Over the grasslands south of Scott…**

The Armanis skimmed over the fields at low altitude, moving at the slowest speed at which it could stay aloft, which thanks to the directional ports in the thruster ring, was pretty slow. Once Neela had gotten clear of the city and was sure she wasn't being pursued, she had opted to make a much more leisurely trip back to base because of the damage to the fighter. At higher speeds, the wind rushing in through the breach in the nose was too disruptive, and after a piece of twisted metal had snapped free of the mangled edges around the hole and narrowly missed her head, she decided it was too dangerous to continue such a pace.

The battle in the city had been chaotic, and while she had saved several fighters from pursuing oculus drones, she wasn't sure that their mission had helped the city's forces at all. All it had seemed to do was cost them a bunch more fighters. She sighed softly, watching through the breach in the nose as the landscape below drifted by. She was looking forward to getting back to the base and spending some time talking to Selura. As she stared at the view afforded by the breach, however, she did pause for a moment to reflect that if her people used the schematics she was bringing back to construct a fighter like this one, it would benefit from having viewports in its underside for greater visibility.

She was perhaps an hour into her flight back to base, lost in thought and not really paying attention to her surroundings, when a massive shadow fell across her vessel. Startled, she looked up, and her jaw dropped at what she saw in the distance. A Reaper was rising into the air from amidst a huge column of smoke to the east of her, blotting out the morning sun with its bulk. She immediately directed the Armanis to the ground, landing amidst the tall grass that populated the plains. She hoped that the Reaper would fail to spot the white craft against the light green of the surrounding foliage. If it spotted her, she would be obliterated.

She was relieved when the Reaper's form tilted to a more horizontal orientation and it sped off to the east. She exhaled slowly, taking a moment to allow her pulse to slow. She had been paying so little attention to what she was doing thanks to the low speed of her flight that she could have flown directly into the thing without realizing it was there. She stared at the cloud of smoke from which the massive ship had risen, wondering what it could have been attacking. With the Armanis's systems offline, she wasn't really sure where she was. However, a sudden thought occurred to her, and her heart almost stopped.

_There weren't any towns out here that I saw… It couldn't be the base, could it?_

She powered up the Armanis's engines and took off, swinging toward the immense black funnel of smoke and accelerating to speeds she'd previously decided were unsafe. The closer she got to the site of the destruction, however, the more heartsick she felt. It was definitely the Alliance base… or what was left of it. With the fighter's guidance systems offline, she had drifted off course. She circled the base once, staring in dismay at the twisted remains of the Alliance shelters and the massive craters that pockmarked the base and the fields around it.

She brought the fighter in low over the remains of the airfield, landing smoothly on the scorched earth. The moment the cockpit's underside started to descend to the ground, she unfastened the harness and leapt from the seat, dashing across the ravaged area toward where the medical shelter had been, ignoring the protests of her injured knee. She wanted to scream Selura's name, but just as she was about to call out, she realized that the Reapers might have left some forces behind.

Trying to navigate the ruined camp was a bit disorienting at first. With only twisted piles of metal and craters left where buildings had been earlier that morning, she got herself turned around a bit. It wasn't until she found the twisted remains of a communications tower that she realized where she was exactly; she had passed that tower each time she'd gone from the airfield to the medical shelter. She turned and hobbled along the remains of what had been a supply depot next to the infirmary. When she reached the corner and turned toward her destination, she stopped dead in her tracks.

A massive crater stood before her, with bits of twisted metal strewn around its perimeter. She could only stare at the gigantic depression in horror, picturing Selura, resting comfortably in her recovery bed, when the blast had occurred. The scene blurred in her vision as her eyes filled with tears, and her knees gave out on her. She slumped into the grass and bent forward, pressing her head against the scorched earth, sobbing bitterly.

_This can't be real. It can't…_

How could she find someone like Selura… someone that was everything she ever hoped to find in a husband, and lose her to something like this? She wanted to believe that the asari hadn't been in there when the blast hit the shelter, but the scientist was supposed to be confined to her bed for another day. Why would she have been outside of the building? Had she been killed? And what of Aida? Illitha? The captain? Were they all dead too? Rage bubbled up from deep inside of her at the thought that the Reapers had just taken everything she cared about.

She beat the ground with her fists and screamed… a scream filled with such heartache and fury that had anyone been standing there, it might have chilled the blood. As the echoes died into silence, she slumped over and curled up on the ground, arms crossed over her stomach, feeling like she might be sick. Heedless of the destruction all around her, she surrendered to the bitter sobs that welled up from within.

She might have stayed there indefinitely, were it not for a sudden hollow-sounding 'whump', and a small cylindrical object landing in the dirt beside her. For an instant, she stared at the blinking red light atop the object, and the thought passed through her head: _Maybe I should just let it kill me._ However, her fury quickly resurfaced at the thought, and she grabbed the grenade, turning and hurling it at the first thing she saw… a cannibal standing nearby.

The grenade exploded in the air directly in front of the creature, showering it with shrapnel. The cannibal staggered and fell, but it was still moving, and it started to rise. Neela, filled with rage and heartbreak, never stopped to think about what she was doing. She dashed toward the fallen creature, activating her omni-tool. Her omni-blade snapped into place, and she leapt upon the creature's back, jamming the weapon into its bloated body over and over again, shrieking at it the entire time. By the time she was finished, the creature was long past feeling any of the punishment. She staggered away, shaking.

With the enemy dead, however, she was at a loss as to what she should do next. If there was one cannibal in the camp, there were probably others prowling the area. She knew nothing of the Terra Nova landscape save for a few landmarks between the base and the city that she'd noticed in flight. And she had nothing but an omni-tool and a damaged fighter to her credit. She could use the Armanis to scout for shelter and try to figure out what to do from there, but it was likely that any shelter would probably draw Reapers. The possibility meant that she needed to see if she could salvage some equipment from the camp first. She imagined there was enough space behind the seat in the Armanis's cockpit for a single crate.

She started to limp toward the remains of the supply structure, but after just a few steps, her resolve failed her. What was the point of trying to get to shelter if everyone she knew on the planet was already dead? She bowed her head, trying to hold back the resurgence of tears that was threatening to break free. She wanted to go back to her birth ship and never leave again, pilgrimage be damned.

A tremendous cacophony – the sound of metal being shattered and heavy objects falling to the ground – jarred her out of her defeatist thoughts. She looked around wildly for some sign of danger, but the sounds seemed to be coming from the direction of the airfield. She headed off in that direction, keeping close to the buildings to hide her from the sight of any roving Reapers, trying to figure out what could have caused such a racket. When she was within sight of the airfield, however, the answer became clear. A sound welled up in her throat; she wasn't sure if it would come out as a laugh or a sob.

The Armanis had been sheared in two. The thruster ring looked like it was mostly intact, though it was lying on the ground in a horizontal position, with the shattered remains of the attachment to the cockpit jutting up into the air. The cockpit itself was lying several meters away and was smoldering. An Oculus drone hovered nearby. Its presence was a pretty good indication of what had deprived her of her transportation.

_Oh, perfect… Now I'm on _foot_ in unfamiliar territory,_ Neela complained mentally. The urge to just give up was growing by the second.

The oculus turned and drifted across the airfield, heading directly toward the remains of the supply depot. Neela shook her head, simultaneously laughing and crying. It was as if some cruel, unseen force was reading her mind and directing the Reapers toward everything she thought of as a possible asset. She certainly couldn't fight the Reaper drone with nothing but her omni-tool. And if the supplies of food hadn't been destroyed by whatever had hit the supply depot originally, the oculus would surely finish them off. Which left her with two-thirds of a tube of protein gel to sustain her through the remainder of the war. Bleak didn't even begin to cover how bad her future looked.

What little fight remained in her was effectively quashed. She turned and limped toward the forest of twisted structures that had once held the various centers of Alliance operation, not really caring anymore if some Reaper happened to see her and shoot her in the back. She didn't even bother turning on her shield generator. Whenever she passed a shelter that was still partially intact, she peered in through a window or door, not really sure what she was looking for. However, when she reached the twisted shell of a structure labeled 'Armory' and glanced in through the doorway, she paused.

The armory's racks were mostly empty. She had expected to find weapons and equipment strewn around in the remains of the building. But it looked as though someone had cleaned out the racks, with the exception of a few random pieces of gear lying on the floor.

_The Reapers have guns built into their arms,_ she mused. _Would they bother to take weapons? Or did the Alliance have time to salvage supplies and carry them out of here?_

She stepped in through the twisted remains of the door and looked around. There were a few crates left in one corner and a handful of weapons on the floor, but the racks and lockers suggested that there had been hundreds more in the room. If the Alliance had been able to grab supplies before evacuating, perhaps other people had been able to hurriedly evacuate before the base was hit as well. It was something to hope for. And surely, they would have evacuated the wounded immediately.

_Perhaps… Just maybe…_ she closed her eyes, desperately wanting to believe that Selura would have been evacuated. Aida had been working as a medic, and surely she would have grabbed the scientist at the first sign of trouble to get her to safety. _Maybe they're still alive…_

She activated her omni-tool and engaged her shield generator, feeling enough hope to push back the despair that had been overwhelming her. She limped to the corner and opened one of the crates, finding it empty. But that suited her fine. She moved around the room, tossing the few weapons she could find into the crate, along with a stray heat sink she found in a corner, and a couple of mods she couldn't identify. One submachine gun she kept for herself, attaching it to the magnetic holder on her belt.

Once she had gathered everything she could find, she dragged the crate to the door and out into the lane between buildings. The facing structure was the communications shelter. It was largely collapsed, as if a giant foot had stepped on it, but she decided to crawl in through the misshapen hole that had once been a doorway, to salvage whatever she could. She found smashed equipment inside, and she hurriedly collected relatively undamaged circuit boards, wiring, datapads, holographic emitters and anything else that looked mostly intact from among the crushed machinery. If her friends still lived, maybe Illitha and Selura could use the bits and pieces of tech to make something useful.

Satisfied that there was nothing left worth salvaging, she crawled toward the door. That was when she spotted the medigel dispenser that had been attached to the wall beside the portal. The dispenser was lying on the ground near the wall, twisted and crushed, but there were a handful of medigel packets strewn around it. She gathered them up and tossed them into the crate before crawling outside.

Dragging the crate along behind her was tedious, and slowed her down considerably. However, she was trying to nurture the surge of hope she'd received from knowing that there had been time to evacuate. Perhaps the components she collected would help somehow if she saw the others. At the very least, they could be used to repair existing tech if something they possessed had been damaged.

She made her way as quickly as she was able to the exterior fence, and there she activated her omni, using the welding function to cut through the barrier. Then she set off to the west, dragging the crate behind herself as she walked. Finding the others could come later. First she needed to get away from the remains of the Alliance base, the oculus, and any other Reapers that were still lurking in the area.

* * *

**Mivian Heights, Eleven kilometers southwest of Scott…**

Prathus noticed several hours into the journey that the motion of the vehicle had changed. The rough bounces and rocking back and forth were gone, and their travel became somewhat smoother. This troubled him at first, because he was guessing they had reached a road. In his view, avoiding roads and other signs of civilization was their best bet. However, as time wore on and they didn't slow, he had to assume his misgivings were unfounded.

Candice had been quiet through most of the trip, and about an hour ago had dozed off, her head resting on Maria's lap. The other humans talked quietly from time to time, but mostly remained silent. The silence suited Prathus just fine. He would have liked an exterior window to look through so that he could see what was going on outside, but all-in-all, the trip was peaceful and as relaxing as a trip on a Reaper-infested world could be.

Now, however, the vehicle was beginning to slow. He sat up and pulled his rifle onto his lap, activating the targeting VI and disengaging the safety. Since he couldn't see what had forced them to slow down, he wanted to be ready. Their pace dwindled until the vehicle came to a stop, and after a few moments, the hatch opened. Brian peered inside, smiling a reassuring smile at his wife and daughter before turning his gaze upon Prathus.

"Could I speak to you for a minute?" the human asked. "Out here?"

"If you wish," Prathus nodded, climbing out of the vehicle's cargo container. Truth be told, he was happy for the chance to move around.

Once he was outside, he immediately noticed a raised tramway that ran past their location. Following the structure, his gaze came to a small settlement. They had stopped just a few hundred meters away from the nearest structure in the town. He immediately noticed black marks on the exterior walls of some of the buildings and faint wisps of smoke rising from within the town's perimeter. He understood why the human would head here, but he considered it a foolish move.

"I need your help, if you're willing," Brian said softly.

"What is this place?"

"Mivian Heights. It's a scenic little resort spot for people from the city. It sits at the top of a gorge, and overlooks some beautiful wilderness. There are hot springs and natural mineral water lakes down below. We come out here every year…"

"And you couldn't think of anywhere else to go," Prathus guessed.

"I know it might not be the best idea-"

"That's an understatement," Prathus snorted.

"-but I figured we might at least find some supplies," Brian finished. "I was hoping you'd help me scout the place. I didn't want to just drive us right into town."

Prathus looked at the settlement doubtfully, and then shifted his gaze to the left, noting the gorge for the first time. He was sure that the Reapers wouldn't have left a place like this unguarded, and it was obvious that they had been here. Still, he decided that the human was right. They might at least find some supplies here, if the residents hadn't already taken everything that wasn't bolted down.

"Fine," he said at last. "We'll go have a look. It doesn't look like a very big place to search. You have a weapon, I hope?"

"Of course," Brian nodded. "There's a shotgun in the cab. Let me grab it and talk to my wife quick."

Prathus nodded and activated his omni-tool, scanning for active transmissions in the area. He frowned when he noted that as had been the case aboard the _Sileya_ and near Candice's farm, there was some sort of active interference running. He had hoped that he would be able to detect Reaper transmissions if there were any present, but all his equipment could detect was the jamming signal.

Brian strode up beside him with a shotgun in his hands. Maria was climbing into the cab of the vehicle. Prathus nodded and started limping toward the edge of the town. He didn't need to ask what the plan was. It seemed clear to him. They would check out the town, and if it was safe, they would signal Maria to bring their transportation in.

Prathus eyed the structures as they approached. They were built in the style the Alliance seemed to favor: Utilitarian white structures with nearly floor-to-ceiling windows. And for some reason, the Alliance buildings always seemed to have beveled edges. It was as if they found squared corners at the bottom and top of their structures offensive. He could see the tops of a few larger and more stylized buildings near the center of the town; likely hotels or other important buildings. He noted, however, that most of the glass in the windows was shattered or entirely missing, and none of the buildings seemed to have power.

The streets of the small town were deserted. There were wrecked skycars and toppled ground vehicles strewn about, and there were signs of explosives damage marring the streets and a few of the buildings. Many of the exterior walls of the structures also sported bullet holes. But while there were signs of dried blood here and there, he saw no bodies. It was a little eerie.

The two of them entered a couple of buildings and looked around, but there were no signs of life at all. Most of the homes looked like they had been hurriedly abandoned. Storage lockers were open and empty, dresser drawers had been hurriedly cleaned out, and the few articles of clothing or personal effects that had been dropped were left where they landed. Prathus eventually came across a shop, and he quickly ducked inside, looking for any items that had been left behind. However, the shelves were clear of merchandise, and the storerooms were empty.

"They took everything," he muttered.

"Wouldn't you?" Brian asked.

"Probably."

"It looks like the Reapers hit the place, and then abandoned it," the human pointed out. "Maybe it would be safe to shelter here for a couple days."

"Let's finish searching the buildings," Prathus suggested. "Never know what kind of surprises they might have left behind. They wouldn't just leave convenient shelters for people to return to."

The two of them headed all the way to the west end of the little town, where the buildings overlooked the gorge below, performing a quick search of each building they passed. They didn't go to the upper floors of any of them, but made sure to check the ground floors for signs of danger. As it turned out, they weren't being thorough enough.

They were passing a two-story dwelling when the air was suddenly filled with the sounds of shattering glass. Prathus felt a heavy weight crash down on him, and he was driven to the pavement. He was so dazed by the sudden impact that he didn't recognize the thing on top of him as a husk until it punched him in the jaw. Rather than dazing him, the blow was what brought him back to his senses. He quickly struck the creature in the face and shoved it to the side, scrambling to his feet. The husk was just as quick to regain its footing, and it rushed him. However, once the turian was on his feet and aware of his opponent, he had the advantage. He activated his omni-blade and sidestepped the creature's reckless rush, thrusting the blade into the back of its neck.

Only once his opponent was dealt with did he become aware of Brian's frantic screams for help. He swung around to face the direction of the screams, and saw two husks dragging the human by his ankles toward the edge of the gorge. Brian was struggling to pull free of their grasp, but Prathus knew firsthand that the creatures were much stronger than their frail forms suggested. He quickly retrieved his rifle from the ground and took aim. Two shots in rapid succession saved the human from being hurled over the edge; each bullet sheared through the head of a husk.

Brian scrambled away from the edge and picked up his shotgun from where he'd dropped it. Once he had the weapon in his hands once more, he turned to Prathus with an expression of deep gratitude.

"Thank you. You saved my life."

"Don't mention it," Prathus shrugged. "Looks like we're going to have to search the upper floors of all these buildings. Can't have those damned corpses diving through the windows onto any of the females…"

Brian was edging closer to the drop-off, and peered cautiously over the edge.

"Yeah… That would have _sucked_."

Prathus chuckled. "Falling to your doom usually does."

They reversed course and started going back through all the buildings with multiple floors. Their search took a great deal of time, but Prathus felt it was worth being thorough. They ran across a couple more husks over the course of their search – there were trios and quartets of the creatures hiding on the upper floors of a hotel, a clothing store and a few homes – but they managed to make quick work of the creatures in each case.

They also discovered strange devices in five different buildings. The contraptions were about a meter high, thick at the base and tapered toward the top, where a cone-like protrusion was affixed to the body, with the point oriented at an angle toward the ground. Prathus actually thought they looked like some sort of animal sculpture. Brian had been about to shoot the first one they found, but Prathus stopped him. While he wasn't sure of the function of the devices, he felt it was better to err on the side of caution. If they contained volatile components, he didn't want to be standing nearby when one exploded. There was one such device in the building at each corner of the roughly square-shaped settlement, and one in the structure at the town's heart. They simply agreed to avoid the Reaper equipment and otherwise leave it alone.

Once both men were satisfied that they had dealt with all of the immediate dangers in the small town, Brian hurried back to the main road and waved his arms to get his wife's attention. They'd spent hours performing their sweep, so Prathus was surprised that the woman was still waiting. He had half-expected that she would have either come into the town despite their plan, or that she would have assumed something happened to them and fled.

The woman drove the vehicle into town, and Brian directed her to park it in front of a small skycar port located beneath the tram rail. They got the girls and the supplies out of the cargo area of the transport, and they headed further into town, selecting a building with relatively little damage and a few intact windows. Prathus dragged a chair over to the face the main door leading into the building. Without power, none of the buildings had working doors… just open doorways through which anything could wander. He sat down in the chair with his rifle resting across his lap, intending to stand watch.

He hadn't been there long before Candice wandered over and sat on the floor next to him. She said nothing. She merely stared through the doorway at the street. Prathus glanced at her once or twice, wondering what the child was thinking. Finally, deciding she could use a little distraction, he reached out and pulled off the clip that held her hair in the ponytail, and then mussed her hair with his hand.

"Hey!" she cried in protest.

"What?" Prathus stared at her. "It was the wind."

"It was your hand! I'm not stupid. Now my hair's all messy."

"It sure is. You should groom it once in a while."

Candice glared at him in silence, and Prathus couldn't keep from chuckling over being on the receiving end of a menacing gaze from a child. She looked about as threatening as Illitha's plush krogan. After enduring a few moments of his laughter, Candice's glare softened and she actually smiled. She started trying to comb her hair back into place with her fingers. Silence descended between them for a short time.

"You're still a terrible pilot," she finally pointed out.

"Whatever you say, kid."

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: Well first and always, I want to convey my thanks to everyone who has read, commented, favorited, followed, or otherwise paid any attention to my little story. I appreciate all of the comments and criticisms, and I'm especially thankful for the positive reviews for the last Chapter, as I put a lot of work into getting it all just so. I'm glad people were as pleased with it as I hoped they would be.**

**As for this Chapter, I want to say in advance, before someone points it out as an error (which it is not): I am aware that there were lots of guns in the armory last Chapter when Illitha and McSween were there. The lack of them now is something that is explained in a future Chapter. Just bear with me on that one. I don't have much else to say this Chapter other than that I hope things continue to move in a direction that holds everyone's interest. Those darned Reapers are persistent, so there's lots more trouble ahead for the people stuck on Terra Nova. :)**

**Next update should be on Sunday as long as everything remains on schedule, and there's no reason to suspect it won't. So I hope everyone has a great week, and as always, you are all awesome :)**


	23. Chapter 23: Meetings

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Twenty-Three: Meetings

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**Terra Nova Wilderness…**

"I am sorry, Lith. But this must be done," Aida said softly.

Her friend was lying in the grass, staring up at her with a mixture of apprehension and fear. Selura was sitting on Illitha's arm to keep it still, and Aida was kneeling on her chest – which was still protected by the Alliance armor – to keep her from moving too much. The medic's gaze shifted from her friend's face to the wound in her shoulder, and she frowned.

She had finally convinced Illitha to let her look at the bullet wound she had suffered during the escape from the Alliance camp. Once she removed the shattered shoulder section of the armor and was able to scan the wound, it became clear that there were both upsides and downsides to wearing armor. The upside was that the Alliance armor had immediately flooded the area with medigel when the bullet penetrated, keeping the wound from bleeding and protecting against pain and infection. The downside was that the armor had absorbed enough of the kinetic impact to keep the bullet from going right through the flesh in her friend's shoulder. Instead, the bullet was embedded near the bone; she had no choice but to get it out.

Illitha was understandably upset. Aida didn't have the sort of precision tools that were best suited to dealing with the extraction of the bullet. She had only the basic medical implements she had been carrying while working as a medic: a few packets of medigel, some pressure bindings, a binding unit for closing wounds, and some bandages. As a result, she was about to perform the galaxy's clumsiest bullet extraction. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Then she activated her omni-blade.

"You _have_ to be very, very still, Lith," Aida warned.

Her friend nodded slowly, and Selura placed a rolled-up length of bandages between her teeth for the girl to bite down on. This was going to be unpleasant for everyone, but since it was her friend that was going to be suffering physically, Aida left it in her hands to give the go-ahead. Illitha stared up at her for a moment longer, tears already gathering in her eyes, and then she nodded.

Aida focused her gaze upon the holographic display of Selura's omni-tool – the girl was holding it over Illitha's wound – and she positioned the omni-blade directly over the location of the bullet. She intended for this to be quick and efficient, and to do as little damage as possible. Once she was sure she was in the proper position, she pressed down, forcing the tip of her omni-blade into her best friend's flesh.

The strangled mixture of a grunt and sob that escaped Illitha when the blade pierced her flesh went straight to Aida's heart. By necessity, she had to take her time, which meant she was torturing her friend with the sensation of the blade slowly cutting deeper and deeper into her shoulder. Illitha jerked beneath her once or twice, forcing her to stop, but overall, she gave her friend credit for incredible self-control. However, the incision was only the first part. Once the tip reached the bullet and she widened the incision enough for the next step, she withdrew the omni-blade and deactivated it, gazing in sympathy at her friend, who was noticeably more apprehensive now.

If they had any non-dextro anesthetic, she would have used it to spare Illitha what was coming next. However, there was no choice but to proceed. Even with the protection the medigel provided against infection, leaving the bullet in her arm was risky. She shifted her position atop Illitha to pin her a little more firmly in place, and positioned her thumb and forefinger on opposite sides of the new wound. Then she waited for Illitha to ready herself once again.

"Aida…" Illitha whimpered.

"I know, Lith," she nodded. "I promise I will make it as quick as possible."

Illitha closed her eyes and replaced the rolled-up bandage between her teeth. Then she nodded her head.

Aida pried the wound open as far as she could manage, drawing a strangled scream from her best friend. Illitha's hand grabbed hold of Aida's thigh in a vice-like grip, which only tightened further when Aida pressed her pinky finger into the wound to find the bullet and scoop it out. Despite Aida's weight atop her chest, Illitha writhed around beneath her, screaming and sobbing in agony.

Aida did as she promised, fishing the bullet out as quickly as she was able. The moment the fragment of metal came free, she released her hold on the wound and sat back, giving her friend time to recover from the pain. She was sure she was going to have finger-shaped bruises on her thigh from Illitha's grip, but the reaction was very understandable. She removed her knee from her friend's chest and rested beside her.

"We are almost done, Lith. And the worst is over," she assured her.

At her gesture, she and Selura switched places. Selura straddled Illitha's chest to keep her body still, and Aida sat on her friend's arm to keep it immobile. She pulled out her binding unit and set to work reconnecting the flesh both at the incision site and the bullet wound, trying to ignore the engineer's soft sobbing. It broke her heart to see her friend in pain, and hurt even worse to know she was the cause, no matter how necessary it had been to inflict it.

When she finished closing the wounds and smeared some medigel across the area to protect them against infection, Selura got off of Illitha, and the engineer rolled onto her side, burying her face in her hands. Aida settled in the grass and embraced her friend from behind, holding onto her while she cried. Selura stood nearby, seemingly at a loss for something to say. After a moment, the scientist walked away.

"I am so sorry, Lith," she whispered to her friend.

"The Reaper is gone!" Selura called from nearby.

Aida nodded, but she wasn't about to leave Illitha. Her arm tightened around her. She was aware of Selura returning and sitting down in the grass nearby, but she didn't look at her. Instead she just closed her eyes, trying not to dwell on all of the injuries and hardships they had suffered in such a short period of time. She was afraid to think about how much worse things could get if this war stretched on for months or years and they remained stranded on Terra Nova.

"I never thanked you," Selura said softly.

"For what?" Aida asked.

"For getting me out of that medical shelter."

"Oh," Aida smiled faintly. "It seemed clear to me when I heard the first explosion that I had to get you and the captain out," she explained, her gaze straying to the Prothean stasis pod.

"Still, I appreciate it. It would have taken me much longer to get out of that bed without your help. And by then…"

Aida nodded, remembering how close they had come to being incinerated when the Reaper blasted the shelter. As it was, they'd both been flattened by the blast. The memory of being knocked to the ground prompted Aida's next question.

"How is your arm?"

"It aches," Selura admitted. "I never thought I would actually wish for another bottle of that awful medicinal drink, but I sure would enjoy the pain suppressant in it right now."

"I should run a scan on your arm to be sure the injury was not worsened when you were knocked down in camp," Aida suggested.

"Later," Selura smiled at her, her gaze upon Illitha, whose sobs were beginning to quiet.

Aida nodded in understanding and changed the subject.

"So the Reaper is gone. Are we still going to wait until nightfall to start walking?"

"I think we should set out sooner, given the change in the circumstances."

"Agreed," Aida nodded. "Pushing the gurney along with us will slow us down, so the sooner we get underway, the better."

"I… I-I am so tired," Illitha murmured softly, sniffling. "I could not sleep last night. H-How long do you think it will take us to get there?"

"I have no idea. But we can wait a little longer to get going," Aida was quick to answer. "We could all use a little more rest… Right Selura?" she turned a pleading gaze to the other asari, silently begging for agreement.

Selura seemed to get the hint. She nodded. "Yes. My arm is throbbing. I would prefer to wait until it calms down a bit before we set out."

Aida smiled at the scientist, mouthing the words "Thank you," before she spoke again. "See? We will set out in a couple of hours. You try to get a little sleep before then, okay Lith?"

"Gladly," the young engineer sniffed.

Aida smiled and held onto her friend while she waited for her to doze off. Although she agreed with Selura about the need to get underway, she would gladly wait and allow her best friend to get a few hours of sleep while she had the chance. Illitha deserved the rest. Selura stretched out in the grass nearby, and Aida closed her eyes, listening to the wind blowing through the trees around them. With the Reaper gone, the Terra Nova countryside was peaceful and quiet. There was no way to be sure how much peace and quiet they could expect in the future, so she was happy to soak it up now.

* * *

**Mivian Heights…**

_Prathus fell back with his unit among the ruins of the city, stopping frequently to turn and fire at the shadowy shapes looming out of the smoke all around them. Palavan was burning, and the enemy was relentless. The ground trembled beneath his feet as a result of the almost constant explosion of grenades in the area. Beside him, his nephew vaulted a fallen piece of debris and crouched behind it, rising to fire his Phaeston rifle at their enemies. Prathus felt his heart swell with pride and sorrow. His nephew had become a fine turian soldier… strong and proud. But he was embroiled in this stupid conflict as a result when he should have been living in safety somewhere else._

_Prathus rose from behind his cover and took aim at the vague shape of an enemy in the smoke, squeezing the trigger. The Phaeston kicked as the weapon fired bullet after bullet in an endless stream, and he braced himself and tightened his arms, keeping the weapon steady despite the recoil as he had been taught. The shadowy shape went down, and he took a moment to press a switch on the side of his rifle, queuing up and arming a proximity mine. He directed his weapon at the ground just ahead of their shared cover and fired it, launching the mine with enough force to anchor it to the stonework._

_"There are too many of them, Uncle," his nephew growled. "We should have known this would happen one day."_

_"Keep fighting," Prathus urged. "We can't let them take Palavan."_

_His eyes swept the scene. The great turian cities were reduced to crumbling ruins, and fires burned on all sides of them. The smoke and the heat were intense, and the sky over the horizon flashed again and again with repeated impacts from bombardments. It was hard not to feel overwhelmed. His mandibles twitched, and he scowled._

_"Here they come again," his nephew called out._

_Prathus dismissed his worries and crouched behind the cover, directing his weapon over the barrier toward the enemy. He could see the shadows in the smoke, and this time there were dozens of them. Hundreds perhaps. He growled and squeezed the trigger, and his entire body reverberated with the kick of his rifle. One shadow went down, and then another and another, but for every one that fell, two took its place. The enemies were drawing closer by the second._

_Return fire hissed by in the air and snapped off of the debris they were using as cover. Prathus ducked when the fire became too heavy, but his nephew was slower to react, and Prathus felt blood spray across his face when an enemy round hit the boy in the head. A scream of anguish tore free of his throat at the sight and he scrambled to his nephew's side, pressing his hand over the wound even though he knew it was a futile gesture. His nephew's eyes were wide and staring, and the damage was too severe for medical care._

_The explosion of his proximity mine warned him that the enemy was right on top of him, but he didn't care. He pulled his nephew into his lap and cradled him in a protective embrace. Hostile figures surrounded him. He tried to ignore them; Spirits willing, the end would be swift. But one of them prodded him in the back with a weapon, and a deep voice demanded that he get up. He stubbornly refused until someone grabbed his nephew's foot and dragged the boy out of his grasp._

_This act brought him to his feet, and turned to glare at his enemy furiously. In so doing, he got his first look at the shadowy figures up close. His eyes widened…_

_"Humans?" he whispered._

_A crimson beam struck the ground inches away from him, incinerating the human that he was glaring at. Then the beam swept around him in a circle, likewise annihilating the remainder of the human force while leaving him untouched. A massive shadow fell over him, and he turned to stare in awe and dread as a huge Reaper ship descended upon him. A thunderous, rumbling voice filled the air._

_"Palavan burns. The Alliance betrays its allies once again. We are your salvation and their destruction…"_

Prathus bolted upright with a gasp, scanning his surroundings anxiously. When he realized where he was, he slowly relaxed. He was in the room he had chosen from among the abandoned buildings in the small town to which the humans had brought him. It had only been a dream. Sunlight was shining in through the shattered window on the right-hand side of the room, and he rubbed his forehead, wondering how long he'd been out. He was losing all concept of time on this planet. He sighed and rolled from the bed, staggering to the window to look toward the horizon. If he had to guess, he would have estimated it to be mid-afternoon.

He turned and grabbed his rifle from the nightstand upon which he'd left it. Even as he picked up the weapon, however, he could hear the rumbling voice echo in his head.

"_The Alliance betrays its allies…_" the words came back to him. He frowned and shook his head. The Alliance had always put its ambitions ahead of the welfare of any other group. They took and took and gave nothing back. How much had been lost to Alliance greed? Batarian membership in the galactic community, turian lives during the Relay 314 Incident, the _Destiny Ascension_ and the Citadel Council during the Battle of the Citadel… Millions of batarian lives in the Alpha Relay disaster… how much more would the humans sacrifice for their own advancement? Deep down, he was sure that even now, the humans would be starting to manipulate anyone and everyone they could find into rescuing _their_ home world, and would be happy to leave Palavan to burn.

He bowed his head and shook off his anger. Over the past day, he'd been working with humans. It wasn't easy, but they had to band together against the Reapers. He tried to tell himself that his fears were irrational; the Heirarchy would never abandon the defense of Palavan before the fight was won. But his prejudice stubbornly refused to be pushed away.

"At least the damned kid is someone else's problem now," he muttered, thinking of Candice. However, thoughts of the stubborn, opinionated little human child mollified his feelings somewhat. He never would have admitted it to anyone but himself, but the girl had grown on him. "Like fungus," he added with a snort.

He slung his rifle and set off to find the other humans, doing his best to suppress the lingering visions from his nightmare. The ones he was with seemed decent enough. He was just letting old feelings and some stupid dream unbalance him. So he decided that a quick walk around the perimeter of the town might clear his head. He needed to be certain that the area was still secure, after all.

Walking around the town was a little unnerving. The abandoned buildings and the silence all around him lent the scene an eerie aspect, and he wondered how many other towns and cities would be left empty and desolate by the war. What would happen if the Reapers were successful in their campaign to conquer the galaxy? Would another civilization look at the buried ruins of towns like this one and wonder about them? Would humans and turians and asari become the next civilization's Protheans?

He shook his head, trying not to dwell upon such thoughts. Whatever happened that far into the future was irrelevant. What was important for the moment was defending their position against the return of Reaper forces. To that end, he started inspecting the perimeter of the town with a more critical gaze, trying to decide how best the town could be fortified. There wasn't a lot to work with, but most of the furniture in the settlement had been left behind.

"Perhaps a junkyard blockade," he mused aloud. "I could get that human to help me weld bed frames, chairs and tables together into barricades between the perimeter buildings…"

It was an idea with merit. And the more he thought about it, the more it appealed to him. Barricades made from pieces of furniture would keep the Reapers from just walking into the town, and would also have the benefit of having many small holes and gaps through which weapons could be fired while taking cover behind them. They didn't have the manpower to set up a proper watch, but any hindrance they could put between themselves and the Reaper ground forces would be a step in the right direction. Of course, the barricades would be useless against an actual Reaper or one of their flying transports, but it was a start.

He set off to find the humans so that they could get started. The man's wife and daughter could start gathering the furniture while they worked. Even Candice could help out, he supposed. And the work just might help to take the child's mind off of her grief, if only for a little while. They could _all_ use the distraction to focus upon.

He found the humans together in one of the larger structures in the town: a library. Everyone was seated in a different area. Most of the humans were reading digital books on datapads. Candice, he was amused to note, was using the datapads in an entirely different manner… She was building a house of cards out of them.

"I had an idea," he announced to the room, drawing everyone's attention. "But I'll need all of you to help me."

"What's up?" Brian asked, setting his book aside.

"I was touring the perimeter of the town, and it's just too open. Nothing is keeping Reaper ground troops from just walking in from any direction."

"Yeah," Brian nodded. "I was thinking the same thing when we arrived."

"I want to start making some barricades out of the furniture in these buildings. If the females can gather chairs, tables, bed frames, and anything else with metal parts, you and I can weld them into functional barriers between the perimeter buildings."

"That's a good idea," Brian's wife, Maria, spoke up. "Any obstacle between them and us is a good thing."

"Could we do the same for the broken windows here? To make this place safer to sleep in?" their daughter asked.

"Absolutely, Sam," Brian smiled at her. "Good idea."

"Agreed," Prathus nodded. "We can bring a few beds from surrounding buildings here for added comfort, and shore up the windows with barricades. Actually, we should do that first."

"Nice," Brian grinned, clapping his hands together and rising from his seat enthusiastically. "Let's get to work! This will take a lot of effort, but it'll be worth it."

"What should I do?" Candice asked, tapping Prathus's arm.

"Help Maria and Samantha gather furniture together. Stay close to them. They'll tell you what to bring."

The child nodded and hurried off after Maria and Sam, who were heading for the door. Prathus watched her go, and then walked to the nearest table in the room, examining it critically. The table tops were made from some sort of plastic polymer, but the legs and the braces underneath were metal. They would be perfect for barricading the larger windows in the building. He grabbed one and dragged it to the shattered front window of the library, standing it on its end to get an idea of how many would be needed to cover the entire opening. It might take them a couple days to fortify the entire town, but the activity was already helping to soothe his nerves. He was sure it would do the same for the others.

* * *

**Terra Nova Wilderness…**

Zaeed scanned the surrounding area warily, though it had been hours since they'd seen any sign of Reaper activity. Getting out of the city had taken far too long, and though they had been making decent time for the better part of a day now that they were beyond the city limits, he was still concerned over the delay caused by the walk. His employer's lack of concern didn't help to ease his mind. The urgency he felt was the only thing that was still keeping him moving. Though he was a very fit man, walking without rest for the last ten kilometers or so had been tiring. His stomach was growling, his feet ached, and his muscles were screaming for rest.

His gaze drifted upward to the tram rail that they had been following. The structure had been destroyed closer to the city, but the rail was mostly intact this far into the countryside. Salik had insisted that if they followed the rail to its end, they could rest for the night and then head due south from there in the morning to reach the dig site. Zaeed was unsure whether he was looking forward to getting some sleep or if he was annoyed by the delay. He was actually feeling both.

A scraping sound snapped him out of his thoughts. He came to a stop and held up a hand to signal his companions to stop moving. Then he raised his rifle and listened for the sound, to see if it would repeat. At first, the only sound he could hear was the breeze whipping across the tall grass all around them. Then he heard the sound again. It was a metallic scrape, similar to the sound furniture made when someone was dragging it across the floor. He gestured for his companions to remain where they were, and then he crept forward, rifle at the ready, heading for the next support column of the tramway structure, intending to use it as cover.

Once he reached the support, he peered cautiously out from behind it, looking for some sign of the source of the noise. It took him a moment, but he finally spotted it; a lone figure was crouched amidst the grass beside the next support up, apparently struggling with something on the ground. From the way the figure was moving, he was guessing it was dragging something behind it, and the object in question was caught on an obstacle.

He crouched below the level of the tall grass that dominated the area, and he advanced slowly. He could be very stealthy when he needed to be, even in armor. Keeping low forced him to navigate by the sounds he was hearing rather than by sight, but he wanted to surprise the figure. If it was a Reaper, he didn't want the thing to see him coming. If it was something else, surprise would still be to his advantage.

As he drew closer to the figure's position, he could hear a voice muttering to itself in addition to the scraping sounds. Once he was able to make out the words, he relaxed a little bit, because the voice was obviously not that of a Reaper.

"Come on you little bosh'tet," a high-pitched voice complained. "I'm sick of dragging you around when you keep doing this to me…"

Zaeed crept forward the last few steps, until he could see the figure through the grass ahead of him. As the voice had already told him, the figure was a quarian female, and she was struggling to drag a crate over the uneven terrain. He noted the submachine gun attached to her hip, and he aimed his rifle at her chest as a precaution. He didn't think she was a threat, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Once he was ready, he rose to his full height.

"Don't move a goddamn muscle!"

His sudden appearance and demand drew a startled scream from the quarian, who dropped the container and jumped backward, putting a hand to her chest. She didn't make a move for her weapon, however, and once her initial surprise faded, she was quick to raise her hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Who are you, and what are you doing out here?" Zaeed demanded.

"I'm Neela'Xara nar Ganaza," she answered nervously. "And I'm just trying to find a safe place to rest."

Zaeed didn't lower his rifle, but he took a few steps forward, glancing quickly down into the crate she had been dragging. It was filled mostly with bits of tech, and he thought he saw another submachine gun tucked amongst the components.

"Where'd you get this stuff?"

"My friends and I were staying on an Alliance base. I went out with some Alliance troops on a mission, and when I came back the Reapers had destroyed the base. This is everything I could salvage and carry with me."

Zaeed snorted. Salvaging junk was second nature to quarians, it seemed. His posture relaxed somewhat, but he didn't lower his weapon, even though she didn't seem to present any threat. He reached into the crate and grabbed the submachine gun he had spotted, securing it to the maglock at his hip. A second weapon couldn't hurt.

"So you're with the Alliance," he muttered. "Were there any other survivors of the attack?"

"I don't know," the quarian sounded downcast. "But I hope so. Someone took most of the weapons from the armory, so I am hoping that means they had time to evacuate."

"You said you were trying to find a safe place to rest. You know of something in this area?"

"No," the quarian sighed. "I'm not from Terra Nova. I just picked a direction and started walking."

"Drop that submachine gun you're carrying into the crate," Zaeed gestured toward the weapon with his rifle.

"What are you going to do with me?" the quarian asked. Zaeed could hear the nervousness in her voice.

"You're not a Reaper, so I don't plan to do _anything_ with you. Except make sure you can't do anything stupid."

The quarian slowly moved her hand to the weapon and pulled it free of the magnetic holster, and then she dropped it into the crate as instructed. Zaeed gestured toward the nearby support column.

"Have a seat."

She complied without complaint, and once she was seated against the column, Zaeed felt it was safe to bring his companions up. He grabbed the crate and dragged it – after a brief struggle to free it from the rocks it was caught on – away from the quarian.

"Clear!" he shouted.

He waited patiently while the vorcha and his employer caught up to them. When Salik approached, Zaeed saw his eyes come to rest on the quarian, and his brows came together in the expression Zaeed was starting to recognize as his 'lost in thought' look. The vorcha stalked over to the crate and started rooting through its contents.

"Submachine guns," the vorcha growled. "Bah! Infant weapons!"

"Take them if you want them," the quarian suggested, fidgeting uncomfortably. "Just let me go."

Zaeed glanced at his employer, whose expression cleared. The salarian shook his head.

"You are not a prisoner, quarian," Salik gestured vaguely with a hand. "My compatriot's tendency is to exercise caution. Presence of an individual this far outside of the city is unexpected. Might I inquire as to what brings you this far out into the wild?"

"I was staying on an Alliance base a few kilometers from here. Reapers destroyed it while I was away and I returned to find it in ruins," the quarian repeated her story. "I salvaged what I could and set off to find a safe place to rest."

"Safe is a relative term when referring to a planet infested with Reaper troops," Salik commented. "Any other Alliance survivors in the region?"

"I already asked her that," Zaeed cut in, hoping to shorten the Q&A session. "She said she's not sure, but someone cleaned out the Alliance weapons cache. So she hopes there were survivors. But she's not from Terra Nova, so her being here is just coincidence."

"Interesting," Salik nodded. "Alliance forces in the area will undoubtedly head this direction. Estimate one more kilometer along this track to reach a small human town that sits at the terminus of the tram line. Alliance soldiers will undoubtedly know of the location of the settlement and choose to investigate it as a source of shelter."

"Great," Zaeed muttered. "So we might get roped into another Alliance base if we continue?"

"Possible," Salik nodded. "But unlikely to follow pattern of the previous Alliance encounter. This time, we would be encountering survivors of a shattered command structure. Focus would be on rebuilding and fortifying position. Likelihood of interference in our plans is negligible."

"What plans?" the quarian asked.

"None of your goddamn business," Zaeed growled.

"Wait," Salik held up a hand. "Quarians renowned for technical expertise. Perhaps this instance of happenstance is fortuitous. Additional assistance in reaching our destination would be beneficial."

"You're thinking of hiring a random quarian?" Zaeed stared at the salarian. "We don't know anything about her!"

"Not entirely true," Salik turned his gaze upon the quarian. "We know she was working with Alliance troops, which classifies her as an ally. We learned that she was on a mission with Alliance soldiers, which establishes her as combat-trained. Reasonable foundation upon which to discuss possibility of cooperation."

"I'm not sure I would call myself 'combat trained'," the quarian objected. "I'm a pilot. Not a soldier. The mission in question was to provide air support to Alliance ground troops."

"A pilot?" Salik smiled. "Excellent news. You may be more useful than anticipated. If my suspicions regarding the defenses that await us are correct, your skills could be vital to our successful infiltration of our destination."

"How would a pilot help us infiltrate the ruins?" Zaeed demanded. "We don't have a bloody ship."

"Recall the Cerberus forces at the compound in Scott," Salik reminded him. "Expect to find at least one Atlas mech among the defenders of the dig site. Having a pilot would be of significant benefit. I could hack into the systems of an Atlas and open the canopy as I did to disable the Atlas in the city. With the pilot dead, the quarian could take control of the equipment, giving us heavy artillery to assist in dealing with the remainder of Cerberus defenses."

"Cerberus?" the quarian repeated, and Zaeed could detect a mixture of anger and anxiety in her voice. "What is Cerberus doing here? And what 'dig site' are you talking about?"

"I'm not sure I like the idea of bringing on a stranger to help," Zaeed muttered.

"Decision mine to make, not yours," Salik pointed out, and then turned to the quarian. "As for your questions, answers will depend upon whether you wish to assist us or not. Providing you with classified intel only to result in rejection of cooperation would be counterproductive. Would you be willing to work with us, with the likely outcome of having to combat Cerberus?"

"I hate Cerberus," the quarian was quick to mention. "They kidnapped a friend on Noveria and tried to kill me and my girlfriend. But I have friends here… I don't know if they survived the attack on the base. I have to find them. They are my first priority."

"Disappointing," Salik sighed. "But understandable. Loyalty to friends is an admirable trait. However, offer still stands. Perhaps you would consider a compromise?"

"Okay. I'm listening."

"Accompany us to the end of the tram rail. Alliance troops will undoubtedly fall back to that position to regroup. Perhaps your friends will be among the survivors there. Should this be the case, their welfare can be confirmed and you could assist us in dealing with Cerberus. Perhaps your friends would be willing to assist as well, given Cerberus problems you mention in your past. If your friends are not present, you can go and find them."

Zaeed frowned. They had started with a group of five, and he knew that they needed to replace lost manpower, but he didn't like the idea of picking up strays that they knew nothing about. While Salik's plan regarding using a pilot to hijack a Cerberus mech made sense, the idea was rubbing him the wrong way. He didn't like unknowns. Especially when his life might depend upon them.

"If the survivors are sure to head this way, then I have to get to this place anyway," the quarian murmured. "I don't see how it would hurt to walk with you until we get there. It would be easier than dragging that thing by myself," she gestured to the crate.

"Excellent," Salik nodded. "Vorcha can drag the crate. Once the situation is clarified at our destination, further discussion of collaboration between us can ensue. Call me Salik. Human is Zaeed. Vorcha is Greck."

"Neela'Xara nar Ganaza," the quarian introduced herself, rising to her feet.

" 'nar Ganaza'," the salarian repeated. "Then you are on your pilgrimage?"

"You're familiar with my peoples' customs?"

"Indeed," Salik nodded. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. Zaeed, resume point position."

Zaeed snorted and shook his head, setting off along the tram line, uninterested in the conversation taking place between the two. Whatever his personal feelings toward quarians and the idea of picking up strangers, he wasn't the one in charge. If it turned out that the quarian or whoever else they encountered couldn't be trusted, he could gun them down later. A job was a job. He just hoped that his misgivings were unfounded.

* * *

**Terra Nova Wilderness…**

Illitha concentrated on strengthening her personal barrier, standing rooted in place among the waving grass that covered the Terra Nova grasslands. Once she was sure it was as strong as she could make it, she braced herself and focused her energy, trying to expand it outward into a sphere. She could feel the barrier waver and fluctuate, and she strained to accomplish her goal. However, as with all her previous tries, the barrier finally collapsed and the energy pushed outward harmlessly, flattening the nearby grass momentarily and accomplishing little else. She sighed and ran to catch up with the others.

She had been practicing for the majority of their journey, and she was growing tired, but she was determined to learn how to create a proper barrier field. She had seen many other asari perform the feat, and she knew that during this war, being able to create a barrier large enough to shield multiple people might save lives. She refused to give up, even if she was exhausting herself in the process. She felt she was at least making progress. When the barrier collapsed, it was definitely sending energy outward. She was sure that success would be achieved if she could just manage to maintain the field while pushing it outward in that fashion.

"You should rest, Lith," Aida suggested once Illitha caught up to them.

"Later," Illitha murmured. "It seems like… I… I f-feel like I am making progress."

"Okay," Aida seemed resigned. "Just… Please promise me not to wear yourself out too much? If we run into trouble, we might need your biotics."

Illitha nodded. She knew that her friend well enough to realize she wasn't actually worried about running into trouble. It was an attempt to manipulate her into letting herself rest through logic. She smiled softly at the attempt. The concern Aida always showed for her was touching. And so, if for no other reason than to settle her friend's mind, she decided to give her efforts a rest. She fell into step beside Aida and Selura, who were working together to wheel the gurney that carried the Prothean pod. She felt a little guilty for letting them do the work, but they had decided to take turns, and it was currently her turn to rest.

She reached out to swipe her hand through the tall grass. She had never seen grass the size of which dominated the area through which they traveled. It rose to their shoulder level, which made it easily the tallest she had ever seen. It was an excellent hiding place, however, which filled her with concern that Reapers or natural predators might be lurking nearby. They would have no way to detect an ambush until they were right on top of it.

They didn't have much farther to travel. She could see the silhouette of a raised tram rail in the distance, and from their position, she could see the elevated station at its end, which was part of a collection of buildings that could have been a small town. From this distance she couldn't make out any details, but her growling stomach filled her with hope that they might find some food there. She was optimistic that they might reach the place within the next couple hours. She glanced at the others, smiling at the thought. However, her smile fell when she saw the pained expression on Selura's face.

"Selura? I-Is your arm bothering you?"

"No. The persistent, throbbing ache actually soothing," the scientist muttered sarcastically.

Aida activated her omni-tool and pulled the scientist to a stop, running a scan on her injured arm. Illitha watched curiously. She wasn't offended by Selura's sarcasm… if their places were reversed, she might be a little irritable as well, so it was understandable. Once her friend finished the scan and studied the holographic image of the internal structure that her omni-tool had constructed, she nodded.

"The trip has not caused any new damage," Aida announced. "The injury is still showing signs of continued healing. But we should sit and rest for a little while, I think."

"No," Selura shook her head. "We should keep going. The sooner we get to that town, the sooner I can lie down."

"We have been walking for hours, and pushing this thing through the grass is tiring," Aida insisted. "We need to take fifteen minutes here and rest."

Selura glared at her for a moment, and then finally nodded her head. "Fine. Whatever."

Illitha sat down gratefully. While she was eager to get to the town and had been willing to continue to exert herself practicing her biotics, she still wasn't going to complain about a chance to sit and rest. Aida was right about pushing their burden through the grass… It wasn't easy. And soon it would be her turn to help again.

"Do you think we will find Reapers once we get to the town?" Aida asked anxiously.

"At this point, I do not care," Selura muttered. "If it means lying down in a nice, soft bed, I will climb an actual Reaper and stab it in its stupid red eye with an omni-blade…"

Illitha giggled at the mental image, and noticed that Aida was struggling to contain a similar reaction. The engineer did find herself wondering, however, if the Reaper's eye might be a vulnerable point of attack. She had noticed that the Reaper in the Alliance camp only opened the plating around its 'eye' when it was about to fire. She filed the thought away for future reference. She supposed it was unlikely she would ever be in a position to use such information, but it was impossible to be sure.

"Th-the fact that there is not a Reaper stomping on the buildings is a g-good sign, I think," Illitha suggested. "R-Reaper monsters might be hiding among the buildings, but… I do not think… I mean, uh, I would imagine there would be an actual R-Reaper there if they considered the town worth destroying."

"Maybe," Aida nodded. "But still, we will need to be careful."

"I will sleep with extreme care," Selura joked.

Illitha smiled, but her response was more serious. "I think… Maybe… Maybe it would be best if we dragged some beds out of the town and into the grasslands…"

"Why, Lith?" Aida asked.

"W-Well, there might not be a Reaper there now, but any big and obvious settlement might draw their attention eventually… I really do not want to live through the Alliance base all over again."

"Yeah," Selura nodded. "I second that."

"Okay, we all agree then," Aida nodded. "Good thinking, Lith."

Illitha smiled and stretched out among the tall grass, looking up at the sky overhead. She wasn't particularly tired because her friends had allowed her to sleep for a few hours longer than she had expected before they started walking. She was pretty sure the extra sleep had been allowed because Aida felt guilty for having to dig the bullet out of her arm. Though in her view, there was really no need to feel bad about it. She understood that it needed to be done, and given the circumstances and the tools available, her friend had done an excellent job.

Illitha suddenly heard a sound, and she sat up, cocking her head to the side. Aida and Selura glanced at her curiously, and then the sound was repeated, and they both joined her in listening. She couldn't be certain, but she thought it had been a voice in the distance. There was nothing but silence for a time, and Illitha was just starting to think she had imagined it when she heard it again, and this time it was a little more distinct. She stood up and peered over the tall grass, trying to find the source of the voice.

"Lith, get down!" Aida tugged on her arm.

Illitha resisted her friend's insistent tugging, remaining standing just long enough to spot a head in the distance as it rose from among the grass and then ducked back down into cover. Another head rose into view a moment later, from several meters to the right of the first. And then a third some distance to the left. She couldn't make out any details, but it seemed clear that there were several people moving together.

Illitha ducked down out of sight. She didn't think any of them had spotted her. "Th-there are at least three people out there," she murmured. "They are being pretty cautious. Staying below the level of the grass except to get a look at their surroundings."

"I have never heard the Reaper creatures speak," Selura pointed out. "Alliance survivors perhaps?"

"Could be," Aida nodded.

"Should I go intercept them?" Illitha asked.

"No. Absolutely not," Aida shook her head. "They could be anyone. Looters, criminals, pirates… Cerberus…"

Illitha felt her stomach lurch at the mention of Cerberus, and a shiver ran down her spine. She certainly didn't want to walk up to a trio of Cerberus goons. She sighed. Her friend was right, but if they _were_ Alliance soldiers, she would have felt much better having them around. Especially if there was trouble waiting for them at their destination.

"So what do we do? Just hide here until they are gone?" Selura asked. "Even if they are some sort of unsavory characters, they are still on a planet under attack by Reapers. If ever there was a time to forget about petty differences and work together, this is it."

"When you're hiding from someone, you should be quieter," A deep male voice startled all three of them.

Illitha and Aida were both on their feet almost immediately. Illitha manifested a barrier before even fully rising, and she saw Aida step in front of the Prothean pod protectively. However, they found themselves facing not a civilian, but a dark-skinned man in an Alliance uniform. His weapon was pointed at the ground, not at them, and he was smiling.

"You heard us?" Aida smiled weakly.

"Only once I got closer. I actually spotted one of you standing up a minute ago. You were looking that way," he gestured in the direction in which Illitha had spotted the figures. "Me and my team were over here," he gestured the other direction.

"Oh. That was me," Illitha admitted sheepishly.

"You're Illitha, right?" the man asked.

"Y-Yes," Illitha nodded, surprised. "How did you know that?"

"I'm part of the security detachment of the 418. I was a guard in F.O.B. Alpha-5. We were informed that an asari was working with the engineering corps and wearing an Alliance uniform."

Illitha looked down at her armor and smiled ruefully. She kept forgetting she was dressed like an Alliance soldier.

"They needed us to know you were authorized to be in Alliance areas of the base," the man finished. "Name's Baxter, by the way."

"How many of you survived the Reaper attack?" Aida questioned.

"Not sure," the man sighed. "Six of us managed to stick together and lose ourselves in the grassland until the Reaper took off. I'm sure there are a lot of other survivors, but our forces scattered when the Reaper started shooting at us."

"There are six of you out there?" Illitha was surprised. "I only saw three."

"Because you only looked in one direction. The other three of us are moving a hundred meters to their flank. We expected to find some Reaper assault troops out here somewhere. We wanted to make sure they couldn't catch us all in one group."

"Will the other Alliance survivors head for this town up ahead?" Selura asked, finally rising from where she had been sitting.

"Mivian Heights," Baxter supplied. "It's a little resort town… on the edge of a gorge, overlooking some mineral pools and other tourist attractions. And yes. This was the rallying point for the base. So survivors will head this way."

"Can we accompany you?" Aida asked. "We were headed there anyway."

"I don't see why not, but it isn't my call," Baxter shrugged. "Let me signal the others and get them over here so they know what's up. The Lieutenant can make the decision."

Baxter rose above the level of the grass and waved his arm three times, then ducked down once again. Illitha waited, and she could hear swishing sounds as the other Alliance soldiers moved through the grass and approached their position. The first to arrive was a young woman with long, blonde hair bound up in a ponytail. When she spotted them her eyes widened in surprise. Illitha guessed that she was little more than a teenager. She looked very, very young.

Others arrived soon on her heels. A tall, bald man with a crooked nose… another dark-skinned man with the hair on his head shaved to stubble… a stocky, muscular, olive-skinned fellow with a neatly trimmed beard and crew-cut… The last one to arrive, however, was one they all recognized.

"Gradian!" Aida smiled when the Lieutenant appeared. "It is good to see you survived!"

"Hello, Aida. Selura. Illitha," he nodded to each of them, smiling. "Glad you all made it out."

Illitha bit her tongue. The urge to hit him with an 'I told you so' comment was strong. But she knew it was childish to gloat over such a disaster. Still, she was angry that he had been willing to follow his commander's orders so blindly. To her shame, a part of her hoped Captain Tarrislav had been killed by the Reaper. His men were better off without him… at least in Illitha's eyes.

"Can we travel with your team to the town? We were headed there ourselves," Aida repeated her request.

"Of course," Gradian nodded.

Illitha's eyes were continually drawn to the young blonde woman, who was staring at her as if she'd never seen an asari before. The stare was actually making her more than a little uncomfortable.

"For those of you who don't know," Gradian spoke up, distracting Illitha from the woman's staring, "This is Aida, Selura, and Illitha," he gestured to each of them in turn. "They were among the refugees on F.O.B. Alpha-5. But they managed to elevate themselves beyond that. Aida is an excellent medic, Selura is an inventor, as I understand it, and Illitha was working with the engineering corps."

Several of the Alliance soldiers smiled or nodded at this information. Illitha imagined that a few of them had been silently complaining about having to deal with civilians. She imagined the news that they were _useful_ civilians was welcome.

"You already met Private First Class Baxter," Gradian nodded toward the man in question. "The rest of these fine soldiers are Corporal Marx," he gestured toward the other dark-skinned man. "And Privates Second Class Mitchelson, Klein, and Sanders," he introduced the other three in turn, ending with the young blonde, who had finally stopped staring and was looking away uncomfortably.

"Nice to meet you all," Aida smiled cheerfully.

"Likewise," Baxter was the only one to speak up, though almost all of the soldiers nodded or smiled.

"Great. Now that introductions are complete, let's get moving," Gradian suggested, his tone shifting to a more authoritative one. "Baxter, take point. Mitchelson and Klein, you two wheel the gurney and give the asari the chance to rest. Sanders, you're on left flank. Marx, you're right flank. Move out!"

Illitha watched as the Alliance soldiers set themselves to their assigned tasks. She was impressed, truth be told, with the discipline and decisiveness of the trained soldiers. They did as they were told without complaint and moved with purpose. She wished she had a little bit of their discipline. Perhaps if it was part of her personality, her father might not have been so disappointed in her all her life. She sighed.

"Come on, Lith," Aida smiled at her, sliding an arm around her shoulders to give her a gentle squeeze. "Just a little farther and we can all relax."

"D-Did you see that human woman s-staring at me?" Illitha whispered.

"I think she is a new recruit," Aida murmured. "She looks young. We might be the first asari she has seen up close."

"Or maybe she hates non-humans," Illitha suggested.

"I doubt that is it," Aida assured her. "She did not seem to be looking at you with distaste… just curiosity," Aida trailed off. "I would not worry about her being prejudiced."

"How can you be sure?" Illitha asked.

"I cannot," Aida smiled at her. "I just think she looked a little fascinated."

Illitha nodded slowly. She supposed, if the girl had never met a non-human before and always wanted to, finally seeing one up close might lead to a little bit of staring. Still, she knew her friend, and Aida was holding something back. She decided she would keep an eye on the blonde human and try to figure out what was going on in the girl's head.

In the meantime, she allowed the rest of the group to get ahead of her, and she concentrated once more on her barrier. It was time to get back to training. She was determined to master the creation of a barrier sphere. And then she would get to work on learning to slow her falls. Both skills seemed like they would be very useful in the days to come. Assuming the Reapers didn't kill her, she intended to forge herself into a much stronger biotic before this war was over.

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* * *

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**Author's Note: I know these notes all begin the same, but the sentiment is always there: Thank you to everyone who is reading, reveiwing, favoriting, following, or otherwise paying attention to my story. It means a lot to me. I draw my inspiration from your interest, and have been on a great pace for a long time because of it. I'm really glad that my work is amusing some people.**

**As far as this Chapter goes, I don't have a lot to say. Everyone has been drifting generally in the same direction, and thanks to the tram rail being the largest... and only... landmark in the area, the little town at its end is bound to draw people to it eventually. Going forward, on the other hand, I'm getting up to some elements of the story I've been looking forward to for a long time, and I'm excited to finally have some of them written and being published soon. Hopefully the direction of the story will continue to amuse. :)**

**Hope everyone had a great weekend, and that there will be a good week ahead for everyone!**


	24. Chapter 24: Reunions

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Twenty-Four: Reunions

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**Mivian Heights…**

The weather patterns on Terra Nova changed much more rapidly than the days. Over the course of the remaining journey to the end of the tram line, the sky darkened dramatically and heavy rain started to fall across the landscape. Soon Zaeed and his companions were drenched by the torrential downpour. The precipitation also limited visibility somewhat, both by blocking out much of the daylight and due to the haze created by the sheer volume of the rain.

The tram line ended at an elevated station on the very edge of the town, and Zaeed spotted both an enclosed staircase and an elevator that led up to the platform above. The elevator was without power, of course, so he headed for the stairs, rifle at the ready, and peered up into the stairwell. On the first landing, furniture and vending machines had been piled into a barricade. The surface of the makeshift blockade was riddled with bullet holes and scorched in places. Zaeed turned and held his arm out, elbow bent, hand clenched into a fist. Then he opened his hand. He could hear the others in the group scattering to find cover at his signal, and when he glanced back, he saw Salik dragging the quarian with him.

He crept up the stairs toward the barricade, carefully stepping up onto the railing of the stairs to get a look behind it. There were a few motionless husks lying on the opposite side of the pile of debris, and another husk half-a-dozen steps farther up the stairs, but no sign of defenders – living or dead. He stepped down and descended the stairs, hurrying over to where Salik had taken cover.

"Signs of Reaper activity," he reported. "Makeshift barricade and dead husks. No sign of any people."

"Understood," Salik nodded. "Neela'Xara and I will conceal ourselves here. You and vorcha perform a sweep of the town and eliminate any lingering hostiles. Should resistance prove particularly heavy, withdraw. In such a case, we will circumvent the settlement altogether."

"I can't just bypass the town," Neela protested. "My friends might come here."

"Your decision," Salik shrugged. "However, our mission's success is critical. We will not engage any sizeable force of hostile troops based solely on possibility that your companions may search for shelter here. If withdrawing becomes a necessity, you loiter in the area at your own risk. We will move on without you."

Zaeed allowed himself a faint smile, glad that he and Salik were of one mind on this particular issue. His gaze swept over the surrounding area until he spotted the vorcha, and he motioned for the ugly bastard to accompany him. Greck left his hiding spot behind and raised his rifle, moving out to join Zaeed on the search.

The two of them hurried to the buildings that flanked the raised tram station. They found that a makeshift barricade had been constructed across the space between buildings, formed of chair legs, tabletops, bed frames and other furniture fragments all welded together into a web-like fence. It was firmly held in place, bolted or welded to the exterior walls of the buildings on each side. The gap between the next two buildings was likewise sealed off. When they reached the third gap between buildings, however, they found the barricade only half-finished, and numerous pieces of furniture piled up in the area behind it. Zaeed vaulted the waist-high portion that had been completed and then swept his rifle across the area, looking for signs of life.

It seemed clear to him that Reapers wouldn't have been building a fence out of furniture. Which meant it was a civilian project. The question, however, was whether it was started before the Reapers had invaded the town or afterward. There was no way to be sure, but he definitely saw signs of battle in the streets beyond the perimeter buildings. Craters in the pavement, scorch marks on the buildings, shattered windows and bullet holes were just a few of the obvious signs.

He ventured out into the street, quickly ducking inside the closest building in search of any sign of survivors. The structure was empty, and all of the furniture had apparently been dragged out into the street. The next several buildings were pretty much the same. They worked their way along the perimeter of the town first, and Zaeed was surprised when they found neither humans _nor_ Reapers in any of them. He had assumed that no matter which side held the town at present, there would have been evidence of it. But the town was silent as the grave… until they were clearing the buildings overlooking the gorge.

He crept in through a battered down door leading into a simple home, and was beginning to do a sweep of the interior when he heard a sound. He stopped and crouched, aiming his rifle through the adjacent doorway, and he saw a tall, slender shadow pass across the door. He only got a brief look at it, and it was quite dark inside the building, but he was almost positive the silhouette was turian.

He started toward the door, moving very slowly to avoid giving himself away. However, he had only taken a couple of steps before his boot came down on a shard of broken polymer from one of the windows. Even though the material was quite durable, it crunched underfoot. He froze and listened, but the interior of the building had become deathly silent. He realized immediately that he had just given himself away.

The shadow suddenly leaned out from the doorframe with a rifle in hand and fired in his direction. The first few shots ricocheted off of his kinetic shield, and Zaeed dove to the side, rolling behind a counter. He was quick, however, to lean out and return fire, forcing the shadow to duck back into the adjacent room. The moment his opponent was forced into cover, he vaulted the counter and pressed his back against the wall just inside of the door, waiting for the turian Reaper to try returning fire once again.

As he expected, the figure leaned out and fired toward the counter. Zaeed reacted immediately. He grabbed the barrel of the enemy's rifle and yanked outward, causing the turian to stumble into the doorway. Then he kicked the enemy in the stomach, knocking him backward and simultaneously wresting the weapon from his grasp. He tossed the rifle aside and brought his own weapon to bear against the fallen figure. However, the delay caused by disarming the enemy had been costly. He saw an omni-tool flare to life and aim at him, and a moment later an electromagnetic surge blanketed him, overloading his shield and shocking him. Involuntary spasms ran through his muscles, leaving him momentarily paralyzed. The incapacity didn't last long, but the Reaper took full advantage. His foe was on its feet almost immediately, driving an armored shoulder into his midsection, lifting him bodily and driving him into the floor.

A wrestling match ensued between the two. However, it was only a few seconds into the grappling contest that Zaeed realized he had made a mistake. He had assumed he was facing another turian Reaper. When he heard the turian growl something that sounded like "Reaper bastard," however, he realized that it was not a Reaper at all.

"Enough!" He demanded, tightening his grip upon the opponent, but no longer trying to strike him. "I'm not a bloody Reaper!"

The turian struggled for a moment longer, until Zaeed shouted for him to stop once again. Even when he did cease his struggles, he was slow to release his hold upon the mercenary. Finally, the turian sat back, staring angrily down at him. Zaeed returned the turian's glare, slowly getting to his feet.

"You almost shot me," Zaeed growled. "Do you shoot at everything that moves around here?"

"The only things I've seen here have been civilians and Reapers. And the civilians are all barricaded in the library."

"And there's no chance they might come try to find you," Zaeed muttered sarcastically. "You're a bit trigger happy."

"You fired at me," the turian scowled.

"You fired first," Zaeed pointed out. "If I fired first, I wouldn't be calling you an idiot for firing back."

"Who are you? And what are you doing here?" the turian demanded.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Zaeed responded.

The turian crossed his arms and remained silent. Zaeed could see the suspicion in his gaze, so he decided to do something to diffuse the situation, even though he didn't like volunteering information or offering the first olive branch.

"Zaeed Massani," he introduced himself. "I'm a mercenary. Heading south with my employer. And you are?"

"Prathus Ganarius," the turian finally answered.

"How long have you been here?" Zaeed asked.

"Not long. We were just starting to fortify the place."

"Those barricades are your work?"

"Yeah," Prathus nodded. "Not enough people to watch them all, but some kind of barrier seemed better than none at all."

"You mentioned civilians. How many?"

"If you're moving south, why does it matter?" the suspicion returned to Prathus's gaze.

"Because there's another merc here helping me search the buildings," Zaeed muttered. "It would be a good idea to let us know how many friendly people are in the area, just so there aren't any accidents."

"Four. One family and an orphan," Prathus finally said. "A man, a woman, a teenager and a child."

"Human! Found a truck!" the growling voice of the vorcha shouted from outside.

"Your fellow merc?" Prathus asked. "That truck belongs to the humans. They gave me and Candice a ride here."

Zaeed nodded, bending and picking up his rifle. Then he reached for the fallen Mattock that the turian had been using, frowning as he picked it up and offered it back to him. He really preferred the Mattock to the Alliance-issue Avenger he was carrying, but he doubted it would engender trust if he kept it. The turian took the rifle and looked it over to make sure it wasn't damaged before swinging it over his shoulder to the back-mounted maglock on his armor.

"I'm guessing you searched most of the town already," Zaeed voiced his thoughts. "So I can inform my employer we're clear?"

"We did a quick search," Prathus nodded. "Found a few husks… or rather, they found us. And the odd Reaper device here and there. But we haven't searched every building from top to bottom yet."

"Right then," Zaeed turned and headed out into the rain, where he found the vorcha stalking along the street, taking a quick look into the buildings he passed.

"Found a truck," the vorcha repeated when he spotted Zaeed. Then he fell silent, staring over Zaeed's shoulder. "You found turians."

"One," Zaeed nodded. "The truck belongs to civilians hiding here. Go get Salik. Tell him we're clear and have a handful of civilians in the town. They're all in the library."

"Civilians," Greck growled. "That means it safe here."

Zaeed snorted and shook his head, resisting the urge to comment on the vorcha's general stupidity. "Go get Salik."

The vorcha just growled and stalked away. Zaeed glanced around, trying to figure out which direction he should head to find the library, since Prathus had mentioned that the other civilians were there. He turned to face the turian, intending to ask for directions.

"Working with a vorcha must be fun," Prathus commented sarcastically.

"There were two at the start," Zaeed muttered. "I'm rather glad we're down to one, actually. Which way to the library?"

"Follow me," Prathus gestured. "Why are you guys headed south?"

"It's a job. Our employer needs something from a construction zone down there," Zaeed decided to be a little vague. He didn't need a turian demanding to go along to loot the Prothean ruins, or otherwise causing trouble because he disagreed with their goal.

"During a war?" Prathus turned to regard him warily. "What could possibly be that important?"

"I'm just security," Zaeed lied. "Not my business."

The turian fell silent for the remainder of the trip to the library. Once they reached their destination, Zaeed looked the structure over with a critical eye. It was obvious that the building had seen some damage, but the windows had been barricaded and the structure had obviously been fortified to cover up damage and weak points. He considered it a smart move. The civilians had one structure that would be relatively safe and resistant to assault if the Reapers dropped more forces on their doorstep.

Prathus immediately went inside, but Zaeed waited out front until he could see his employer, Greck and the quarian approaching. Once he was certain that they had spotted him and thus knew their destination, he followed the turian into the building, glad to get out of the rain.

Just inside the doorway, a human man was seated in a chair, talking to Prathus excitedly. He looked over when Zaeed entered, and he was on his feet almost immediately. The expression upon his face suggested relief. He extended a hand to Zaeed, and the mercenary shook it.

"Are you with the Alliance?" the man asked eagerly. "My name's Brian."

"Sorry," Zaeed shook his head. "I'm Zaeed Massani. And I'm not with the Alliance. Just passing through."

"Passing through?" Brian repeated, obviously disappointed. He shifted his gaze to Prathus. "You said soldiers had arrived."

"I didn't mean Alliance. He's a mercenary. Him and his employer are headed south," Prathus explained.

"Oh," Brain sighed, and then offered a little smile. "Well, come on in. You can rest here until you're ready to leave."

Zaeed nodded and followed the human into the building's interior, where he found the rest of the civilians waiting. There was one woman with long, light-brown hair and dark circles under her eyes, and a teenage girl with hair the same color, which was cut into a cute bob style. A younger girl with blonde hair was sitting in a chair in the corner, looking like she was half-asleep. He stood silently while Brian performed the introductions.

"Are you part of a rescue team?" the woman Brian had introduced as Maria asked anxiously.

"Sorry," Zaeed shook his head. "I'm just passing through."

"Passing through?" the teenage girl, Sam, repeated. "But you could help us!"

"I-"

"He is working for me," Salik's voice cut him off. Zaeed turned and saw the salarian, the vorcha and the quarian entering the room. "And I cannot linger here to assist you, I am sorry to say. I have a task to complete, and it is of paramount importance that-"

"Prathus!" the quarian suddenly cried, cutting the salarian off. She pushed past him and ran to the turian, throwing her arms around him. "You're alive! I was starting to worry that something happened to you!"

"Xara!" the turian was obviously surprised. "I knew you would get off of the ship. Where are the others? Did everyone escape?"

"More or less," Neela sighed. "We need to talk. A lot has happened."

"No kidding. There are some rooms upstairs where we can talk," Prathus nodded, gesturing for the quarian to precede him from the room.

Once the two were gone, the humans resumed their complaints about Salik's insistence that they had to continue southward. Zaeed collapsed into a nearby chair, doing his best to tune out the pleading of the girls. He already knew that there was absolutely no chance that his employer would give in to their demands. He certainly did understand their insistence on the extra help, but they were just a handful of civilians. In the scheme of things, their lives meant nothing. Stopping Cerberus was far more important.

Zaeed hadn't slept in well over twenty-four hours, and was on the verge of dozing off in his chair within minutes. However, just when his eyes were drifting closed, he heard a strange, echoing roar from outside. He bolted upright in his chair and glanced at Salik, who he could tell had recognized the cry as well. They'd heard it in the city.

A harvester. The Reapers had arrived.

* * *

**Approaching Mivian Heights…**

Selura kept her right arm pressed close against her body, trying to keep from jarring it as she walked. Over the course of the long trek from the hills north of F.O.B. Alpha-5, she'd come to realize why she was supposed to have remained in bed for another day. Her arm wasn't up to the sort of abuse it took simply by being jounced up and down due to the natural motion of walking. Every hour, the pain grew worse. It had become so bad that it was almost all she could think about anymore. Even her worries about Neela's welfare were being pushed to the back of her mind by the persistent throbbing. And given how she felt about the quarian that was quite a feat.

She was so focused on her arm and how much she wanted to lie down somewhere out of the rain that she never saw the shadow that passed over their heads. It wasn't until she heard the startled cries around her and a horrible roar from somewhere overhead that she realized they were in danger. She glanced up and saw a strange, long-necked creature formed of a ghastly combination of flesh and technology circling around and soaring toward them.

There was a wide opening at the front of the creature's head where its mouth should have been, and even as it approached, she saw crimson light appear within that orifice and intensify. Her stomach lurched at the sight, as if her body more quickly understood what was coming than her head. The Alliance soldiers around her scattered, and Aida and Illitha grabbed the gurney, which the soldiers had just abandoned, running toward the town with it. Selura stood rooted in place, realizing that she should be running, but unable to force herself into motion.

A volley of crimson blasts peppered the area. Selura saw one of the humans fall to a direct strike. The second shot hit the ground inches away from her feet. The force of the blast sent her sailing backward, and when she hit the ground, pain exploded through her arm and shoulder, and the breath was knocked out of her body. She rolled around on the ground, clutching her injured arm and trying desperately to draw a breath. She saw stars.

"We don't have the firepower to deal with it! Run to the buildings and find cover!" Gradian's voice thundered from directly above her. She was seized by her good arm and jerked roughly to her feet, then given a shove that almost sent her to the ground again.

She stumbled toward the buildings, which were only a few hundred meters distant now, with tears of pain streaming down her cheeks. At first, she ran in a straight line, but Gradian was quick to yell at her, telling her to run in a zigzag pattern and make her path unpredictable. It was well that he did so. No sooner did she veer off to her right than a blast from the flying beast struck the ground directly on her former path. Had she stayed on course, it would have struck her in the back.

Weapons fire echoed around her. The Alliance soldiers were fleeing for the buildings, but they were doing so in short sprints, stopping to fire a few shots at their attacker between dashes. Selura had lost track of Illitha and Aida, and she hoped that they were managing to get the captain's pod through the grass without too much difficulty. If there was ever a moment when the stasis pod became a dangerous inconvenience, this was it.

A massive ball of crimson light fell to the ground ahead of her, exploding with a flash and a strange, metallic thud. Selura, who had not yet seen this particular phenomenon, kept running toward the impact zone, assuming that it was nothing more than another missed shot, if perhaps a bit slower and much larger than the others. She was therefore completely unprepared when a husk dashed out of the smoke ahead of her and leapt upon her, driving her once more into the dirt.

A solid fist slammed into her jaw a couple of times, and she raised her good arm in an attempt to ward off the blows. With her other arm injured and under a relentless physical assault, however, she couldn't do anything but shield herself from the attack. She had no way of activating one of the defensive programs in her omni-tool, and she had no training as a hand-to-hand fighter. Facing the very real possibility of being beaten to death, she was terrified. She covered her head with her arm in an attempt to shield herself from the worst of the beating, only to feel the creature's fist drive into her ribs repeatedly, forcing the air out of her lungs blow by blow.

There was a dull boom from right above her and pressure washed over her, forcing her further into the dirt. However, in the same instant, the weight of the creature atop her suddenly vanished. Confused, she uncovered her head and looked up, only to see the husk rising from the grass a good ten meters away from her. She quickly scrambled to her feet, activating her omni-tool and bringing up her incendiary dispersion program. Before she could take aim, one of the Alliance soldiers moved up beside her and leveled his rifle at the husk. A small sphere of distortion rocketed out of a port in the rifle, striking the husk in the chest and sending it flying backward as if it had been struck by a wrecking ball.

"Come on!" the stocky, olive-skinned soldier grabbed her arm and pulled her forward.

She kept close to her savior during the remainder of the run toward the buildings. More husks rushed out of the tall grass around them as they sprinted along, but with her omni-tool ready, Selura was able to incinerate the few that got too close. Before long, the buildings loomed up ahead of her. The promise of safety sent a surge of adrenaline through her, and she sprinted toward the waiting cover with renewed energy.

* * *

**Upper Library Balcony, Mivian Heights…**

"So you don't know if they're still alive," Prathus frowned at Neela.

The quarian shook her head, feeling a familiar queasiness fill her stomach. She'd been experiencing this same sick feeling almost constantly since she found the Alliance base in ruins and realized that her friends – and her girlfriend – might have been killed in the attack. She sank into a nearby chair and put her head in her hands, cursing herself for ever leaving them alone. She had been giving Prathus the short version of events following the attack on the _Sileya_, and the picture was bleak.

"At least you're alive, Xara," Prathus's tone was gentle. "And if I know T'Zari and Dalinas, they'll have managed to get out of there alive too."

"I hope so," Neela sighed. "But even if they did, how will we ever find them again?"

"They might find us," Prathus suggested. "That tram rail outside runs for kilometers, and it's an obvious sign of civilization. If they find it, I'm sure they'll follow it looking for shelter."

"Maybe," Neela nodded. She wanted to believe it, but not much had gone in their favor over the last couple days. She paused. Had it really only been a couple days according to their normal schedule? The days on this planet seemed eons long, and with all that had happened, it felt like it had been months.

The echoing cry of the harvester outside distracted Neela from her gloomy thoughts. She raised her head and looked at Prathus, whose mandibles were twitching in a manner that suggested he was agitated. She stood up, watching him uncertainly.

"What is that?"

"A Reaper transport," Prathus answered. "One of them dropped off a bunch of ground troops at a farm shortly after I landed."

The turian reached over his shoulder and pulled his rifle, activating the VI targeting systems and running for the door. Neela followed, initiating the electromagnetic pulse generator in her omni-tool as she hurried down the stairs. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Zaeed and Salik were just hurrying outside, and Neela quickly grabbed Salik's shoulder.

"Where is my crate of supplies?"

"Insufficient time to cobble together salvaged tech," the salarian pulled away from her grasp.

"There are submachine guns in there," Neela said firmly. "I need a weapon!"

"Deposited the crate in a building near the tram station. Retrieving it is an inefficient use of time," Salik shook his head. "Use this," he added, pulling his Carnifex hand cannon from its spot at his hip and tossing it to her.

Neela nodded and hit the trigger to expand the weapon from its compact mode, following the others out into the rain. She scanned the skies for some sign of the Reaper transport, and finally spotted a winged creature circling something out in the grasslands west of the town. She recognized it as the same type of creature that had attacked her while she was scouting in the Armanis, and she frowned. She knew the sort of firepower the creature had at its disposal. But whatever it was attacking was outside of the settlement's perimeter.

Everyone ran toward the edge of town, taking shelter amongst the buildings. Neela activated her visor's vision-enhancement features, magnifying her view so that she could figure out what the creature was so focused on destroying. At first, she couldn't see anything in the tall grass, but eventually she spotted a figure in a blue uniform running through the field, desperately trying to avoid the barrage of fire from above.

"There are Alliance soldiers out there!" she cried.

"Indeed," Salik confirmed, staring through the glowing blue of his holographic visor. "I count five humans, three asari."

"Asari?" Neela repeated, anxiously scanning the field. Sure enough, she soon spotted Aida and Illitha pushing the Prothean stasis pod through the tall grass, and she smiled in relief. She didn't see Selura, but two of her friends were alive and safe, and if the salarian said he'd spotted a third, she knew it had to be Selura.

"Watch it! Incoming ground troops!" Prathus shouted.

Neela watched as a massive crimson ball of light streaked toward the ground. Moments later, cannibals and husks loomed out of the smoke rising from the point of impact. About half of their forces spread out into the field, while the other half headed for the town. Neela tensed, taking aim with her borrowed pistol.

Husks charged out of the grass toward their position, and within moments, they were under fire from cannibals as well. Neela pressed close to the building she was using as cover, taking aim at the closest husk and firing. Around her, Salik, Zaeed and Prathus opened fire as well, and the vorcha dashed out into the field with an omni-blade activated. Several husks and cannibals fell within moments, but it wasn't long before grenades started sailing into the spaces between buildings where Neela and her companions were entrenched, and they were forced to abandon their positions and fall back into the streets.

Prathus tapped her on the shoulder and motioned to the overturned remains of a skycar nearby. Neela nodded, and the two of them took cover behind it, waiting for the Reapers to press their advantage and enter the town. Moments later, a cannibal lumbered out from the alley between the buildings, and Neela and Prathus both opened fire. The bloated Reaper creature collapsed in the street. Another one dashed from the alley and almost immediately started to devour its fallen kin, only to meet the same fate while it was distracted by its meal.

"They're not very smart, are they?" Neela mused aloud.

"No," Prathus shrugged. "But in large enough numbers, there wouldn't be time to kill them while they're eating."

Neela nodded, waiting for more Reapers to appear. She wasn't disappointed. In short order, about a dozen more emerged from between nearby buildings. Neela took aim and fired a few shots, gunning down a nearby husk, but before she could take aim at another of them, the Reaper forces broke off, retreating into the alleys. Her brows rose.

"Are they breaking off the attack?" she asked.

"I don't know," Prathus admitted. "Maybe they're circling our position. Watch the flanks."

"What the hell?" Zaeed demanded, emerging from a doorway nearby. "They broke off their attack. _Again_."

A slender form seemed to materialize right next to Neela, startling her. She whirled around and brought her gun up, thinking at first that it was some kind of Reaper, only to have a hand seize her wrist. The realization that it was only the salarian caused her to sigh in relief.

"Would like to have my weapon back, should it be agreeable to you," he muttered. "Also, try to identify your targets before firing."

"Sorry," Neela muttered. Her gaze fell to the salarian's hip, where a strange pistol was suspended. "You have another gun."

"Indeed," Salik insistently pulled the Carnifex from her hand. "Experimental prototype developed by STG. However, ammunition is specialized and extremely expensive. Cannot afford to squander it on Reaper shock troops. Need my primary weapon. Retrieved this from your cache," he added, pulling one of the salvaged submachine guns from behind his back and holding it up for her.

"They broke off again," Zaeed repeated, keeping his weapon trained on the buildings. "I don't like that they keep doing that. I feel like they're playing goddamn games."

"Undoubtedly shifted focus to the approaching Alliance forces. Trying to cut them off from the shelter of the town," Salik suggested.

"Selura!" Neela cried, dashing off toward the alleys before anyone could stop her. She heard Prathus shout for her to wait, but she ignored him.

When she reached the alley, she found two cannibals crouched at the far end, firing out into the field beyond. She scowled at the sight of them, filled with fury over the thought that they were trying to keep the people she cared about isolated from safety. She activated the systems in her submachine gun, and then extended her omni-tool, blanketing the area with an electromagnetic pulse. The pulse also generated a significant electrical charge, which she knew would momentarily paralyze both of them.

As she expected, both bloated figures went rigid when the electricity surged through them. She squeezed the trigger on the submachine gun, expecting it to fire in a fully automatic barrage. However, to her surprise, it seemed to fire only three shots before stopping, which was enough to disable one of the cannibals, but not both. The second one, recovering from the momentary shock, whirled and fired upon her. The bullets were deflected by her shield, but she was forced to dive out into the street and roll to the side to get out of the line of fire.

Fortunately, Prathus had been close on her heels. Even as she was diving out of the way, he took position in front of the alleyway and fired on the remaining cannibal, making short work of the creature. Then he offered a hand to her.

"You need to be more careful, Xara," he growled.

"Something is wrong with this thing," Neela held up the weapon. "It ran out of ammo."

"You're kidding."

"It only fired a few shots and then stopped."

"Xara, it has a selector switch. It can fire in fully automatic mode or three-round bursts," he explained. "The recoil on those things tends to be pretty dramatic, so most people use three-round bursts."

"Oh," Neela bowed her head sheepishly. "I didn't know that."

A figure stumbled out of the alley, distracting her from any further discussion of her foolishness. She raised her weapon, but it was only a reflex. The figure was not a Reaper, but a dark-skinned man in an Alliance uniform. Behind him, Aida staggered into the street, dragging a gurney behind her, upon which the stasis pod was resting. Illitha came into view a moment later, as she was pushing the gurney. Neela smiled in relief.

"Aida! Illitha! I'm so glad you're okay," she cried, hurrying over to them.

Aida looked up, obviously surprised to see her. They embraced briefly, and Illitha staggered over to put her arms around both of them. The shy engineer looked like she was on the verge of tears, but was smiling in a manner that suggested relief.

"Where's Selura?" Neela asked, anxiousness replacing her relief.

"We all got separated out there," Aida admitted.

"I have to find her," Neela muttered.

She dashed into the alley. Behind her, she could hear Prathus greeting the two asari, and heard astonishment in Aida's voice, even if she could no longer make out the words. She put her friends out of her mind for the moment. They were safe. She had to find Selura.

The search didn't take long. As she reached the end of the alley, she almost crashed headlong into a muscular figure in an Alliance uniform, who was just entering the space. She staggered to a stop, stepping aside to let him pass, and then paused. Behind him, she spotted Selura's tear-streaked face, and she felt a sob well up in her own throat.

"Selura," she whispered.

"Thank the Goddess," Selura breathed.

Neela reached out and pulled the asari into her arms, clinging to her as if her life depended upon it. Tears of relief spilled down her cheeks, and Selura sobbed as they held onto each other. Neela drew back slightly, bringing her hands up to gently cradle the asari's face. She stared into her eyes and smiled.

"I thought I'd lost you," Neela whispered. "When I got back to the F.O.B. and saw what was left…"

"I was just glad you weren't there," Selura murmured, pulling her into another tight embrace.

Neela would have happily stayed there forever, holding the asari close, if not for the sudden roar of the harvester overhead. The sound reminded her of the danger they were in, and she stepped away from the asari, grabbing her hand and pulling her along. She ran back into the streets of the town, looking for a building in which to take shelter. Most of the others were headed toward the library, it seemed, so she followed them. She wasn't sure how they would get rid of the winged Reaper, but it was a problem she would leave to those with more battlefield experience than herself.

* * *

**Library Basement, Mivian Heights…**

Aida sighed wearily, stepping away from the gurney and the mangled form of the human that lay upon it. She had done everything she could for him, and while she was confident he would live, she was uncertain that he would be happy about it. His right leg had been a total loss. Perhaps, if they'd had a proper surgeon, anesthetics, anti-inflamatories, and the proper materials for internal braces to realign the crushed bones and support their structure, he might have kept it. Under the circumstances, Aida's only choice had been to amputate it, lest her patient die from loss of blood or infection. The worst part had been the lack of anesthetic treatment. The man had screamed until he passed out, while three of his fellow soldiers held him down.

The rest of his wounds had been extensive, including severe plasma burns across much of his back, broken ribs, multiple external lacerations, and a lacerated kidney. She had been working for hours to save his life and had used up the rest of their medigel in the process. Sadly, now that she was finished with her work, even though he would live, she didn't feel like she'd accomplished much of a victory. In fact, she felt like she was going to be sick.

"Thanks, doc," Baxter put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. "I know you did your best."

"Thank you for your assistance," she offered a weak smile. "All of you," her gaze went to the other two men that had been helping.

They all nodded to her as they filed out of the room. Aida went to the sink in the corner and set to work washing the blood off of her hands. She had been delighted to learn that the building's water filters and internal tanks were still working; she was doubly happy for their functionality now. She didn't like having _any_ blood on her hands, but human blood was even more unpleasant. It was thicker than asari blood, and the dark red hue made it even less appealing, simply because it was such an alien color.

Once she felt her hands were adequately clean, she ran one last medscan on her patient and then headed upstairs to the ground floor. The basement staircase opened into the main lobby of the building, and as she emerged from the doorway, she spotted Gradian at the door. She walked over to him and peered outside.

The Reaper harvester was still flying around outside, circling the town ceaselessly. However, the creature hadn't attacked in hours. It just circled. And circled. Gradian glanced over at her and smiled faintly.

"They tell me you saved Mitchelson's life. Thank you for that."

"His life, but not his leg," Aida sighed. "I am sorry I could not do more."

"You did enough. He may not be able to fight anymore, but if we win this war, he'll be able to go home to his fiancee. Believe me he'll thank you for that. And so will she."

Aida nodded, though she was unconvinced. Life was a precious gift, but she knew that the loss of a limb would be a hard thing for anyone to cope with at first. She would have preferred to be able to save it. She headed off into the main archive, where the rest of the collective group had gathered.

The civilian family was all gathered together off in one corner, where they had set up a quartet of beds salvaged from other buildings. The youngest of them, a blonde girl Prathus had called Candice, was curled up and sleeping on one of the beds, while the other three talked quietly. Closer to the door, the Alliance soldiers were gathered around a table, performing maintenance on their equipment. Aida passed them and headed directly toward the far side of the room, where her friends were gathered together, talking with the mercenaries. Her eyes went immediately to Neela and Selura, and she had to smile. They were sitting together on the edge of a table, Neela with her arm around Selura, and the asari with her head resting on the quarian's shoulder.

"Reconsider, please," the salarian mercenary was saying when Aida approached. "Your assistance would be invaluable to our group in successfully completing our mission. Compensation for your trouble would be ample."

"No," Neela shook her head. "I'm staying with my friends. I won't abandon them to run off and fight Cerberus with you."

"She doesn't want to help," a human with a heavily scarred face spoke up in a harsh voice. "We're better off without her if she'd be helping under protest."

"What is going on?" Aida asked curiously.

"Salik wants Neela to accompany his group when they head south to their destination," Selura explained. "But she would rather stay with us," the asari smiled when she said the last. It was clear to Aida that the scientist was happy that Neela wanted to stay close.

"Why would you need Neela's help?" Aida turned her attention to the salarian, wondering what she was missing. "She is not a soldier."

"Was made aware of this fact," Salik nodded. "However, was also made aware of her proficiency in piloting spacecraft. When we confront Cerberus at our destination, an experienced pilot would be a tremendous advantage, should we manage to seize control of one of their Atlas mechs."

"Cerberus?" Aida glanced at Illitha, who looked distinctly uncomfortable. "What is Cerberus doing here?"

"Human workers excavating a site in search of mineral deposits unearthed a valuable artifact. Cerberus seized control of the site, presumably in hopes of obtaining secrets from the artifact in question. Should Cerberus obtain the data they seek, it could result in disastrous consequences for any faction opposing them."

"Maybe if you were a little more specific," Prathus suggested. "You keep using the words 'site' and 'artifact'. If we knew what was so important that you'd be undertaking this mission while there are more pressing things to worry about, like Reapers…"

"Salik, this is your bloody show," the human mercenary spoke up again, "but if you really think we need the help, just tell them everything. Otherwise, drop it so we can get some sleep before we set off. Cerberus might already have what they need. We've wasted too much time already."

"Unlikely," the salarian shook his head. "Reaching the artifact will take Cerberus several days at minimum, I would guess, and the site has been in their possession for a couple of days at most. Realistically, they would be unable to claim their prize for another day at least."

"Wait," the human frowned. "Why would it take them so long to get the data? Is it encrypted?"

Salik looked around at the assembled group, all of whom were now staring at him. After a moment, he blew out his breath in a sigh and frowned.

"Very well. Disclosure of all relevant information seems to be necessary. Cerberus has seized control of the dig site because the humans uncovered Prothean ruins buried in the mountainside. Initial reports from the humans suggested that a data cache might be located within the ruins."

"Prothean?" Selura sat upright, suddenly _extremely_ interested. Aida shared the sudden interest.

"Precisely. The corporation responsible for the discovery ceased excavation when the ruins were discovered, presumably so that proper experts could be contacted and concessions could be negotiated in exchange for the find. Which means that the ruins were largely unexplored when the site was classified and all workers were quarantined."

"So it's not just a simple matter of walking in and accessing the data," the human merc nodded.

"Now you understand. The ruins would have been sealed for fifty-thousand years. Over such a span, tectonic shifts and wear would have collapsed certain areas, mechanisms would become damaged, power systems would fail, and so forth. Cerberus will have to work to excavate the ruins and clear a path to the data cache's control systems. Even then, without knowledge of Prothean language and technology, the search for appropriate data would be time-consuming."

"What sort of data would this cache contain?" Selura asked.

"Impossible to be certain," Salik shrugged. "Could contain any sort of data imaginable. Weapons schematics, defensive plans, cultural data, census records… Possibilities are endless. STG operatives were unable to determine the nature of Cerberus interest in these records."

"So the cache could include information about Prothean medical technology," Aida guessed. Her eyes met Selura's, and she could see that the scientist had already come to the same conclusion.

"Possibly," Salik nodded.

"We are coming with you," Aida said firmly.

"Negative," the salarian shook his head. "While additional assistance would be helpful, I refuse to take a group larger than five or six. The success of this initiative will depend heavily on stealth and infiltration, at least until the moment of assault. A large group is counterproductive."

"We need access to that data cache," Selura said insistently.

"Our captain is held in stasis inside a Prothean stasis pod," Aida added. "We need to find the proper signal to end the stasis and trigger the revival routines."

"And you said you need the help," Prathus added.

"We all have some level of expertise," Selura volunteered. "We can be useful."

Salik was silent, regarding each of them in turn, his gaze abstracted. Aida refused to allow him to deny them the opportunity to search through the Prothean data, but she held off on saying anything further for the moment, giving him time to think. This was precisely the stroke of luck they needed. A Prothean data cache on Terra Nova… Finally, something had gone right.

"Would consider taking three, but will not agree to bring your entire group," Salik finally announced. "Quarian, asari, and turian only," he added, pointing to Neela, Illitha, and Prathus in turn. "Others should stay here to assist Alliance personnel."

"M-Me?" Illitha's eyes widened. "No. I… I cannot… I _will not_ go."

Aida understood why Illitha was hesitant to put herself in a situation where she might face Cerberus again. She didn't blame her friend for refusing to go. Before Aida could say anything in support of her friend, however, Selura chimed in.

"She should stay. I must go."

"Unacceptable," Salik frowned. "Your injury is too large a liability. Quarian and turian will be sufficient."

"I won't go without Selura," Neela said firmly.

Salik bowed his head, his expression one of frustration. "Demands are irrelevant. Bringing an injured individual into a fight with Cerberus is an unacceptable risk. Better to do without extra help than to bring along liabilities."

"I have to be the one to go through the data cache. I am familiar with the schematics of the Prothean stasis pods. I would be able to find the relevant data most quickly. I may be able to determine what sort of data Cerberus is looking for as well, if I can get a look at their search data," Selura insisted.

"I want to be there as well," Aida insisted.

"Enough!" Salik stood up, glaring. "Operational command of this mission is mine. Participation is at my discretion. If access to the Prothean data core is necessary for your companion, the participants and strategy will be chosen by me. Or you can all stay behind and the Prothean data remains beyond your reach."

"We could just follow you," Selura pointed out.

Salik activated his omni-tool, and his form shimmered and vanished beneath the holographic concealment of a tactical cloak. "Good luck," the salarian's voice issued seemingly out of thin air.

Selura stared in amazement; she obviously had never seen the technology in use. Aida frowned at the display. If the salarian really wanted to lose them, it was pretty clear he could do it. And that, of course, was assuming he didn't just order his mercs to shoot them if they tried to follow. To save the captain, Aida was willing to do what was necessary to get access to the Prothean data core. Even if it meant staying behind.

"Fine," she said at last. "I cannot speak for everyone, but I, for one, will agree to stay behind if it is necessary to do so. As long as we get the data we need to save the captain."

"I'm in," Neela nodded.

"I will not be a liability," Selura's tone was firm. "And I truly believe I am the best chance we have to find the right data. But I will do as I am asked for the sake of obtaining the data."

"Count me in or out as you wish," Prathus nodded.

"Not me," Illitha said softly. "I-I am sorry. I cannot face C-Cerberus again."

Salik's form wavered into view, and he stared at Selura speculatively. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, he finally nodded once. "Very well. Assistance of the quarian, turian, and you…," his eyes remained upon the young scientist. "The others must stay behind. We depart in five hours. Suggest indulging in some sleep while the opportunity exists."

Aida saw Selura smile and exchange glances with Neela. The human and vorcha mercenaries both rose from their seats and headed for the lobby, no doubt in search of a quiet place to sleep. Salik walked to a table in the corner and sat down, working on his omni-tool. Prathus stood up and stretched.

"I'll be upstairs," he announced, and then headed for the door.

"I am sorry, Aida," Illitha said softly, her eyes upon the floor. "I-I want to help the captain, but…"

"I understand, Lith," Aida smiled. "After what happened to you on Noveria, I do not blame you for avoiding Cerberus."

"Thanks," Illitha offered a wan smile.

"We are going to find a bed upstairs somewhere," Selura announced, sliding off of the table and grabbing Neela's hand. The two of them left the room together.

"A bed?" Illitha repeated. "Just one?"

Aida and Illitha's eyes met, and they both grinned. While Aida was sure the statement hadn't been intended in such an intimate manner as it sounded, she was happy that the two of them had found each other and were expressing their mutual affection. She could imagine the two of them curled up together somewhere, and the thought warmed her heart.

Now if only they could get the captain out of stasis and she could talk the elder asari into a similar arrangement… She blushed at the thought.

"Get some rest, Lith," Aida suggested, wrenching her thoughts away from the lustful turn they'd taken. "I will go and check on Mitchelson, and then I plan to get some sleep as well."

Illitha nodded and slipped an arm around her, giving her a gentle hug. Then the engineer headed for the door, leaving Aida alone. The medic sighed. They'd just gotten back together, and now their group was about to split up once again. She hoped that next time the reunion wouldn't be so difficult to orchestrate. She headed for the basement, and as she passed through the lobby, she glanced out through the door, where she spotted the silhouette of the harvester still circling. She was afraid that if they didn't get rid of the flying monstrosity, it would draw more Reapers to their location. She hoped the Alliance soldiers had a plan.

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: Thank you again for everyone who has favorited, followed, read, commented, recommended or otherwise paid attention to my story. It's really inspiring and gratifying to see people reading my work and enjoying it. I can only promise to do my best to continue holding your interest. Also, since someone pointed out last Chapter that I didn't give a deadline for this one, I will get that out of the way now: The next Chapter should be up on Wednesday. :)**

**I'm happy to have reached the point where the entire crew is back together... and yet now they're planning to split up again! Sorry for that! Also, I am aware that some bits of information weren't specifically highlighted in this Chapter, but hopefully anything that feels like it should have been mentioned during the reunions will be covered to everyone's satisfaction in upcoming Chapters. Of course, any comments or concerns regarding the reunions and issues to be mentioned are welcome. Not that I'd give out spoilers, but who knows? Someone may point out something that I've missed. I'd like to think I have all bases covered, but I'm not infallible. No matter how much I'd like to think I am. :)**

**Since I'm now rambling, I'll wrap up my comments by saying that I hope you all have a great weekend. And I hope you all enjoyed this latest installment of the story!**


	25. Chapter 25: Illitha

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Twenty-five: Illitha

.

**Upper Library Level, Mivian Heights…**

Illitha sat quietly on a cushioned bench on the upper level of the library, staring across the large, open area toward the opposite side of the room. She imagined that there had once been tables and chairs populating the majority of the area, but they had been removed to be used as part of the barricades that reinforced the doors and replaced the shattered windows. In their place, several salvaged beds were spread through the room.

In one such bed, Selura and Neela were curled up together, the quarian with her arms wrapped around the asari in a protective embrace. They looked so cute together, at least in Illitha's opinion, that she couldn't help smiling. However, she felt a tiny pang of jealousy at the sight too. She didn't begrudge either of them their happiness; she was genuinely happy for both of them. But their blossoming relationship made the young engineer feel a bit lonelier than usual. She supposed it was normal for someone who was alone, to be made more aware of their solitude by the sight of a couple in love.

She sighed softly and drew her knees up to her chest. Romance had never been in the cards for her. As an awkward and solitary young asari, she had been isolated in her years at school, shunned by her more social and 'normal' peers. Her issues with her father had further reinforced her sense of isolation because she felt like something was wrong with her. As a result, her one and only brush with romance had started – and ended – when she confessed a romantic interest to a fellow classmate the year before she completed her basic education and moved on to university. The asari in question had been sweet and gentle when she made her disinterest clear, but it had still hurt. Illitha never put herself in that position again.

But she wanted to find love. She hoped she might one day. Who didn't want the sort of relationship that Neela and Selura were building? She closed her eyes and tried to get comfortable on the sofa, doing her best to shift her thoughts to anything but romance. She wasn't having much luck. And though she was exhausted, she hadn't had much luck in falling asleep either. Her gaze shifted to a bed closer to the seat she occupied, where Aida was sleeping peacefully. Prathus was asleep in one of the research rooms, she knew, which left her as the sole former crewmember of the _Sileya_ that wasn't getting any rest.

She shook her head and got up, heading for the stairs. If she was going to be awake, there was no sense in sitting in the dark, brooding over the lack of romance in her life. The least she could do was find some way to make herself useful.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she found the young blonde human woman standing watch at the door. The sound of her footsteps seemed to draw the girl's attention, because she turned her head as Illitha approached. The human stared thoughtfully at her, and then averted her gaze, returning to staring out through the door.

"I-Is the Reaper still out there?" Illitha asked as she drew nearer.

"Yeah," the woman nodded.

The engineer frowned. She had been hoping to go for a walk to unwind a bit. However, the combination of the Reaper still circling and the continuing rainfall made the idea a bit less appealing. Still, she wasn't sure what else to do. A quick glance through the doorway into the main library room showed that the rest of the Alliance soldiers and most of the mercenaries were asleep. Only the salarian seemed to be active.

"Forgive me for asking, but aren't you the asari that called Captain Tarrislav an idiot?" the blonde woman suddenly asked.

"Uh…" Illitha cringed, wondering if perhaps she had offended some of the soldiers with her opinion during that little confrontation. "I-I may have said something like th-that."

"You were right," the girl said softly. "We had to evacuate, but that was the dumbest plan I've ever been forced to follow."

Illitha nodded. "Th-the smoke was a good idea for cover. B-But from where… uh… From our vantage, it seemed l-like the Reaper still did a lot of damage."

"No kidding," the girl's expression hardened. "I lost some good friends out there. People I went through basic training with."

"I am sorry," Illitha said softly.

"I just wanted you to know that some of us appreciated you speaking up and challenging the decision," the girl admitted. "Insubordination is frowned upon in the Alliance, or some of us might have said something similar."

"I understand," Illitha shuffled her feet uncomfortably. "If I could have… I… I just wish I could have done more."

"You did what you could," the girl shrugged. "No one could ask more than that."

Illitha was about to say something else, but the high-pitched whine of Trident fighter engines caught her attention. She glanced out through the door and saw a pair of Alliance fighters streak into view, attacking the harvester that had been circling the settlement. All three combatants moved out of their field of vision within moments, but Illitha was immensely cheered by the sight of Alliance air support. The sound of weapons fire and the harvester's screeches roused most of the soldiers and mercs from their sleep, and Illitha glanced anxiously upstairs, hoping that the sounds wouldn't be so disruptive on the upper floor. Her friends needed rest.

"Report," Gradian barked as he stumbled into the lobby.

"Sir," the blonde saluted. "Trident fighters are engaging the harvester. Our airspace may be clear."

"Excellent," the Lieutenant nodded. "Sanders, you stay on watch here. Marx and Baxter, get your gear and do a full sweep of the town. If we have more forces incoming, I want to be sure this place is secure."

"Aye aye!" three voices responded in perfect unison.

"I-I should see where they land… They might need repairs," Illitha suggested.

"Good thinking, Illitha," the Lieutenant nodded. "My guess is that they'll choose the tram line as a landing strip. It's elevated and has plenty of open space for maneuvering. Why don't you head up there? Klein, you go with."

"Aye aye," the muscular soldier saluted, then hurried off to get his things.

Illitha and Klein were out the door and headed for the access to the tramway platform within minutes. As Gradian had predicted, the Alliance pilots brought their craft around and drifted down to land upon the tram line. By the time Illitha and her escort were halfway up the stairs to the platform, the Alliance pilots – a man and a woman – were headed down with weapons in hand. For just an instant when they met at the pile of equipment that had been used to barricade the stairs, the two pilots trained their weapons on Illitha and Klein. But they were quick to put up their guns.

"Thank god," the female pilot smiled. "With that harvester overhead, I was afraid we were gonna find nothing but husks and cannibals waiting in town."

"We didn't have enough personnel or any heavy weapons to get rid of the thing," Klein explained. "Are more of you coming?"

"No idea," the male pilot frowned. "The Reapers thrashed us over the city. Our ground forces there are in full retreat."

"What the hell happened to the F.O.B.?" the woman demanded.

"A Reaper happened. Damned thing landed right on the airfield."

"Christ," the woman put a hand to her head.

"What about our forces?" the male pilot asked.

"Y-Your Captain Tarrislav t-tried to lead them out. It…. It did not go well," Illitha murmured.

Both pilots turned their attention to her for the first time, and Illitha shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. Klein, however, was quick to rescue her from the attention.

"Did you spot any of our people out on the plains? The Reaper scattered us, but more have to have survived."

"Yeah," the woman nodded. "There was a group headed this way. That's why we diverted here to clear the area of hostiles. They should be arriving within the hour."

A slight smile touched Illitha's lips at the news. She was glad there were some other survivors from the F.O.B. Perhaps the Alliance would be able to secure the town and get some sort of counterattack organized. If Gradian was in charge, it might go more smoothly than operations had gone under Tarrislav. However, she had a job to do.

"Uh… I… I am s-supposed to take a look at your f-fighters. Are they damaged?"

"Mine's got some minor hull damage, but no functional impairments," the woman smiled.

"I took a hit to the aft directional thrusters. My baby was a bit sluggish on starboard turns," the other pilot informed her.

"I will see what I can do," Illitha promised.

"Who's the ranking officer?" the woman asked.

"Lieutenant Gradian is in command for the moment," Klein answered. "The library is being used as our temporary command center. It's near the center of town, with a civilian rover parked out front. You can't miss it."

"Thanks," the pilots both climbed over the barricade and headed down the stairs.

"Here, let me help you over," Klein suggested, squatting and cupping his hands to give Illitha a boost.

"Uh… T-Thank you," Illitha smiled, planting her foot into his hands and leaping onto the pile of equipment with his help. She turned and offered a hand down to him, which only caused him to laugh boisterously.

"Thanks, but there's no way you're gonna lift me. What do you weigh? A buck twenty-five? I outweigh you two-and-a-half times over."

Illitha blinked and hopped down on the opposite side of the barricade. She was pretty sure her translator had incorrectly translated his question. She had no idea how her weight and human currency could possibly be related. She waited for him to climb over, but he waved her on.

"You're the engineer," he grinned. "You go have a look at the ships. I'll clear this barricade so the pilots don't have to climb over the damned thing if they need to get to their fighters in a hurry."

Illitha climbed the stairs and went out onto the tram line, happy to get to work. Her scans showed that the damage was minimal to both fighters. She could do nothing for the woman's fighter since she had no replacement plating to replace the damaged armoring on its exterior. As for the second fighter, she could see the impact damage that had twisted the directional ports. While the ideal solution would have been to replace them, she could perform a simple repair by cutting out the buckled section and welding in a patch, so she set herself to the task. When she was finished, it might not be pretty, but it would function perfectly.

* * *

**Library, Mivian Heights…**

_Clouds of smoke rolled by in thick waves, mercifully obscuring the sight of the burning mountains in the distance. Prathus could hear the laughter and the taunts of Alliance soldiers all around him. The humans were seemingly pleased with the destruction they'd caused to Palavan, and were hunting down any isolated pockets of turian resistance they could find. Prathus growled at the sounds of the humans' laughter. Curse the entire race to the depths of a black hole…_

_He looked down and found himself holding a piece of equipment formed from a black alloy of some kind. He wasn't sure where he'd gotten it from, but he knew that if he could place it in the midst of the human forces, the Reapers would be drawn away from his people and would strike the humans instead. The Alliance was out for itself and didn't care about the plight of the turian home world, so it seemed only fair that Prathus and his people should adopt the same mindset. Better the humans than his people…_

_He climbed over the fallen slab of concrete that he had been using as cover, tucking the heavy piece of Reaper equipment beneath his arm. The concealment afforded by the clouds of smoke and ash were an advantage to him now, allowing him to creep past several human sentries undetected._

_He eventually reached a crumbling turian building with human guards stationed atop the structure, and he quickly dashed across the rocky lane and pressed his back against the exterior wall, glancing up at the crenellated metal plating that lined the rooftop three floors above. The humans didn't seem to have noticed his approach, so he crept along the base of the building until he found an exterior doorway, keeping close to the wall._

_The human on guard at the door never saw him coming. Prathus clasped a taloned hand over the human's mouth and braced the other one behind his head, twisting viciously. The human's life ended when his neck snapped audibly, and Prathus lowered the corpse to the ground and picked up the Reaper device from where he'd set it aside. He darted inside of the building, heading for the stairs that would take him past the upper floors and to the roof._

_Upon reaching the top of the building, he scanned the rooftop, and spotted two humans on guard duty, standing at the edge of the roof, surveying the surrounding landscape. From here, Prathus could see the devastation that had befallen his home world clearly. The mountains in the distance had been shattered into a crater that looked somehow familiar, and the foliage on the hillsides was ablaze. His eyes narrowed in fury, and he rushed the two humans._

_They turned just as he reached them, but the first of the two never had a chance to react. Prathus barreled into him and gave him a mighty shove, pitching him over the edge of the building. The human's scream was cut off moments later by a dull thud. The other human brought his weapon around and fired, but the shot deflected off of Prathus's armor, allowing the turian to close the distance. The two struggled briefly, but Prathus was taller and a bit stronger. He eventually overpowered the human, turning and hurling him to the ground, slugging him repeatedly in the jaw until he was unconscious._

_The explosive sound of gunfire filled the air behind him, and Prathus felt bullets tear through the shell of his armor and bite into his flesh. He staggered and fell to his knees, turning his gaze on the door to the roof, where three humans with rifles had emerged. He knew that they would kill him, but he would not allow them to sacrifice Palavan for their own agenda. He activated the Reaper device and shielded it with his own body to give it time to work._

_A massive shadow fell over him even as the humans shot him repeatedly in the back. The agony was unbearable, but though he felt himself fading, he could hear the rumbling synthetic voice that filled the sky._

_"The days of humanity are at an end. We are the harbinger of your extinction..."_

Prathus jerked awake and sat up, looking around the research room he'd chosen as his bed chamber. He rubbed his eyes and sighed. He'd only gotten perhaps an hour of sleep, but he didn't expect much more. The strange dreams he had been experiencing of late refused to allow him any rest. He didn't understand his subconscious at all. He didn't like humans, but for the moment, they were allies. Why his dreams kept casting them in the role of enemies, he had no idea. He put a hand to his head and groaned, hoping that the dull, throbbing ache in his skull would fade.

He could hear voices drifting up from downstairs, so he rolled out of the bed and staggered from the room, making his way toward the stairs, intent on seeing what was going on. As he passed the door to the upper library, he glanced inside to be sure the rest of his crewmates were getting some rest. He was glad to see Aida, Selura and Neela all still asleep, though he shook his head at seeing the latter two sharing a bed. He'd obviously missed a bit more than Neela had told him. He'd gotten some sense of their closeness a few hours earlier when they were all talking with the salarian, but they were clearly a bit more familiar than he had guessed.

He limped down the stairs, and found a few new faces present in the lobby, talking to Lieutenant Gradian. One was a tall, thin man with a crew cut and a sparse beard, and the other was a short human woman with close-cropped, curly hair.

"Things in the city have gone from bad to worse. Our forces are in full retreat on the ground, and we got slaughtered in the air," the human woman was saying.

"Things looked pretty bad," the human male nodded. "We had no choice but to retreat. Just about everything else in the sky was an enemy craft."

"You did the right thing," Gradian nodded. "We can't lose all our air support on a lost cause. Any idea where our forces in the city were falling back to? Were there any transmissions from Alliance command in the city?"

"No sir," the woman shook her head. "And when we left the city we swung out toward the mountains. It looked like Emergency Site A was hit from orbit. Mount Norrisar is pretty fucked up, and the surrounding landscape is burning."

"So the civilian government is probably gone," Gradian nodded.

"Forgive the intrusion, but none of that sounded good," Prathus cut in.

"Who the hell are you?" the woman demanded.

"This is Prathus Ganarius," Gradian introduced him. "He was the first arrival here, and cleared the town of Reaper stragglers."

"I know it's not my place to inquire into Alliance affairs," Prathus began, "but we're all in the same war. I was hoping there would be some good news in there somewhere."

"Good to meet you," the human male extended a hand. "Vince Hutchins."

Prathus shook the man's hand, and then turned his gaze upon the female, who slowly extended her own.

"Andrea Walker," she introduced herself.

"A pleasure," Prathus squeezed her hand.

"The good news we have is this: Walker and Hutchins are pilots, and their fighters are intact," Gradian informed him. "They were able to shoot down our winged friend, and survivors from F.O.B. Alpha-5 are incoming."

"Now _that's_ the sort of news I was talking about," Prathus nodded.

"Will you be fighting with us?" Hutchins asked.

"Eventually," Prathus nodded again.

"What does that mean?" Walker asked.

"There are some mercs with us who are headed to a Prothean ruin to the south," Gradian answered on his behalf. "Prathus and some of the other civilians are going with him."

"Right," Prathus nodded. "But once that's dealt with, we have a vested interest in getting the Reapers the hell off of this planet."

"I see. Good luck then," Hutchins smiled.

"Thanks. We could sure use some."

"We all could," Gradian nodded.

"What are your plans from here on?" Prathus turned toward the Lieutenant.

"I'm not certain at the moment. I plan to wait and see who is among the survivors from the F.O.B. Once I know what resources we have at our disposal and how intact the chain of command is, we can make some decisions. But I will almost definitely be organizing a recon team to go into the city."

"Sounds risky," Prathus commented.

"It will be," Gradian's expression turned pensive. "Which is why I have to ask… That engineer, Illitha… She seems a bit skittish, but I've seen her show a bit of backbone now and then, and she's got a sharp mind. How does she hold up under pressure?"

"T'Zari has her problems. She lacks self-confidence and second-guesses herself. But she's got the spirit of a fighter. I can see it. And when she's placed in a situation where she doesn't have time to doubt herself, she gets things done. She's loyal to her friends, courageous when she needs to be, and she has heart. She'd actually make a damn fine soldier if she could get past her self-doubt. Why?"

"I'll need a good engineer on my recon team," Gradian explained. "We may have some engineers among the survivors that'll be arriving, but I'd prefer to have the Alliance engineers concentrating on repairing our equipment. I was thinking of asking Illitha to go with my men into the city. But only if she can handle that sort of pressure."

"She can handle it," Prathus voiced his confidence. "She may claim she's not suited to that sort of mission, but if you talk her into it, she won't disappoint you."

"Then let's hope I can talk her into it," Gradian smiled, and then turned to the two pilots, who were standing silently throughout the exchange. "Return to your fighters and download your scanner data. I need every available piece of information about the current layout and condition of the city. And see if you can spot the survivors in the fields and give me a more accurate estimate of their arrival time."

"Aye aye!" both pilots saluted, and then turned and walked out.

"Thanks for the update," Prathus said sincerely. "I know you could have claimed the information was classified."

"Could have," Gradian smiled. "But cooperation serves us better. We can use trained soldiers on our side, and one thing I'm sure of is that you're a trained soldier."

"Yeah. That part is rather mandatory for my people," Prathus chuckled.

"Well, relax while you can," Gradian suggested. "I'd really appreciate it if you and your friends came back from your mission in one piece."

"We certainly intend to," Prathus assured him. "Excuse me," he added, and headed into the library.

He wanted to check up on Candice and the other civilians. He was anxious, however, to get underway. He was as hopeful as any of his crewmates regarding the prospect of reviving Captain Nisaria. He would feel much better once the former commando was conscious and assisting them in the fight. The insight and experience of a veteran asari commando would be invaluable to their survival against the Reapers. Despite his respect for the rest of his crewmates, he had to admit that he felt they didn't have much else going for them.

* * *

**Tram Rail, Mivian Heights…**

Illitha stepped back and frowned at her work, releasing a small sigh. She hated when her efforts turned out such visually-unpleasant results, but she supposed given the lack of resources and materials, she couldn't expect to produce a pretty patch. At least the Trident's directional controls would operate unhindered the next time it was needed. She deactivated her omni-tool and walked to a nearby bench, collapsing onto it with a groan. The bullet wound in her arm was bothering her a little despite the numbing effect of the medigel on it, and she hadn't had nearly enough rest since the _Sileya_ had arrived at Terra Nova.

The sun was beginning its slow descent toward the horizon, marking the end of another long Terra Nova day. The rain had dwindled to a light drizzle, and the clouds to the west were ablaze in shades of orange, pink and purple. It was quite a lovely sunset, and the young engineer allowed herself a brief moment of relaxation to enjoy it. She knew she should have been practicing her biotics, or sifting through the crate of salvaged tech Neela had mentioned, or being productive in some other way… but she was too worn out to bother. Perhaps it was finally time to get some sleep. She felt lethargic enough to believe she might actually doze off if she found a comfortable place to stretch out.

A voice shouting in an authoritative tone distracted her from thoughts of sleep. She couldn't make out the words, but the volume of the voice brought her to her feet. She walked to the clear polymer railing that ran along the edge of the platform, looking down into the fields below to find the source of the commands.

A scattered group of humans were wading through the tall grass, approaching the edge of the town. Illitha was surprised at the number. She guessed there were easily sixty or seventy people out there. Even as she watched, several small groups of soldiers raised their weapons and hurried forward, apparently to scout the town for signs of danger. She scanned the field for familiar faces, but she was too far away to make out the features of any of the soldiers clearly, so she headed for the stairs. She hoped that McSween might be among them.

She reached the bottom of the stairs just as a group of four soldiers was emerging from between two nearby buildings. They all turned their rifles on her, and she quickly raised her hands, feeling her heart skip a beat. Their hostility did not persist for long. Almost as quickly as their weapons had been trained upon her, all four men lowered their rifles, and one stepped forward.

"Private First Class Timothy Donnely of the 147, ma'am," he greeted her. "Friendly forces hold the town?"

"Y-Yes," Illitha nodded. "Lieutenant Gradian is in command of the Alliance forces here. Th-there are also some m-mercenaries resting in town. And s-some civilians."

"Where could we find the Lieutenant?"

"Th-the library. Two streets that way," Illitha pointed.

"Roger that," the soldier nodded, then turned to one of his squadmates. "Go and inform the captain of the situation. The rest of us will do a perimeter sweep."

Illitha watched as the soldiers parted ways. One disappeared back into the field, while the other three vanished into a nearby building. She shook her head and smiled faintly. They hadn't even said goodbye or thanked her for the information. It was as though they'd forgotten she was even there. She turned and headed back to the library. She was eager to find out what the Alliance planned to do given the situation. With any luck, they would allow her to remain in the room while they talked.

When she approached the door to the building, she found the young blonde woman still standing guard. She smiled at the girl in passing and headed into the library, where she found Gradian sitting in a chair at one of the few remaining tables, his head pillowed upon folded arms, snoring softly. The sight brought a smile to her lips. These poor Alliance soldiers were as tired as she was.

"Gradian," she called to him in a soft murmur. When she got no answer, she raised her voice just a little. "Lieutenant…"

She was startled when the human's head snapped up and he practically leapt out of his chair. "No sir! I haven't seen…," he started loudly, blinking his eyes rapidly. Only then did he seem to actually wake up, focusing upon her. "Uh… What did you say?"

"S-Sorry to wake you," she said, trying not to laugh after the poor soldier's outburst. "I thought I should… I… I thought you would want to know that there are a group of humans approaching the edge of the town. C-Could be the survivors from the F.O.B."

"Oh. Yes," he nodded, smiling faintly. "Thanks, Illitha. How did the work go on the Tridents?"

"Fine. I patched them up as well as I could with the materials at hand. They are not pretty, but they will work properly."

"What materials? Where did you get spare materials?"

"I… Well… I c-could not find anything s-suitable for repairing the armoring… but f-for the directional controls, I used my omni-tool to c-carve a section of deck plating off of the tram rail. The density is… is sufficient to hold up under th-the heat from the engines."

One of the soldier's brows arched upward, and he nodded once. "Good thinking. You should probably get some rest. I may need to talk to you later, depending on how things pan out here," his gaze shifted to the door.

Illitha nodded and chose a chair in the corner, settling into it and resting her head against the wall behind her. She hoped that if she kept quiet and didn't call attention to herself, the soldiers wouldn't even notice she was there… or wouldn't care. To aid in her 'infiltration', she closed her eyes and did her best to look like she was asleep. She supposed that she didn't have to bother, really. There were a couple of mercenaries and four civilians sleeping in various parts of the room and a salarian working quietly in a corner, so if the Alliance personnel wanted privacy, they would probably choose a different area.

"Officer on deck!" a female voice called out.

Illitha risked a quick peek and saw Gradian snap to attention. Through the door, a group of humans filed. At the head of the group was the rigid form of Captain Tarrislav himself. Illitha's eyes narrowed angrily.

_Of course, the man responsible for the loss of the Alliance supplies and men would have to survive to make more dumb decisions,_ she groused.

"What's the sitrep, Lieutenant?" the captain demanded without preamble.

"Sir, we have a handful of civilians and a small group of mercenaries present in the town. They were all here when we arrived. We've also acquired two Trident fighters and their pilots, and our engineer has restored both fighters to working order. I have men doing an in-depth sweep of the settlement to verify our security and to locate any salvageable supplies. The civilians had already fortified this building by the time we arrived, so we have been using it as our barracks and temporary command center."

"How many personnel do you have at your disposal altogether?" the captain asked, glancing around the room at the sleeping soldiers and mercs.

"Eight, sir," Gradian responded, and then shook his head. "I mean seven."

"Which is it, Lieutenant?"

"We arrived with six and picked up two pilots. However, when we were approaching the town we were hit by a harvester. One of my men is critically injured and lost a leg. Without medigel or surgical gear, we had no other option. He's alive, but in no condition to fight."

"Understood, Lieutenant. And our other assets and liabilities?"

"There are four civilians taking shelter here," Gradian turned and gestured toward the beds in the corner, where the humans in question were sleeping. "My men haven't returned from their search yet with a full accounting of other salvageable gear, but we're hoping to find _something_, because all we have is the gear we were carrying when we arrived."

"What about these mercs? Will they fight with us?"

"Negative," a nasal voice interrupted from the corner. "Operative priority for my outfit is to obtain critical intel from a site south of this position. Departure is scheduled for five hours from now."

Both men turned toward the source of the voice, and the captain's expression was stern as he regarded the salarian, who was rising from his seat and moving to join them. Illitha thought that Gradian looked a little uncomfortable.

"And you are?" the captain prompted.

"Captain Golash Salik, STG," the salarian nodded in greeting. "The mercenaries to which you refer are on my payroll. Once my mission is complete, they will be free to assist Alliance interests. Not before."

"Captain, Alliance interests-"

"Are irrelevant," the salarian cut him off. "STG operatives not bound by Alliance chain of command. Spoke to your superiors in Scott prior to our departure from Walters Center and was assured of operational freedom in exchange for Reaper intel provided. Feel free to contact your superiors to confirm."

Illitha gave up any pretense of sleep, since no one present seemed to be paying any attention to her. She focused upon the salarian, regarding him suspiciously. She couldn't put her finger on the reason, but something about his posture and his tone made her think that he was lying. And she was sure he must be aware that communications were down.

"I'm sure you are aware that communications are scrambled," Tarrislav echoed her thoughts. "You have proof that Alliance brass authorized your mission?"

"Did not anticipate needing such proof," Salik shrugged. "Our miniscule collection of mercenaries will hardly make a difference to you. And as previously stated, once my goal here is complete, the job is also complete and all mercenaries should be available for immediate hire."

"Lieutenant!" a deep voice interrupted the conversation. Illitha saw Baxter sprint into the room, and then stop and salute the captain. "Sir!"

"At ease, Private," Tarrislav returned the salute. "Report."

"L.T. sent us out to scout the town," Baxter explained. "We've just completed our full reconnoiter, and we may have a problem."

"What problem?"

"Sir, there are Reaper devices in five separate buildings. We've never seen anything like them. We wanted to get orders before tampering with them, since we don't know what they do."

"STG performed extensive research on Reaper technology," Salik spoke up. "Perhaps I can identify these devices and offer advice. Your leadership approved collaboration, and it seems a show of good faith would strengthen that agreement here."

"Very well," Tarrislav nodded. "Come with us. Private, lead the way."

"Sir," Gradian interrupted. "Do you have an engineer available to assist with the analysis?"

"I haven't had time to take full stock of our forces, Lieutenant. Why?"

"I would like Illitha to come along and have a look," he gestured toward her.

Illitha was surprised at the sudden attention and the call to duty. She sat up in her chair, looking at Gradian uncertainly. When she saw the captain's eyes fall upon her, she noted immediately the way his gaze hardened. Clearly he recognized her.

"She isn't Alliance," the captain shook his head.

"Sir, she is a competent engineer. She is the one that restored our fighters to working order. She can perform an analysis of the devices."

"Unnecessary," Salik interjected. "STG has catalogued many forms of Reaper tech. Should my identification fail, it is unlikely she will be able to provide any insight."

Illitha's suspicions regarding the salarian grew. She didn't understand why he would object to a second opinion on the device. She rose from her seat, clearing her throat and trying to steady her nerves. The last time she had spoken to the captain, she was tired, injured, and hadn't been very tactful. Despite her dislike for the man, she wanted to be respectful now.

"C-Captain, I will be happy to help if you need me," she murmured.

Tarrislav's expression was unreadable, and Illitha expected him to refuse… perhaps even to order her removed from the area. However, he finally nodded.

"Very well. Come on. I want to get these things dealt with so that we can start organizing our forces."

Illitha nodded and fell into step with the rest of the group as they filed from the room. The rain had stopped, she was pleased to note, which would allow them to walk to the center of town without getting soaked in the process. The building to which Baxter led them was a two-story structure with a store on the ground floor, and once they filed inside, Illitha immediately spotted the device the soldier had mentioned; it was sitting in the middle of the floor. She'd never seen anything like it.

"Well, Captain Golash?" Tarrislav prompted. "What is it?"

"Signal booster for their communications disruption," the salarian answered immediately. "What are the locations of the other devices you mentioned?" he directed his question to Baxter.

The soldier glanced at Tarrislav, who nodded. "Uh… One in each corner of the town."

"Standard deployment," the salarian nodded as if the news did not surprise him.

"Then if we disable them, we might reclaim communications capabilities?" Tarrislav nodded. "Excellent."

"Recommend against disabling the devices, Captain," Salik spoke up.

"Why?"

Illitha listened intently, but even as the men were speaking, she activated her omni-tool and went to work, running a series of scans on the device. She wanted to be sure that the salarian was correct in his assessment. Her instincts told her that they shouldn't take him at his word.

"Reaper communications disruption is arranged with overlapping layers of redundancy. These devices will be located in the area overlapped by the range of two similar arrays. Removing them will not clear the fields. It _will_, however, alert the Reapers that their devices have been disabled. Such an alert will undoubtedly prompt an investigation. Actually seems more prudent to leave them alone and allow the Reapers to think this town is abandoned. Likely that they will assume organics will destroy any Reaper technology discovered."

"You're suggesting that if we leave the devices alone, the Reapers will leave us alone because they assume if we were here, we'd destroy their equipment," Tarrislav eyed the device speculatively.

"Precisely."

"I'm not sure we can risk it. Alliance intel suggests that there's a risk of indoctrination connected to close contact with Reaper devices."

"Correct," Salik nodded. "However, operative term there is 'close contact'. Quarantine these buildings and all surrounding structures, and obviate the risk in the process."

Illitha frowned as she completed her scans. She wasn't part of any military structure, so she'd never even heard of this 'Indoctrination' risk, but it didn't sound very pleasant to her. Were the Reapers actually capable of brainwashing people? She stood up, sifting through the data from her scans.

"Well? Is he correct?" Tarrislav prompted.

"I-I cannot be sure," Illitha sighed.

"What do the scans reveal?" Gradian asked.

"I do not detect any e-explosive compounds or scanning equipment in the devices. I cannot detect any c-c-communications emissions either. The only readings I can detect are faint energy emissions of an undetermined nature."

"Predictable results," the salarian nodded. "Reaper signal distortion emissions likewise distort scanning equipment results. STG ran into similar problems during studies of captured Reaper tech. Eventually developed specialized equipment to filter the jamming signal. Process was costly and difficult, however, and I do not have the schematics at hand."

"I am inclined to agree with Captain Golash's logic in this case," Tarrislav announced. "Quarantine the devices and the surrounding buildings. But leave them alone. If the Reapers expect us to destroy these devices when we find them, then it could be an excellent form of camouflage to leave them intact."

"I-I think you should leave this settlement," Illitha spoke up before she thought about it. When all eyes turned toward her and she saw the anger in the captain's gaze, however, she flinched.

"You simply can't keep your nose out of affairs that are none of your concern, can you?" the captain demanded. "This is a military decision, and you are not possessed of the relevant facts. So keep your advice to yourself."

"If these devices can brainwash people, the smart thing to do is get away from them!" Illitha argued, her ire rising in response to the captain's dismissive attitude.

"Lieutenant," the captain growled. "Get this _civilian_ away from me."

"Illitha," Gradian urged, grabbing her arm. "Come on."

"Your last 'military decision' was a disaster!" Illitha shouted. "This one could be even more idiotic than that one was!"

"I will not have my authority questioned by you!" the captain roared, shifting his gaze to the lieutenant. "She has exactly one hour to collect her belongings and get out of Mivian Heights. If she has not left this town within the hour, Lieutenant, I want her possessions confiscated and I want her locked up where she cannot interfere with Alliance operations. Am I clear?"

"Sir," Gradian began hesitantly. "We need all the good engineers we-"

"A good engineer would follow direction and support allies," the captain cut him off. "We do not need this sort of disruption. Get. Her. Out. Of. Town," the elder soldier turned on his heel and stalked out, followed by Salik and most of the others.

Once they were alone, Gradian sighed and shook his head. "You do have a bit of backbone," he commented. "Unfortunately, you seem to find it at the worst possible times. I'm sorry, but you should collect your things and let your friends know what happened. I don't want to have to lock you up somewhere, so make it quick."

"Gradian, you have to remove him from command," Illitha insisted. "He… He is going to get you all killed."

"I am not going to commit mutiny," Gradian frowned at her. "He is in charge, and we'll support him. In this case, he seems to be right. This seems like the smartest plan."

"But he is taking the word of a stranger!" Illitha protested. "How do you know this salarian is not lying?"

"Why would he lie?"

"I… I do not know. But my instincts tell me not to trust him."

"The Reapers want to destroy us all. He has no logical reason to lie. Your 'instincts' don't qualify as sufficient evidence to justify rejecting his expertise."

Illitha frowned. She was so frustrated that she just wanted to hit something. Gradian, perhaps sensing something of her frustration, rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Listen, you have to get out of town, but the captain never said you couldn't still work with us. Would you be willing to participate in an operation I plan to organize?"

"An operation?" Illitha repeated.

"I am in charge of a search and rescue team under normal circumstances. But since this war started, my best men have been performing recon operations. They were tracking signal anomalies in the city when we lost contact with them. They were supposed to dispatch drones every four hours with situation updates, and the drones stopped coming."

"I do not understand," Illitha frowned. "What does this have to do with me?"

"I am going to be sending a group into the city to track my missing scouts. Their last situation report was sent from an area near the Walters Center, where Alliance command had set up their base of operations. Your engineering expertise would be invaluable to the team. And while you're in town, if you're serious about your suspicions regarding the salarian, you could go to the Walters Center and speak to Alliance command about his claims."

Illitha's brows rose. She would certainly like to talk to men with greater influence in the Alliance than Tarrislav. Perhaps she could even convince them to send someone higher up the chain of command to take over in Mivian Heights. And… perhaps she could get news about Thessia and Palavan. She smiled and nodded.

"I will help."

"Excellent," Gradian smiled. "You have about fifty minutes to gather your things and explain the situation to your friends. Wait under the tram rail about a hundred meters outside of town. I'll organize my team and have them meet you there."

Illitha nodded, and the Lieutenant turned and walked out. As she followed, she turned and glanced at the Reaper device, frowning to herself. Hopefully she could convince Aida to take the captain's stasis pod and get out of town. 'Indoctrination' was a very ominous term. She would feel much better once the people she cared about were safely away from such a horrible form of influence.

* * *

**Upper Library Balcony, Mivian Heights…**

Aida woke with a start. She'd had disturbing dreams about Thessia in ruins. She couldn't recall many details, but the sense of horror she'd felt in the dream persisted even after she was awake. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, looking around in the gloom. Selura and Neela were still curled up together and asleep. Her eyes were then drawn to the railing lining the edge of the area where the upper library overlooked the floor below. Illitha was standing next to the barrier, working on her omni-tool.

Aida slipped out of bed and walked over the stand beside her friend, smiling faintly. Illitha didn't even seem to notice her, intent as she was upon her work. Aida took a quick peek at the display on the engineer's omni, and noted that she seemed to be working to hack through some very complex encryption.

"Lith? What are you doing?"

"I am being ejected from the town," Illitha said softly.

"What?"

"The F.O.B. survivors arrived about a half hour ago," Illitha explained. "Captain Tarrislav is with them. He and I had another… disagreement."

Aida sighed and put a hand to her head.

"Please tell me you did not start insulting him again…"

"I… may have," Illitha admitted sheepishly.

"And he is kicking you out? We were here first! Maybe I could talk to him…"

"No," Illitha shook her head. "Prathus, Selura and Neela will be leaving tomorrow to go to the Prothean ruins. I have to get out of town, but Gradian asked me if I could go with some of his people to the city for an important mission. I want you to get the Prothean pod and get out of town."

"Me? Why?"

"There are Reaper devices in the city. I do not know for sure what they do, but I learned that apparently being close to them can brainwash people. The Alliance soldiers insist that it is safe to be this far away from them… but… I just… I would rather you were far away from them."

"But they might need me," Aida protested. "Did any of the doctors survive the Reaper attack?"

"I do not know. But please, Aida. If they need you, have them put their wounded somewhere outside of town. Do not stay here."

Aida was a little taken aback that Illitha was so adamant about this. She was also surprised that her friend had never once looked up from her work. The entire situation seemed so senseless to her. Would the Alliance really force her friend into exile over an argument?

"What are you doing?" she asked at last.

"I do not trust that salarian," Illitha admitted. "He has been acting… strange… ever since the survivors showed up. I am hacking his omni-tool to find out what he knows that we do not."

"You are hacking his omni? What if his omni alerts him to the breach?"

"He is asleep."

Aida leaned over the balcony rail and noted that the salarian was lying on a bed in the room below. She knew that salarians needed very little sleep, but they still required _some_. Illitha had apparently seized the opportunity when it presented itself.

"How is it going?" she asked.

"His encryption suite is highly advanced. I have never seen anything like it. It has taken me twenty minutes just to break through to access the communications functions. But I am cloning his data core now. It may take me time to decrypt his data, but once it has been copied, at least I can take my time with it."

"I hope you are wrong about him," Aida said softly. "Neela, Selura and Prathus are following him into a fight against Cerberus."

"I know," Illitha murmured. "If we did not need the Prothean data to save the captain, I would beg them not to go. You have to tell them to be careful and to keep an eye on him."

"I will," Aida sighed.

Illitha's omni emitted a soft beep, and she smiled and deactivated the interface, apparently finished copying the data. She turned and threw her arms around Aida, who returned the embrace fiercely. She couldn't believe that her best friend was being forced to leave. She suddenly had a few choice things she would have liked to say to the human captain herself.

"Please think about what I said," Illitha whispered. "It may not be safe here."

"You take care of yourself," Aida urged her friend. "The city is supposed to be crawling with Reapers. I know you will want to keep everyone else safe, but I want you to promise that you will keep yourself alive no matter what."

"I… I will try."

"Not good enough," Aida insisted. "I want you to _promise_ me. Regardless of what it takes, you will come back to us. Promise."

Illitha gazed at her silently for a moment, her expression a perfect picture of indecision. Aida knew what she was asking. One of the best traits she saw in her friend was her heart. Illitha would sacrifice herself in a heartbeat if she could save someone else in the process. Asking her to put her own welfare first was a monumental request.

"Promise," Aida prompted.

"I promise," Illitha said softly.

"Thank you," Aida smiled in relief. Illitha had never broken a promise to her that she could recall, and hearing such a promise made her feel much better about seeing her friend run off to a Reaper-occupied city.

"I have to finish gathering my things and get going," Illitha said softly.

"I will help," Aida offered.

Illitha's smile was all the answer she needed. She helped her friend to gather up the few possessions she had, and she also thought to grab one of the submachine guns Neela had salvaged, so that the engineer would have a weapon with which to defend herself. Prathus had also managed to salvage some rations, she knew, so she grabbed all of the non-dextro rations from their stockpile and gave them to Illitha. The rest of them would find another source of food, she was sure.

Once the engineer was packed and ready to go, Aida accompanied her as far as the edge of the settlement. Watching her best friend walk alone into the tall grass beneath the tram line was one of the hardest things Aida had ever had to do. She felt like she was abandoning her. A part of her wanted to accompany her to the city. The urge was so strong, in fact, that she started to go back to the library to pack her things. However, she was forced to restrain the urge. She had one patient in need of care already. Others among the survivors might also be injured. She couldn't run off after her friend without first making sure that the soldiers here had a doctor to see to their injuries. And she couldn't leave the captain's pod in the care of strangers.

She returned to watching her friend, keeping her eyes upon her until she lost sight of her amidst the swaying sea of grass. Then she sighed and headed for the library. She had a feeling her friends were going to be very angry over Illitha's expulsion from the town. She shared their sense of outrage. She just hoped Captain Tarrislav didn't end up in her infirmary. If he did, she wasn't sure she would be able to bring herself to save him…

.

* * *

.

**Author's Note: First of all, for those who celebrate the holiday, Happy Halloween! I wish I had a spookier Chapter to present this time so that it was more in keeping with the spirit of the holiday, but I guess this one will have to do. :) When I started writing this Chapter, I didn't anticipate it being so heavily centered around Illitha, but in the course of working on it, more and more things came to mind that included her, and by the time I was done, I ended up with a whole Illitha-based Chapter! So for my readers who are especially fond of her... I guess this might be a treat! I was originally going to title the Chapter something a little more poetic like "Promise" or "Potential," but I opted to go for the simple truth of what the Chapter centered around...**

**Thank you as always to everyone who reads, reviews, comments, follows/favorites, and otherwise pays attention to this little story. Also, thank you to the moderator of the Too Much Eye Candy To Handle community for adding my story to your collection of tales. Not sure what I did to merit inclusion, but I was tickled just the same by the addition. :)**

**If everything stays on course... and I have no reason to believe it shouldn't... the next Chapter will be up Monday morning. So until then, I hope everyone has a spooky night... in a good way, of course... and a great weekend.**


	26. Chapter 26: Preparation

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Twenty-Six: Preparation

.

**Mivian Heights…**

Neela shifted and sighed as the outside world started to seep back into her consciousness. The tactile emulators in her suit were transmitting warmth all along the front of her body, and the simulated sensation immediately brought a smile to her lips. Her arm was draped over the body of her bedmate, and when she opened her eyes, she saw that her visor was pressed to the back of the asari's neck. She didn't think either of them had moved for the entire duration they'd been asleep. Her arm tightened around Selura, pulling her a little more tightly against herself.

Neela was almost overwhelmed by how wonderful it was to have someone to show this sort of affection toward. While a part of her mind insisted that under normal circumstances, she would never have shared a bed with a prospective mate so quickly, their current situation was anything but normal. They could be killed by Reapers at any moment, and it seemed silly to deny their feelings and go through the dance of a normal courtship.

_Besides… It's not like we're doing more than sleeping…_

She felt herself blushing at the thought. She was lying in bed with her arms around someone she cared for deeply… how could her thoughts _not _turn toward more intimate ideas. She found herself wondering what it would be like if they could spend time in a clean facility, where they could risk direct contact. Aboard the _Sileya_, she had luxuriated in the feel of simple things, like soft sheets and cold steel against her skin. But such sensations were almost distracting. The tactile emulators in her suit could simulate them, but they were muted recreations of the real thing. Actual contact with her skin felt like it was magnified. She wondered what it would be like to have Selura pressed against her like this without the suit between them…

_Keelah, stop!_ She reprimanded herself.

The heat inside of her suit was becoming stifling as her hormones rose to the bait of her imagination. She decided that for her own comfort, she needed to put some distance between herself and her girlfriend. She carefully started to withdraw her arm from around her bedmate... not only to keep from waking her, but also to avoid jostling her injured arm. Just as she was starting to get out of the bed, however, Selura stirred and groaned softly.

"Sorry… Go back to sleep," Neela whispered.

"Where are you going?" Selura murmured sleepily.

Neela didn't have a good answer for that. Or at least, not one that wouldn't embarrass her by highlighting the direction her thoughts had taken. To cover her embarrassment, she decided to change to a different subject. It was one that still had her feeling anxious, but for different reasons.

"Never mind that. I need to tell you something. I… I meant to tell you last night, but I wasn't sure how," Neela murmured, gathering her courage. "The Armanis was destroyed when I landed it at the F.O.B."

"I do not care," Selura surprised her with her answer and her smile. "When that Reaper landed, I was afraid I would never see you again. During the entire walk here, all I could do was worry about what would happen if you were flying back while that Reaper was headed the other way. I could care less what happened to the prototype. You are safe and here with me. That is the only thing that matters."

"You aren't angry?"

"After flying with you, I figured you would crash it sooner or later anyway," Selura grinned, but she took hold of Neela's hand, lifting it to place a soft kiss upon her knuckles.

Neela could feel herself blushing at that simple gesture. She would have given almost anything to have felt those lips against her bare hand, or perhaps against her cheek… She wrenched her mind away from that train of thought quickly, trying to think of something to say to cover her embarrassment. Fortunately, she was rescued by Prathus's voice.

"Good, you're awake."

Selura sat up, staring at the turian in the doorway with an expression that suggested she was mildly irritated by the interruption. "Is it time to go already?"

"Yeah," the turian muttered. "We need to get our gear together and be ready to move in fifteen," Prathus entered the room slowly, his expression betraying some measure of agitation.

"What's wrong?" Neela asked, picking up on his obvious discomfort.

"Dalinas just filled me in. The human commander from that base you were on is here, and he and T'Zari had an argument of some kind."

"Again?" Selura asked, shaking her head. "What happened this time?"

"Apparently, he kicked her out of the town. Sent her into the wilderness," the turian growled.

"What?" Neela stared at him incredulously, and then felt a bubbling anger quickly take over. "Where is that pompous, idiotic-"

"Calm down," Prathus cut her off. "She is on a mission for that human… Gradian. I'm not happy with the Alliance, but for now, there's nothing we can do about this human commander, and as I understand it, T'Zari wanted us all to get out of town anyway. It's the message T'Zari asked Dalinas to pass on to us that has me troubled…"

"What message?" Selura asked as she carefully climbed out of the bed.

"Apparently, T'Zari was concerned about the way the salarian was acting around the Alliance. She doesn't think he can be trusted. She wanted us to keep our guard up."

Neela was puzzled. The salarian had been fairly forthcoming regarding his motives and his demands when they'd spoken about this mission. She wondered what could have changed in the time they'd been sleeping… however long that was. She glanced at the time on her omni-tool, and her eyes widened. They had been asleep for almost nine hours!

"I thought we were leaving after just a few hours of sleep," she admitted. "Why have we been allowed to sleep for so long?"

Neela noticed that Selura was glancing at her omni, and seemed similarly surprised by the amount of time that had passed. However, her eyes were on Prathus who just shrugged.

"The mercs are busy with some sort of project, so they delayed their departure and let you two sleep. The salarian said this would be the better time to leave anyway, since the sun is just going down."

"Goddess," Selura muttered. "I cannot get used to the length of the days on this planet."

"I know," Neela agreed, and then turned to Prathus. "What project are they working on?"

"They're using that crate of salvage you brought, and some damaged equipment the Alliance troops came in with."

Neela was extremely curious about the nature of this project. She walked to the balcony and glanced over the rail into the room below, hoping to see them at work, but there was no sign of the group. She turned to ask Prathus where they had gone, but the turian seemed to anticipate the question. He gestured toward the door.

"Come on. Golash asked me to bring you both to the building they're using as a staging area," Prathus explained. "Time is running short."

"Golash?" Neela repeated. "I thought his name was Salik."

"It is," Prathus snorted. "Golash Salik. Surname first."

Neela smiled and shook her head. So Prathus was going to call the salarian by his last name too… She and Selura hurriedly gathered their few possessions and followed Prathus out of the library. There were a few Alliance soldiers in the lobby, but she didn't see many humans in the building. Once they were outside, however, she was astonished by the numbers. She hadn't expected so many of the Alliance troops to have survived the Reaper attack on the F.O.B., but there were dozens of them moving around outside, gathering beds and tables from the various buildings and lining them up in orderly rows in the street. There even seemed to be civilians among them, helping to gather supplies. She hoped to see Aida among them so that she could say goodbye before they left, but there was no sign of the asari.

"Where is Aida?" she asked.

"Dalinas set up an infirmary of sorts in the basement of the library building," Prathus replied. "She and the Alliance doctor that came in with the survivors are scouring the room clean and setting up additional beds and equipment."

"So the Alliance intends to stay here?" Selura asked. "Did they not learn their lesson from the F.O.B.? The Reapers will eventually come here and destroy this place."

Prathus shrugged and shook his head. "I don't have any answers for you. Maybe they're hoping that if they stay indoors and let the town look like it's abandoned, the Reapers won't bother. Or maybe they know something we don't. I wasn't there for the discussion."

"Maybe they are just idiots," Selura muttered.

"Maybe Illitha said as much, and that's why the human commander kicked her out," Neela suggested with a small sigh. "I'm rather glad we're leaving. But I think Aida should come with us."

"I suggested it," Prathus muttered. "She wants to stay and assist any wounded that come back from Alliance operations. And that salarian is still refusing to take anyone else with him."

Neela fell silent, brooding over the situation. It all seemed so stupid. The Reapers were a horrible danger to everyone on the planet. It seemed to her that they should all be working together, rather than fighting amongst themselves. The salarian had his own goals and refused to let anyone else compromise them. The Alliance kicked out a talented engineer for voicing an opinion. Their own group was splitting into three separate sections once again. Cerberus was apparently on the planet and working toward an unknown goal that didn't include other humans. Even the Alliance forces themselves were fractured into pieces and spread all over the planet. She was starting to feel like the people on Terra Nova were defeating themselves.

Prathus led them into a small building that looked like it had been someone's house. Indeed, when they walked inside, she saw personal items that had been left behind, including a picture of two young human boys, grinning together for the camera. She wondered if the kids were still alive, and sighed irritably at the thought. She'd awakened feeling like she was on top of the world, and in the space of a handful of minutes, now felt hope dwindling. Terra Nova was turning out to be a real test of her emotional fortitude.

"Excellent. Timely arrival," the salarian greeted them when they walked into the room. "Hope all necessary gear has been obtained and preparations for departure are complete…" Salik trailed off, his eyes upon Selura.

"We have everything," Prathus nodded. "What's the plan?"

Salik ignored the question and addressed the asari. "Expected your equipment to include armoring of some kind. That outfit includes no defensive plating or other protective gear. Your intention is to rely upon biotics for self-defense?"

"Uh… No," Selura sighed. "My biotics could not defend me from a stiff breeze."

"Unfortunate answer," Salik muttered. "Cerberus troops likely to kill you within minutes of commencement of hostilities. Could execute you here, if suicide is your motive. Death likely to be far more immediate and painless at my hands than as a result of Cerberus fire."

"How dare you-?" Neela started, but Selura grabbed her arm, prompting her to silence herself.

"I have no intention of getting myself killed," the asari answered on her own behalf. "But we have no armor, so I will have to keep my head down and exercise extreme care. I was not expecting to be standing in the thick of battle anyway. I thought my purpose on this team was to deal with the data search in the Prothean archive."

"Combat will be unavoidable. Stealth is intended as primary method of reaching proximity to destination, but confrontation is inevitable, given the close quarters of a Prothean ruin's interior. Once hostilities commence, your welfare will be in serious jeopardy."

"Why don't we talk to the Alliance?" the human mercenary, Zaeed, suggested. "Maybe someone in their ranks has armor to spare. Equipment belonging to someone who's injured or dead."

"Personal inclination is to leave her behind," Salik muttered, and his eyes went to Neela. "However, since her presence is necessary for the morale of more vital members of this squad, your suggestion seems appropriate. Speak to Alliance soldiers about armoring. Do so with alacrity. Departure has been delayed long enough."

Selura nodded and turned to leave. Neela watched her go, and the moment the asari was out of the room, she felt like the place got a little bit darker. She sighed and turned to address the salarian.

"Prathus says you've been using my salvage. For what?"

"Alliance troops returned with damaged equipment," Salik gestured toward a nearby table, where items of various types were arrayed, including one that looked like some kind of drone. "Have been using salvaged components to conduct repairs so that our confrontation with Cerberus will not be conducted without first gathering intel."

"Is that a drone?" Neela pointed to the item in question. It looked like a sphere that had been split down the middle and spread apart so that a camera and various sensors could be installed between the two halves.

"Affirmative," Salik nodded. "Alliance recon drone. Spent most of our repair time fixing it. Had to disassemble Alliance tracking software and beacons and replace them with transmitters and motion sensors attuned to STG frequencies. Also assembled a very rudimentary form of anti-detection technology. Should suffice for a high-altitude pass over the target area. Vital intelligence will be ascertained via this piece of equipment. Positions of entrenched Cerberus forces and access points to the Prothean ruins, for example."

"Hey quarian," the human mercenary spoke up in his gravelly voice, gesturing to the submachine gun at Neela's hip. "There are a few mods left over from the salvage you brought in. You should mod that thing for better utility."

"I didn't recognize the Alliance mods," Neela protested. "Seemed stupid to install options I know nothing about…"

"I can help," Prathus suggested. "I know a bit about weapons and the possible mods that are compatible with them."

Neela smiled and nodded, moving to a nearby table and setting her weapon down. Part of the training she had received before leaving the Flotilla had consisted of self-defense and survival courses, including the maintenance and use of firearms. Her people didn't want to send their young adults to their deaths, after all, so there was a lot of focus on defensive knowledge and skills. She listened as Prathus examined and told her about the half-dozen mods available, and she selected a few that sounded useful and would fit into the weapon at the same time. The problem with many mods was that their components overlapped, making it impossible to use them simultaneously.

"Departure will commence upon the return of the asari," Salik warned them as they worked. "Zaeed, Greck, select and stow your gear. Then empty the salvage crate and load the drone inside. Essential to protect our most important asset until time for deployment."

Neela really hoped that Illitha was wrong about their new salarian ally. He seemed to have a good head for tactical planning and technology, and she really didn't want to think about how bad things could get if he opted to betray them at some point. It was said that salarians never started a fight without guaranteeing victory in advance. It seemed like a bleak prospect in the case of a double-cross. It would suggest that the salarian already knew exactly when and how he planned to kill them and had prepared for any possible resistance they could offer. But his insistence on getting protective gear for Selura seemed to contradict the idea that he intended to betray them. Why would he make it harder to kill them if that was his goal?

She sighed. She had to assume that Illitha was mistaken. For now, she would give the salarian her trust. But she would also keep an eye on him. If he started to behave in a way that made her nervous, she would be the first to suggest that they part ways.

* * *

**Grasslands South of Mivian Heights…**

The wind whipped through the tall grass, surrounding the group with a constant hissing sound as the plants moved in the darkness around them. Zaeed remained crouched in position, his rifle at the ready, listening intently for any sound above the constant drone of the wind that might indicate their cover had been blown. Salik was kneeling beside him, seemingly oblivious to the growing fury of the wind, focused completely upon the video feed being relayed from their surveillance drone. The only thing Zaeed could see clearly was the faint blue glow of the salarian's visor, and the orange light of his omni-tool. He just hoped Cerberus wouldn't spot either one.

The trip from Mivian Heights to the dig site had been short and quiet. The site's position relative to the small town was just a few kilometers due south, which had allowed them to traverse the distance with ease. Given the delays involved in preparing their gear and allowing their temporary help to get a full night's sleep, they had departed just as the sun was setting, and were arriving at the perfect time for infiltration: in the darkness of the night.

Fortunately, long years of work as a mercenary had taught him the value of patience. He waited silently while his employer performed the recon they would need in order to formulate a plan of attack. He couldn't say the same for the others. The vorcha's soft growls and frequent sighs were obvious signs of impatience, and the same could be said for the soft whispers between the asari and the quarian. The only other person in the group he couldn't hear or see in some fashion was the turian, and he attributed that to the mandatory military service Prathus had undoubtedly served.

The veteran mercenary still wasn't entirely sold on their new help. He had briefly fought with the turian, so he had no qualms trusting in Prathus's expertise and experience, but the other two were a bit harder to accept. The quarian was a pilot, and Zaeed had seen firsthand that she didn't know weapons very well, which put her in the 'untrained' category. The asari was injured, apparently had about as much biotic ability as Zaeed did, and from the little he'd overheard, was a scientist. He was forced to classify her as a liability. Of greater concern to him was the apparent relationship between the two. He had the distinct feeling that if something happened to one of them, the other was _extremely_ likely to do something stupid in response. He was fully prepared to shoot either one of them if it became necessary; he expected that one or both of the pair would eventually put the entire group in danger.

A soft hum from overhead alerted him to an incoming drone, distracting him from his brooding thoughts. He reflexively raised his rifle, unwilling to simply assume it belonged to them. There was every possibility that Cerberus would be using similar tech to help patrol their perimeter. Only when the object slowed and started to land in their midst did he lower his rifle. He was pretty sure an enemy drone wouldn't have done _that_. It slowly floated down into the crate in which they had been carrying it.

"How bad?" Zaeed questioned.

"Force and dispersion pattern was not unanticipated. The assistance of our new allies will be invaluable. Unlikely we could have overcome Cerberus defenses without them. Suggest we withdraw to the hills east of our position. Can examine aerial scans and discuss the next step in our infiltration."

"Right then," Zaeed nodded, raising his rifle and taking the lead for their walk to the hills.

The lack of moonlight on Terra Nova made navigation difficult. As had been the case throughout the journey to the dig site, they were forced to move slowly and listen for one another, so that no one would wander off course in the dark and get separated from the group; only about half of them had any form of night vision. Zaeed was in the lead, and while his helmet included a night vision suite so that he could see where he was going, he still had to activate his omni-tool from time to time to verify that they were headed in the correct direction. Without a moon to navigate by, it was too easy to drift off-course. He kept these instances extremely brief and as far apart as possible to minimize the risk of detection.

When the landscape started to rise, he altered course, skirting the hill. It seemed safest to put their camp on low ground between hills, so that there would be no direct line of sight between themselves and Cerberus. Given the fact that his employer didn't object, he had to assume that Salik had come to the same conclusion. Once he was sure they were fully concealed from the dig site, he hissed a command to halt.

"Excellent," Salik nodded, and his omni-tool flared to life.

Apparently at the salarian's command, the Alliance drone floated up out of the crate and settled on the ground. Then the equipment at its heart rotated slowly and the emitters oriented themselves upward. There was a mild flash, and a holographic projection appeared above it for the whole group to see.

Zaeed studied the projection. The dig site was in a mountainside, surrounded by a wide open space that had been plowed clear of trees and brush to allow the erection of prefab units for worker bunkhouses and office space. There were a couple of shuttles parked on one corner of the lot, with several prefabs adjacent to them. The tunnel into the mountainside was wide and deep, and surrounded by a number of automated turrets, together with an Atlas mech. Cerberus had deployed portable generators and kinetic barrier emitters that served as cover, as well as enough portable lighting units to keep the entire dig site well illuminated. He saw two other Atlas mechs on the scans, and signs of a roving patrol. Since the projection was a still image, they couldn't see the route the patrol used, but the figures were clearly visible in the scan.

"Three Atlases, multiple turrets, portable barriers, and significant illumination," Zaeed muttered. "This is gonna be a goddamn mess."

"Surprised there are not more Atlas mechs in operation," Salik commented. "Expected at least half a dozen. Additionally, lack of sentry drones surprising. Expected better preparations from Cerberus forces, given advancements in Cerberus technology. However, sentry positions are optimal. Impossible to get to the mine entrance without alerting at least one group in the process."

"What about your tactical cloak?" Zaeed suggested. "You might be able to walk in on your own and go straight to the archive."

"Unacceptable risk. Should Cerberus employ seismic sensing equipment or other form of counter-infiltration technology, I would become stranded in the middle of Cerberus forces without possible avenue of escape or rescue. Unwilling to believe that Cerberus has not employed _some_ form of anti-espionage deterrents."

"Okay, then what's the plan?" Prathus asked, inspecting the holographic display.

"What are these?" Selura pointed to a pylon-like object in the middle of one of the sentry positions.

"No clue," Zaeed muttered.

"Portable mass effect field generators," Salik answered.

"How do you know that?" Prathus asked.

"Certainty is impossible," Salik shrugged. "Making an educated guess based upon position of those units. Notice that each pylon has been positioned at a point equidistant to all surrounding barricades. Seems likely that the objects have range allowing them to supply their effect to all surrounding units. Logical to assume that they either create a dome-like shield to cover the entire position, or offer instant reinforcement to damaged kinetic shielding in the area."

"Okay, so we should expect any Cerberus troopers in these areas to have a _lot_ of kinetic shielding," Neela spoke up. "How are we supposed to get around that?"

"Those pylons will need power," Zaeed pointed out. "Look at the portable generators they have powering their lighting units and other tech. You can bet your ass there'll be a similar generator powering those pylons and the portable kinetic barricades."

"Right," Prathus nodded. "Take out the generators, and we deprive their guards of both cover and boosts to their shielding."

"But we have to get close enough to their positions to spot the generators and hit them," Selura sighed. "With those huge mechs patrolling, that will be difficult."

"Should just attack," the vorcha chimed in. "Hit, destroy one barricade. Run. Come back later for others."

"You're an idiot," Zaeed muttered. "If we hit one and run, they'll pull all their other forces inside the complex and cover the entrance. Then we'll never get in."

"Sick of insults from you, human!" the vorcha growled.

"Enough," Salik cut in before Zaeed could respond. "Massani is correct. Our assault must be quick and efficient. Essential that two possible occurrences be prevented. Primary setback to be avoided: Cannot allow Cerberus to fall back and entrench themselves in the mine entrance. Secondary disaster to avert: Allowing Cerberus to get shuttles airborne and escape with any data they have obtained to date."

"So we need to hit the shuttles first," Prathus gestured to their position on the hologram. "They are the closest position to the mine entrance. If we can get to the shuttles and disable them, we can then get to the entrance before Cerberus does."

"Reasonable plan, excepting lack of information about the interior of the mine and the Prothean ruins within," Salik responded. "Should Cerberus have a garrison of ten Atlas mechs and a hundred troops stationed within the complex, we would be trapping ourselves between exterior sentry forces and a large interior garrison."

"Could that drone get into the complex to get some scans of the inside?" Selura asked.

"Too large," Zaeed shook his head. "They'd spot it immediately, and then they'd know someone was out here."

"And we can't send someone in with the tactical cloak because of possible countermeasures," Neela said softly. "Too bad we can't cloak the drone."

"What?" Selura repeated.

"I said-"

"That we need to cloak the drone," Salik nodded. "While not possible to cloak a drone this size and fly it in undetected, your comment has triggered another idea. I have a substitute that should be infinitely more difficult to detect," the salarian added, reaching into a compartment in his armor and withdrawing a small portable holographic projector. Zaeed recognized it immediately. The Illusive Man had used one to communicate with him when he was hired on Omega. "This unit projects a hologram for use as a portable vidcomm display. Common with high-end groups such as STG."

"Brilliant!" Selura grinned at the salarian. "If we take this projector, reconfigure the holographic emitters to cloak the device with a holographic blanket similar to a simple tactical cloak, and install some rudimentary guidance software, we could send it in to map the interior and find out what we're dealing with. And avoid alerting Cerberus in the process."

"Modifications will take time and effort to effect," Salik nodded. "But delay would be justifiable given possible advantage offered by intel obtained through such an infiltration unit. And the projector's mass effect levitation system bypasses risks posed by seismic countermeasures. Impossible to detect footsteps when there are none to be detected."

"I can start the modifications right away," Selura suggested. "I have some amount of expertise with holographic advertising media systems. I have never been able to tinker with a tactical cloak before, but at least I have basic knowledge of holographic emitters."

"Then you can assist me while I make the necessary modifications," Salik suggested. "My expertise extends to the function of such military-grade hardware. But an additional hand and pair of eyes could help to expedite the process."

"What about the rest of us?" Zaeed asked.

"Possible Cerberus has not yet breached the Prothean ruins, as we previously had discussed," Salik answered. "The secondary benefit of an interior scan is determining the progress Cerberus has made toward their overall goal. Should they still be excavating, prudence would lie in waiting while they complete excavations, so that our time is not wasted finishing the work they started."

"So we set up a perimeter and organize a watch rotation," Zaeed guessed. "Because we might have to wait for a few days…"

"Precisely," Salik nodded. "Deploy the lighting units we brought along so that those without night vision will not be stumbling around in the darkness. Make certain the level of illumination is sufficiently moderated to avoid attracting notice. Also, continue to study the layout of Cerberus positions and personnel. While additional information regarding interior assets will help to refine our overall knowledge base, we have yet to establish even a basic tactical assault plan. Suggestions would be appreciated by the time work on the holographic projector drone is complete."

Zaeed nodded and set off to scout out the surrounding hilltops and valleys. He wanted to be sure he was aware of any possible cover points or ambush sites in the area, given the fact that there was a small stand of trees scattered over the hills. He didn't think Cerberus would send roving patrols so far out from the dig site, but it was better to be prepared than to be caught unawares. And while he was scouting the area, he started mentally reviewing what he had seen on the scans. Not only did he need to figure out how to get them into the Prothean ruin, he also needed to figure out how to take prisoners in the process. There were questions to which he still needed answers. Starting with the Illusive Man's location…

* * *

**Approaching Southern Scott…**

Illitha struggled to push her barrier outward without allowing it to collapse. The strain involved in extending her barrier without the integrity of the field collapsing was far greater than maintaining a personal barrier, and while she was making progress, it was a difficult skill to learn. She watched as the faint field of her barrier expanded and flickered, actually achieving a full spherical shape before it collapsed and the energy flowed outward, briefly flattening the surrounding grass.

She knew she should stop working to perfect the biotic technique, because she was exhausting herself. Her knees were shaking, and there was over a kilometer remaining in the trip to the city. She hurried to catch up with the Alliance soldiers Gradian had chosen for his team, apologizing once again for falling behind, just as she had at least a hundred times before over the course of the walk.

The Alliance team consisted of four soldiers, none of whom Illitha was very familiar with. The only one she had even recognized when they approached, in fact, was the young blonde woman, Private Second-Class Sanders. With her had been a thin, dark-skinned man with a neat crew-cut that introduced himself as Private First-Class Parker. The third man in the group was a short, slender man with a physique that could only be described as 'cut', who identified himself as Private First-Class Gerbeck. And the commanding officer for the group was a tall and lean fellow with a neatly-trimmed goatee and a deep scar running down the left side of his face called Corporal Roland.

Introductions had been extremely brief, but Illitha got the impression that most of the soldiers were less than thrilled by her presence on the team. The corporal had insisted that they move out immediately, and had urged her to "try to keep up". Of course, that statement was the reason behind her frequent apologies for lagging behind.

In total, the walk through the wilderness to reach Scott was an eleven kilometer journey, and they'd covered most of the distance in the dark. The Alliance soldiers had been kind enough to give her a visor that enabled night vision, for which she was grateful, though it was a little odd to see the world in shades of green and black. Even if they hadn't provided her with the means to see in the darkness, however, they would have been kept on-course by the lurid orange glow to the northwest. It seemed like most of the horizon was on fire.

After Illitha rejoined the group, Private Sanders fell back to walk beside her, glancing over curiously.

"What is it that you keep doing back there?"

"I… I am trying to teach m-myself a new biotic technique," Illitha sighed.

"What kind of technique? I thought you girls learned all that stuff in grade school."

"I want to… I… I need to learn to extend my barrier to form a… a sphere. So I can protect others with it."

"You mean you can't all do that?"

"O-Of course not," Illitha stared at her. "Do humans really think we c-can all perform all manner of biotic feats?"

"I dunno," the girl shrugged. "I never had the chance to actually meet an asari before. I just know that you're all biotics… And I've seen a few asari action vids."

"We all have biotic talent," Illitha nodded. "B-But not all of us choose to develop it."

"What? Seriously?" the girl looked at her as if she were crazy. "Why wouldn't you? If I could make people float around and freeze them and fall like a feather and all of that, it's all I'd _ever_ practice."

"It is tiring and difficult," Illitha admitted. "N-Not all of us want to… to go through all the effort. Especially if… if we are just regular people and might never use it. My friend Selura chose never to pursue hers."

"Is that how she broke her arm?"

"N-No. That… It happened because she was standing under a Reaper fighter drone when it exploded, as I understand it."

"Really? That must have taken some guts… to stand under one of those things, whether it's exploding or not."

"I… I suppose so," Illitha nodded.

"So you're an engineer," the girl shifted subjects, resting her rifle against her shoulder. "What made you decide to do that?"

"I… I do not know," Illitha lied. She wasn't really sure she wanted to discuss her family issues and the general lack of self-esteem that had plagued her childhood with a virtual stranger. "It just… seemed like a good way to see space without having to… to deal with a lot of people. I am not c-comfortable around strangers."

"Yeah," the girl nodded. "I could sorta see that."

"What made you d-decide to join the Alliance, Private Sanders?"

"You can call me Rachel if you want," Sanders suggested.

"Rachel?"

"It's my first name. As opposed to Private Sanders? Or you can just call me Sanders like the rest of my fellow grunts if you prefer."

"Rachel then," Illitha nodded.

"Why did I enlist?" the girl got back to the question at hand. "Well, I wish I could say there's some sort of lofty purpose behind my joining the military. But Earth is a hard place to live when you're poor. You generally have two choices if you wanna climb out of the slums: Join the Alliance, or join a gang. And I didn't want to join up with the assholes that made life in my neighborhood so hard."

Illitha nodded silently. She found it hard to imagine that the human home world could be so unpleasant for their people. Thessia was not absolutely perfect, but it was a very prosperous place for her people to live, filled with possibilities and opportunities. She wondered if she would have turned out more like her father wanted if she had been born in a world where she had to either _fight_ to build a future for herself or remain uneducated, poor, and bereft of hope.

"But life in the Alliance, if it isn't perfect, is good. Great people, travel, discipline, regular meals, decent pay…" Rachel continued with a grin. "Training was rough, especially as a woman. We have to work extra hard to be as good as our male counterparts. While discrimination is technically illegal, no soldier wants someone at their back that can't hold their own. So it's important to make sure we're viewed as someone our fellow soldiers can depend on."

Illitha nodded again, glancing at the men walking ahead of them. Her people generally preferred to mate outside their species to gain new perspectives and traits for their people, and some of them additionally preferred to mate with _males_ of other species for additional insight into foreign ways of life. But she personally did not see the appeal. She was more comfortable with the familiarity of the female shape. To her mind, if her people were meant to mate with males, their species would not have been mono-gendered.

"It must be hard to grow up in a society where half of your own population is so different from yourself," Illitha murmured. "I cannot imagine it."

"Funny," Rachel smiled. "I was thinking the same about your culture. It takes me back to how catty and passive-aggressive some of the girls I was friends with over the years could be, and it's hard to imagine the _entire_ planet being that way. At least when dealing with guys, I can guess what's going through their heads most of the time."

Illitha smiled, amused by the different perspective the human girl had. The things that she found most comforting about her own culture were the very things that Rachel seemed to believe would be hard to deal with, and vice-versa. Though she would never have applied the term passive-aggressive to her people. Diplomacy and understanding were the general preference, rather than some sort of hostility veiled behind a mask of politeness.

"Hold up," a voice hissed from up ahead.

At the directive, Illitha watched Rachel's entire demeanor change. She brought her weapon up to a firing position and directed her gaze through the sights. Her posture became rigid, her expression stern and serious. She hardly even looked like the same person. Illitha crouched low, but she didn't draw the pistol they had given her or the submachine gun she'd brought from Neela's supply of weapons. She just scanned the surrounding terrain, listening for signs of danger.

"Listen up, people," Corporal Roland demanded. "Our destination is an area a few blocks north of the Walters Center, which is just west of the center of the city. Our last reports indicated that Reaper activity was heaviest in the southern portion of Scott, so we're going to circle around to the west, into the foothills between the city and the mountains."

"Sir, aren't wildfires raging through most of those mountains?" Sanders spoke up.

"According to unconfirmed reports from the civilians and that turian, yes," the corporal nodded.

"If Prathus said they are burning, then they are burning," Illitha was quick to support her friend's claims. "J-Just look at the horizon."

"Perhaps so. It certainly seems that way," the corporal added, glancing to the north. "But the foothills may be clear enough to move through. If they are, I'd prefer to go in from the west and bypass the southern end of the city entirely."

The other soldiers all nodded, and Illitha had to nod as well. They certainly couldn't fight through the main Reaper force with just five people.

"As we skirt the edge of the city, there's a good chance we may run into roving Reaper patrols. Stay frosty. If we run into enemy forces, we have to put them down quick and efficient. Any questions?"

"Wh-what are we looking for in the city… specifically?" Illitha asked.

"Didn't Lieutenant Gradian brief you?"

"He… he said he lost contact with a team in the city, and said their last report put them near the… the… that center you were talking about," Illitha blushed… she had forgotten the name of the place, even though it was mentioned just a few seconds before.

"Walters Center," Rachel filled in.

"Yes," Illitha nodded.

"The last report from Recon Team Bravo said they were tracking an anomalous signal in that area. We start where their last report left off. We get to the area in question, and you find that signal for us, if it's still running."

"Me?" Illitha's brows rose. "Why me?"

"You're the engineer," the corporal scowled. "Aren't you?"

"Uh… y-yes, but… my expertise is engines and starship systems…"

"And you've been trained in communications and hacking, I imagine," the corporal persisted. "Unless asari engineering programs are a hell of a lot more limited than ours, that is. I'm sure you'll find what we need."

Illitha nodded slowly. She hadn't expected to be the team's sole engineering expert. She had just assumed that Gradian would send someone with Alliance training in the engineering or communications field. She supposed she should have taken it as a vote of confidence regarding her abilities, but she found herself feeling rather intimidated instead. And in the back of her mind, she wondered what sort of expertise the others brought to the table if _she _was the tech expert.

The only one she could guess at was Private Parker, and that was solely because the man's only apparent weapon was a sniper rifle of a configuration with which she wasn't familiar. She wished she knew a little more about Alliance weaponry. The others were all outfitted with assault rifles and pistols.

"Any other questions?" the corporal demanded, distracting Illitha from her thoughts.

"No sir," the soldiers all answered. Illitha shook her head quickly when all eyes turned toward her.

"Good. Then move out. Gerbeck, take point. Sanders, you bring up the rear. And asari…"

"Illitha," the engineer supplied.

"Asari," the corporal repeated. "No more falling back to do… whatever you were doing. From this point forward the enemy position is danger close."

Illitha felt a brief surge of irritation that the corporal insisted on referring to her by her race instead of her name. She was a person, not a nameless member of another race. She imagined any one of the humans would be annoyed if she insisted on simply calling them all 'human'. However, rather than rise to the urge to say something, she swallowed her anger and nodded meekly. The humans rose to their feet and started moving northwest, and Illitha fell into line behind most of them. Only Rachel was behind her, as she had been appointed as the rear guard. Illitha wasn't sure what awaited them, but she knew that this was the most dangerous situation she'd yet been thrust into. The city was crawling with Reaper troops and there were multiple Reapers there as well. They would have to be extremely careful while navigating the streets of the city.

* * *

**Mivian Heights…**

Aida blinked to try to focus her vision, staring intently at her work while she picked bits of shrapnel out of an Alliance soldier's shoulder. While none of the incoming survivors of the F.O.B. had been critically injured, almost all of them had suffered an injury of some sort. And so, ever since she and the Alliance physician, Doctor Tillman, had finished setting up and sanitizing their infirmary, they had been hard at work patching up the wounded. The asari had seen more injured humans in the past twelve hours than she had imagined she would see in the span of her entire life.

Even the human commander, Captain Tarrislav, had come down to have a minor flesh wound looked at. Him, however, Aida had refused to treat, busying herself with other soldiers until her fellow doctor set herself to the task. The asari simply couldn't get past the fact that the man had exiled her best friend from the security of the Alliance base. There were a few dozen extremely unflattering things she wanted to say to him. She only held her tongue because she felt her work was important to the other humans, and to punish good men and women because of the misdeeds of one seemed unfair.

Carefully extracting the final piece of shrapnel from the soldier's wound, Aida firmly pressed a patch of gauze against the area, and then wrapped a strip of cloth around the man's torso to hold the gauze in place. She had to shake her head at the absurdity of it all. They were all space-faring species, and thanks to the loss of the Alliance supplies in the Mako, they were bandaging soldiers in such crude fashion. They should have had medigel to protect the wounds from infection.

"Try to take it easy," Aida recommended. "Keep the area as clean as possible and come back tomorrow so I can change the dressing."

"Sure thing, doc," the human nodded as he slid off of the table she was using as a gurney. "Thanks."

"You are welcome," Aida smiled wearily. She actually found it more than a little amusing that so many of the soldiers called her 'doc,' which she knew was short for 'doctor.' She had never completed her medical training, so she figured the best title that could accurately be applied to her was 'intern', since she'd been on her way to an internship when her schooling was cut short.

"I'm going to go get some rest," the other doctor spoke up. "I'm exhausted."

Aida nodded. "By all means. When you wake, you can take over here."

"Thanks, Aida," Doctor Tillman smiled at her, and then trudged out of the room.

Aida turned toward the crate in the corner, selecting a bottle of cleanser from among the contents and quickly spraying down her table to sterilize it as much as possible. The Alliance had scoured every building in the town once they had organized their people. The citizens of Mivian Heights had taken every scrap of food, medical supplies, weapons, communications equipment and other useful material they had when they abandoned the settlement. They'd left behind everything that wasn't essential, meaning the Alliance had mostly discovered cleansers, dishes, toys, furniture, sporting equipment, odd bits of clothing, and other relatively useless things. The upside of the situation was that their makeshift med clinic was stocked with enough sanitizers and cleansing agents to keep it spotless for a decade.

Aida spotted a figure out of the corner of her eye, standing off to the side. She sighed and wondered how many more wounded would be in before she could sit down and relax. She turned to greet the individual…

…and found no sign of him. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, even going so far as to walk to the other side of the table and make sure the figure wasn't hiding from her in some sort of juvenile prank. When she found nothing, she put a hand to her head and sank into a nearby chair, sighing wearily. Apparently she was so tired after twelve hours of work without any food that she was seeing things. Her eyes drifted to the Prothean stasis pod, which rested on a table in the corner. The pod had been moved off of the gurney they'd used to transport it so that their med clinic had at least one actual bed at the appropriate height for surgery.

At the thought of surgery, she rose from her seat and walked over to the section they had curtained off for recovering patients. She paused at the side of the bed of the human she'd struggled to save when they first arrived in the town. The man hadn't yet regained consciousness, so she hadn't had the opportunity to apologize for being forced to amputate his leg. However, his vitals were strong, so she hoped it was only a matter of time. She ran a quick scan on him to be certain there were no new complications in the last few hours, and nodded when the results were unchanged from her last record.

She strolled back out to the captain's stasis pod and sat down in a chair beside it, bowing her head.

"I wish you were with us, Captain," she said softly. "Maybe if you were in charge, things would not be such a mess. Everyone is gone, and I am here… alone… worrying about all of them."

She was sure that given the function of the Prothean pod, the captain couldn't hear her the way it was said unconscious patients sometimes could, but she still drew some measure of comfort from talking to the asari she so admired.

"Neela, Selura and Prathus are on their way to a Prothean ruin," she continued. "If all goes well, they will find the necessary data to get you out of stasis, and you will be back with us. I really miss you," she sighed. "Your discipline and your stoicism was always a comfort to me whenever things started to go wrong. I always got the impression that you knew exactly what to do. You always acted with logic instead of emotion."

Aida raised her head when she heard a soft scuffling sound, as if someone was approaching. When the sound did not repeat itself, she decided she was simply too tired and was imagining things. She reached out and touched the stasis pod.

"Lith pointed out weeks ago that my interest in you was obvious to her. I have found myself wondering since then if it was obvious to you too. Would you ever be interested in someone like me? I like to dream that we could be together someday, but could you ever really get close to someone so much younger? Would you even _consider_ a relationship with another asari? Especially a pureblood like me…" she trailed off, feeling shame as always over the stigma of her asari-exclusive family. She loved both of her parents and all of her sisters dearly, but she knew how other asari viewed people like her.

"If we get you out of this stasis, I might have to have a talk like this with you again," she mused aloud. "At least then I could stop fantasizing about what might be, and deal with the reality of whatever will come of it. I will always love you-"

The sound of someone clearing their throat startled Aida, and she turned and rose from her chair in one fluid motion to confront the eavesdropper. She found Lieutenant Gradian standing in the doorway, and felt herself blushing deeply at the embarrassed and apologetic look on his face.

"I'm sorry," he said immediately. "I didn't mean to overhear you. I came down to check on Mitchelson and ask for a list of medical supplies we would need to hunt down to get this infirmary operating properly."

"It is alright," Aida said softly, though she was deeply embarrassed. "I just ran another scan on Mr. Mitchelson," she gestured toward the hanging curtain. "His vitals are strong and there are no apparent complications. But he has not regained consciousness yet."

"I see," Gradian nodded. "And regarding the supplies?" he activated his omni-tool, apparently ready to compile the list of gear he had mentioned.

"Do you know where we can get these supplies?"

"My recon team should be close to the city by now," he explained. "Once they've completed their objective, they are under orders to scour the area for any supplies they can find. I want to send a drone out to pass them a list of the stockpiles we need."

Aida nodded. She knew that the Alliance forces made frequent use of VI-controlled drones of all types. The turians and her own people had long been impressed with versatility of the human military for several reasons, this being among them.

"Well, medigel, obviously," Aida finally answered, thinking of how silly she felt having to bandage wounds rather than apply medigel. "We could also use antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, local anesthetics, basic medical tools like scalpels, and ultrasonic emitters to remove hardened medigel so that we don't have to cut it off. And surgical visors would also be a great help. Staring at wounds and trying to spot tiny fragments of shrapnel for the past several hours has given me a headache."

Gradian chuckled, entering the information into his omni as she spoke. Aida wasn't sure what else they urgently needed since she imagined the Reapers would have targeted any hospitals they found to deprive the humans of medical supplies. There were all sorts of expensive medical tech that would make their work easier, but the likelihood of finding any of it intact was low.

"Thanks. I'll ask Rebecca if she had anything to add when she wakes."

"Reb-" Aida started to ask who Rebecca was, but cut herself off when she made the connection. "Oh. You mean Doctor Tillman," she smiled and shook her head. The woman had introduced herself back in the medical shelter on the F.O.B., but she had forgotten the name, given all the craziness since.

"You should get some sleep," Gradian suggested.

"I have only been awake for thirteen hours," Aida protested, though she actually felt like it had been much longer. "And someone should be here in case anyone requires medical treatment."

"You look exhausted, and the lack of food doesn't help, I'm sure. I know _I_ feel run down," he admitted. "I'll put a sentry in here with orders to wake either you or Rebecca if anything comes up. Get the rest while you can. Captain Tarrislav is organizing an assault on Reaper forces, so we'll need both of you rested and alert when it's over."

"What kind of assault? Where?" Aida demanded. "Would it not be better to hide for a while?"

"Listen," Gradian sighed, shaking his head. "I can't discuss strategic planning with you in detail. Alliance operations are strictly classified. I only warned you because as one of our medics, you will need to be prepared for the aftermath. But you and your friends really need to understand that you're _civilians_. You have no say in our operations. I'm sorry."

Aida sighed and put a hand to her head. She had a horrible headache, and all of the frustration and stress was not helping in the slightest. Gradian put a hand on her shoulder.

"I like you girls. All of you," the lieutenant admitted. "That's why I wanted Illitha on my recon team. She's useful, and I think she'll be an asset. Just like you're useful and you've been a great asset around here. But I don't want you all to continue to irritate my superiors and reinforce their negative impression of your group. I'd really like the chance to convince him that Illitha should be brought back into our ranks. But if you or one of your friends does more to reinforce his suspicion of you all, there'll be no chance at all of convincing him of inviting her back into our perimeter."

"I understand," Aida muttered. "But we did not ask to be stranded on Terra Nova. It is difficult to accept that we have no voice in important matters when our lives are at stake, just as yours are. Maybe we should not be viewed as civilians, but as representatives of the asari here on Terra Nova."

An amused grin appeared upon Gradian's lips at the suggestion. He chuckled and shook his head. "You make a fair point. Maybe, if things I discussed with Illitha turn out like we hope, I can get a slightly larger voice for your team in the future. We'll see how things pan out."

"What things did you discuss with her?"

"Maybe we can talk about it later. I need to report back to the captain with my compiled list of necessities. And you need rest."

"You are right," Aida nodded slowly.

_I'd like nothing more than to take a nap_, she admitted to herself. As she headed for the door, however, her eyes fell upon the Prothean stasis pod again, and she smiled and amended her previous thought. _Well, almost nothing. I have to admit that curling up with the captain the way Neela and Selura were sleeping together would be a step up from just a nap…_

_._

* * *

_._

**Author's Note: Once again, first and foremost I must thank everyone who reads, comments, favorites, follows, or otherwise pays any attention to my story. I have been both surprised and inspired by the numbers of readers that have decided to give it a read, and I'm grateful to all of you. I am still on schedule, so if things continue, the next update will be on Saturday morning.**

**As far as this Chapter goes, not a whole lot to say about it, but it should be apparent that things are about to pick up, with one group in the city and the other attacking a Cerberus-controlled site. I hope that the upcoming Chapters will be interesting and exciting. There are several that I am really excited to be so close to posting. Hopefully they will be well-received. In any case, have a great week, everyone :)**


	27. Chapter 27: Planning

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Planning

.

**Wilderness near Dig Site Theta-129…**

Selura sat quietly on the remains of a fallen tree, her eyes upon the lights of the Cerberus encampment in the distance. The night was quiet and seemed so peaceful that she could almost forget that the lights belonged to an enemy group and that there were Reapers trying to destroy all of creation. It had taken hours to make the necessary modifications to Salik's holographic communications projector for their infiltration plan, but eventually they had successfully converted it into a cloaked environmental mapping drone. The downside to their plan was that their new spy drone moved fairly slowly, and though the salarian had dispatched it immediately upon their successful test of the modifications, they didn't expect it to return for hours.

_And that assumes that some Cerberus soldier does not bump into it while it is floating down a corridor,_ she thought with a faint smile.

A rustling sound from behind her caused her to turn and peer into the darkness, but the cloak of night was impenetrable. While she was wearing a suit of Alliance armor, the human helmets were not built to accommodate asari scalp crests, so she'd had to leave the head-gear behind. Thus she had no vision-enhancing equipment to assist her. She had asked Gradian about goggles or a visor of some kind, but he told her that his last spare night-vision visor had been sent with the recon team he was dispatching, and would be given to Illitha. Unable to see who or what was approaching now, she sighed and decided to risk saying something. Her only choice was to hope it was a friend and not an enemy.

"Hello?" she murmured the word. _Some sentry I am. There could be a whole troop of Cerberus soldiers standing out there and I could never tell._

"It's Neela," a soft reply drifted out of the darkness.

Selura smiled and turned, scooting over to make room on the relatively flat portion of the fallen log that was her seat. She felt Neela settle next to her, resting hip-to-hip against her, and she laid the back of her palm against the quarian's thigh, fingers spread. Neela got the hint; she felt the quarian's hand grasp her own and their fingers laced together. It was a slightly awkward feeling, since the structure of the quarian's hand was so different from hers, but she really loved those differences.

"I am the worst sentry ever," Selura murmured. "Putting me out here is sort of like blindfolding a security guard."

"Your shift only lasts for another hour," Neela's voice was filled with amusement.

"That long?" Selura groaned, though she was only half-serious. "I thought you were coming to relieve me."

"Aren't you relieved? You're not alone anymore," the quarian bumped her playfully with her shoulder.

"Actually, now that you mention it, I _do_ feel a lot better when you are with me," Selura could feel herself blush a bit at the admission, but she was happy to be able to say it. For a time, she hadn't been certain Neela would ever get comfortable enough with her feelings for the two of them to be so close.

She could tell that the quarian was embarrassed by her comment from the way the body next to her shifted position. She smiled and leaned against Neela, resting her head upon the quarian's shoulder. Her gaze rested briefly upon the distant light of the Cerberus camp and then shifted upward, looking at the stars above. She didn't think she'd actually bothered to look up since they landed. The night sky was beautiful.

"Do you think we will ever get off of this planet?" Selura asked.

"I hope so," Neela said softly. "I'd like to see my family again someday. Maybe when I introduce you to them, I'll even be doing it on Rannoch."

Selura couldn't keep from grinning at the quarian's words and the meaning behind them. If Neela wasn't serious about making their relationship work, she was sure the quarian wouldn't be thinking of introducing her to her family. However, the pilot's last words tempered the joy she felt somewhat. She sighed and squeezed her companion's hand.

"I am sorry you were not able to return to your people to help against the geth," she said softly. "I know how much you wanted to be there."

"I actually was terrified of the idea," Neela admitted almost immediately. "I want to believe my people will win and reclaim the home world, but… I have a hard time believing the geth will be so easy to defeat. I'm afraid that things could go against us…"

"You have to believe in your people," Selura encouraged her. "You are all fighting for the future of your race. If there was ever a better cause to fight for, I cannot imagine it."

"I wish we weren't caught on this black hole of a planet. Without communications I can't even try to contact the fleet for an update…" the quarian sounded frustrated.

"When we get back to the Alliance camp, maybe we could ask about the location of any quantum entanglement communicators on the planet. The destruction of FTL buoys and Reaper signal interference would not affect those, would it?"

Neela was silent following her statement, and Selura wished she had some idea of what the quarian was feeling. She knew about Neela's misgivings regarding the war with the geth, and the truth was, she shared them. If the war went badly for the quarians, it broke her heart to think of how devastated Neela would be. Perhaps her companion didn't want to get her hopes up regarding the possibility of contact with the galaxy beyond Terra Nova.

"How is your arm feeling?" Neela changed the subject, breaking the silence.

Selura smiled and shrugged. "It aches horribly. But I suppose that means it is healing."

"Just promise me you aren't going to stand near any exploding equipment when we go after the Prothean archive…"

Selura laughed and shook her head. "I cannot make that promise. Now that I have a taste for being crushed by debris, I may not be able to resist," she grinned playfully.

"Keelah," the quarian laughed. "You can't at least let your previous injuries heal before you do it again?"

"Nah," Selura shook her head. "Better to add injuries now. That way they can all heal together."

"What am I going to do with you?" the quarian's tone was warm.

"Introduce me to your parents, apparently," Selura grinned. "You did not think I would let that go without comment, did you?"

"No," Neela's response came quickly. "At least, I hoped not. Would you _like_ to meet them?"

"Of course," Selura nodded, all trace of playfulness gone. "I would be honored. And I would like you to meet my mother as well, of course."

"I think I'd like that. From what little you've told me about her, she sounds like an amazing woman. I guess she'd have to be, if she managed to raise such an amazing daughter."

Selura's brows rose, and to her consternation, she could feel herself blushing fiercely. She wondered if perhaps it was the darkness that was giving Neela such courage to say what was on her mind. She tightened her grip upon Neela's hand and raised it to her lips, kissing the flexible polymer that covered her fingers. She heard Neela sigh.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"No," Neela said softly. "Not really. Just wishing I could do that sort of thing for you."

"Being close to you is good enough for me," Selura smiled at her, wondering if Neela could see her in the darkness. She knew the quarian's visor had vision-enhancement features. "Anything more can wait until we have destroyed the Reapers, saved Terra Nova, and can pursue our relationship together in peace."

"What makes you think I am going to let you do more than be close to me?" Neela's tone suddenly sounded both bashful and playful.

"Call it a hunch," Selura teased. "Something about the places your hands roam when you are sleeping in my bed…"

"What?" Neela suddenly sounded like she was on the verge of panic.

Selura couldn't hold back her laughter. Of course Neela hadn't been groping her in her sleep… actually, the girl barely moved while she slept. But the chance to tease her was too good to pass up. The laughter seemed to clue Neela in on the fact that she was being teased, because the quarian suddenly growled "Bosh'tet!" and shoved the asari backward off of the log. Selura's laughter only increased when she found herself lying in the grass.

"That's not funny!" Neela insisted.

Selura only grinned, sat up, and wrapped her good arm around Neela's waist, pulling her backward off of the log and into the grass with her. The quarian reflexively flailed as she fell back and bumped Selura's injured arm in the process, drawing a wince from the asari. But Neela became still once they were lying together in the grass. Selura could only lie on her left side due to the fact that her right arm was injured and it hurt to put pressure on it, so she slid her left arm beneath Neela's body and pulled her close, embracing her from behind, smiling to herself. She marveled at the way the width of Neela's hips and the narrowness of her waist allowed her arm to rest beneath her with virtually none of the quarian's weight pressing upon the limb.

"I was only teasing," Selura whispered. "And even if I were not, I would never hold against you what you do in your sleep."

Neela said nothing, and the quarian was a little tense in her arms, leading her to wonder if maybe her joke had crossed a line she shouldn't have crossed. She rested her cheek against the back of the pilot's shoulder and tightened her arm around her.

"Forgive me? I did not mean to embarrass you," she said softly. "Not this much, anyway," she amended with a smile.

"It's okay," Neela said softly.

"Are you uncomfortable being so close to me? You are so tense…"

"Oh. Yes. I… Being close to you is… nice."

Selura smiled, but still wondered at the tension she could feel in the girl's posture, and the hint of discomfort she could hear in her voice. She started to withdraw her arm from beneath her and put some distance between them, when Neela's hand pressed over hers where it rested against her midsection, keeping her from moving it further.

"Don't," Neela said softly.

Neela didn't have to say another word. All at once, when Selura felt the sudden thrill that went through her at Neela's insistence that she remain close, she understood what the quarian was feeling. The tension wasn't a result of discomfort, but of natural responses to being in the arms of someone she loved. Knowing that Neela harbored the same sort of desires for her that she felt for the quarian was both comforting and exciting. Any remaining thought of watching the Cerberus camp fled from her mind. She tightened her arm around Neela and carefully draped the other one over her, pressing her forehead against the soft fabric of the hood that covered the back of Neela's head.

"I love you, Neela'Xara nar Ganaza," she whispered so softly that she wasn't sure Neela even heard her. Not that it mattered. She didn't need Neela to respond to know how the quarian felt about her. She sighed happily, content simply to be close to the woman she loved in the silence of the Terra Nova countryside.

* * *

**Mivian Heights…**

_Aida struggled against her captors in the infirmary, screaming for them to stop what they were doing. The humans that held her wrenched her arms and forced her to her knees, holding her immobile while their engineers used their omni-tools to cut through the shell of the Prothean stasis pod. She could only watch in impotent fury as the lights on the control console set in the device's side flickered and died._

_The engineers flipped the lid off of the pod and picked the entire device up, callously dumping the captain's frozen body onto the floor. Aida screamed and cursed at them, struggling against the painful grip of the soldiers that held her, feeling as though her heart had just shattered into a billion pieces. The engineers started gutting the device, taking every bit of undamaged tech they could find from its innards._

_"The Alliance needs this tech," the voice of Captain Tarrislav drew her attention. She glared at the man, who continued without seeming to notice. "The life of one asari is meaningless next to the survival of our people."_

_"Murderers!" Aida screamed, renewing her struggles to free herself of the vice-like grip of her captors. Her efforts were in vain._

_"A necessary sacrifice," Tarrislav shrugged, shoving the captain's corpse aside with his foot as he walked past it._

_"By the Goddess, I swear I will kill you for this!" Aida screamed at him._

_"You won't be killing anything," one of the soldiers that held her immobile hissed. "Like the captain said, the life of one asari is meaningless next to our survival. The same goes for the lives of two," he drew his pistol and pressed it to her head._

_Aida winced in anticipation of the gunshot that would end her life. When the sound came, however, she was puzzled to note that she wasn't dead, and the grip on her right arm had vanished. She opened her eyes and looked around in confusion, only to find husks and cannibals flooding into the room. The soldier that had been threatening her was lying on the floor in a pool of crimson. The other soldier released her arm and scrambled away, and the room filled with the deafening sounds of gunfire and explosions. Aida ignored it all and crawled to the captain's side, feeling tears slide down her cheeks. The cacophony around her died out within moments, but she paid no heed to the sudden silence._

_"The humans will sacrifice anything to ensure their survival," a deep, rumbling voice echoed from all around her. "We are the harbingers of their destruction and the salvation of those who do not oppose us."_

_Aida looked around in confusion, and noted that the cannibals and husks were all just standing around, staring at her with eyes that shone with a bright yellow light. Suddenly, a hand reached up and cupped her cheek, gently turning her gaze downward. She was shocked when she found herself looking not at the captain's frozen corpse, but at the elder asari's beautiful, _living_ face._

"Hey asari… Wake up…"

Aida woke with a start when a hand gently shook her, raising her head and looking around dazedly. She was still in the dark upper balcony of the library, where she had settled down to get some sleep. An Alliance soldier was crouched over her, and when she saw the man's face, she very nearly punched him. It was the face of the man that had been about to shoot her in her dream. She put a hand to her head and sighed.

_It was just a stupid dream_, she reminded herself.

"We need you in the infirmary," the soldier informed her. "We have refugees inbound, and there seem to be some injuries among them."

Aida nodded to show that she understood, tossing her blanket aside and stumbling out of bed. By the time she had descended the stairs to the lobby, she was feeling a bit more alert, though her head was throbbing. She found Gradian and Captain Tarrislav standing near the door, and she scowled at the sight of the elder of the two soldiers.

"…see them settled in one of our designated civilian shelters, Lieutenant," Tarrislav was speaking to Gradian. "And find out if there's someone in the group that can be a chaperone for the younger ones. We need someone keeping an eye on the kids. That little blonde brat was in my command center an hour ago, drawing pictures on the touch pad I've been using for logistical data."

"I'll see to it, sir," Gradian saluted the other man.

Aida was headed for the basement door when Tarrislav dismissed the younger man and walked away. Gradian hurried to catch up to her.

"Sorry we had to wake you early," Gradian sighed. "Our patrol came across a group of refugees traveling along the tramway, apparently. Looks like mostly civilians, and they seem to be in sorry shape."

"Seem to be?" Aida repeated.

"Yes. The patrol sent a runner ahead. The group as a whole hasn't arrived yet. Our runner says there are several with severe injuries, and most are injured in some fashion," Gradian informed her. "I'll be down shortly to check on the situation. Right now, I have to be ready to take charge of the uninjured. Excuse me."

Aida nodded at the news, resisting the urge to sigh in frustration. It was disheartening to think that she would be helping to treat serious injuries once again, with the lack of supplies making it very likely that she'd end up with another Private Mitchelson on her hands… Without basic medical necessities, severe injuries were practically a death sentence. The Alliance and everyone they rescued had Captain Tarrislav to thank for that one too.

_Perhaps I am being unfair to the man,_ Aida mused as she set to work on sanitizing herself. _He made a questionable decision in a desperate situation. If I had been responsible for getting a hundred soldiers and civilians out of that camp, would I have done any better?_

She shook her head. The man had ejected Illitha from the town, and that didn't help her in viewing him objectively. Nor did the strange dream she'd had. She pushed the man from her thoughts for the moment. Right now, she would have to be focused on saving people's lives. She finished scrubbing her hands and rinsed them, shaking the water off, and turned to await the first of their patients, keeping her hands in the air to avoid contaminating them. Doctor Tillman walked into the room and went immediately to the basin to clean herself up.

Aida's eyes drifted to the stasis pod in the corner, drawn by the irrational need to be sure it hadn't actually been destroyed like in her dream. She felt a little silly at the sense of relief that flooded through her when she saw it whole and functional.

"My offer to help save your friend still applies."

Aida turned to look at the human woman, smiling softly at the reminder. Doctor Tillman had been one of the doctors that had volunteered to save the captain back at the F.O.B., and she was glad that the woman was still willing.

"Thank you. I know my friends will find the information we need, so it will not be long. I just hope we have better supplies by then."

"When the team in the city receives Gradian's request, they will make it a priority," Rebecca assured her.

Any further conversation between them was cut off when injured men, women and children were guided into the room in a steady stream by Alliance soldiers. Aida was surprised at how quickly the room filled up. Every table, chair and bed was soon crowded with patients awaiting care. It was a little overwhelming to see so many people in need of attention, and all of them forced to wait their turn. With only two trained medical personnel, there was no choice but to handle patients on the basis of urgency. Which meant leaving crying children unattended in favor of gravely injured adults, no matter how much her heart demanded that she see to the little ones first.

Perhaps fortunately, she didn't have time to feel guilty. Within moments they had their first critical patient up on the gurney and were working to repair multiple gunshot wounds in his abdomen. Aida had to follow Rebecca's lead in the procedure… she wasn't familiar enough with human anatomy to make sense of the maze of organs in the man's abdominal cavity. It was actually a miracle he had survived as long as he did, even though his wounds had been sealed with medigel.

"Here, Doc," an Alliance soldier's voice addressed the human woman. A moment later a hand placed about a dozen packets of medigel on the edge of the gurney.

"Where'd this come from?" Rebecca asked without ever taking her eyes off of her work.

"These refugees had some medigel in their possession. They used it on the worst of their wounded and turned over the rest to us. Lieutenant Gradian said to give it to you."

Doctor Tillman nodded and continued her work, and Aida did her best to assist. The best method of learning was by doing, some said, and if she'd had the time to think about anything but the task at hand, Aida might have agreed. Simply by gently pushing organs out of place so that Rebecca could reach the wounds to bind them and by watching the human doctor's skillful work, Aida was learning a great deal about surgical procedure on human patients. But their work was time-consuming. By the time they finished with their first patient, another seriously-wounded man had developed complications that made his condition life-threatening.

The two physicians spent hours just treating the first three patients, with many more simply waiting their turn and staring at them while they worked. The third critical patient died on their operating table, and Aida felt nauseous when they were unable to resuscitate him after his heart stopped for the second time. Doctor Tillman merely covered the man with a sheet and went on to the next patient. The asari both admired and was horrified by the businesslike manner in which the woman approached her job. She didn't seem bothered at all by the man's death.

There wasn't time to dwell on the matter. With the critical patients cared for to the best of their ability, the two of them split up and started handling the remaining patients, patching up minor wounds, dealing with burns and broken limbs, examining patients suffering from concussions, and so forth. By the time Aida finished with her last patient, she was certain they'd been working for another twelve-hour shift. She was shocked to learn that it had been only six.

As she was scrubbing her hands clean for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, she sighed, rolling her head back and forth in an attempt to loosen the muscles in her shoulders and upper back. The tension throughout her body was almost unbearable. Doctor Tillman had finished with her final patient first, so Aida was alone in the infirmary save for the patients recovering in the beds behind the curtain… or so she thought.

It was a considerable shock, therefore, when strong hands settled upon her shoulders. She gasped and whirled around, only to find herself confronted with the sight of a rather sheepish-looking Lieutenant Gradian.

"Sorry," he smiled at her. "You looked like you were a bit tense. I was only going to see if I could help."

"I apologize," she laughed nervously. "I did not hear you enter. You startled me."

"Well, the offer stands," he shrugged. "I don't mean to cross any professional lines, but I could try to work some of the tension out of your shoulders if you like."

"Goddess… that would be _wonderful_."

"Well then, have a seat," the Lieutenant gestured to one of the nearby chairs.

Aida settled into the chair, and when the Lieutenant returned his hands to her shoulders and started firmly kneading the tension from her muscles, she all but moaned in relief. Bowing her head, she sat still and let the human work his magic.

"I really appreciate everything you've done for us," Gradian murmured. "You and your companions have really gone above and beyond to help out."

"It is the least I can do," Aida said softly. She felt like she might doze off under the relaxing effects of the human's massage.

"Nevertheless, it's appreciated," he insisted.

"Are the Reapers attacking civilians now?" Aida changed the subject. She was concerned over the fact that none of their injured refugees had been in Alliance uniforms.

"The Reapers are attacking everyone," Gradian replied. "But I was told that this group fought their way out of the city. They managed to get out into the grasslands with minimal casualties, only to have a harvester drop troops on them in the middle of nowhere."

Aida shook her head despondently. "Tell me honestly, Gradian," she urged. "Does the Alliance have a plan?"

"The Reapers hamstrung us right from the start," the soldier muttered. "They hit our HQ in Scott the second they descended. Robbed us of a good portion of our vehicles and most of our heavy weapons and artillery. Our forces are scattered all over the place and communications are down. So… to be honest, no. We don't have a plan other than to survive until our fleets can return."

Aida's shoulders sagged at this news. She had hoped that there would have been some sort of battle plan in place to drive the Reapers from Terra Nova. But she supposed she shouldn't have been surprised. Given the strength of Reaper forces, she couldn't imagine what they could have done.

"Try not to worry too much," the Lieutenant continued. "We may not have a plan at present, but we're trained to be versatile. If we receive some new information or see an opportunity to turn things around, we'll take it. In the meantime, we _will_ survive."

"I hope you are right," Aida said softly. "I want to see my family again."

"Me too," the Lieutenant muttered. "And I'll fight like hell to do it. We all will."

* * *

**Outskirts of Scott, Capital City of Terra Nova…**

Illitha crouched nervously in the brush on a hilltop overlooking the ruined city of Scott, trying to ignore the fine rain of ash that drifted down around her like snow. Rachel had mentioned that the city was the capital of the colony world, and for some reason, that simple fact seemed to magnify the tragedy of what she was witnessing. The sight of a city ravaged by Reapers was tragic to begin with, but somehow, knowing that it was the largest and most important city on the planet made it more horrifying.

Through the view afforded by the night vision visor she wore, Illitha could see the shattered and gutted remains of buildings spread throughout the south of the city, almost as far as the city's center. The streets were filled with debris from destroyed buildings and the wrecked remains of disabled vehicles. The entire settlement was without power, which made the whole scene seem eerie and abandoned. She knew that both Alliance soldiers and Reaper troops were spread throughout the city. However, from their vantage, the only sign of motion she could see were the two massive Reapers as they slowly moved north, demolishing buildings as they went, and the occasional silhouette of a harvester circling in the air.

"Goddess," she breathed.

"You said it," Rachel, who was crouched beside her, whispered.

"So much damage in just a c-couple of days…"

"This is nothing," Rachel muttered. "This is just a couple Reapers. It must be a thousand times worse for Earth…"

"And Palavan," Illitha added gloomily, her thoughts turning to Prathus.

"Cut the chatter," Corporal Roland hissed. "Move out."

Illitha saw her young blonde companion wince at the reprimand and resume her businesslike 'soldier expression', as the asari had unofficially dubbed it. The other soldiers rose one-by-one and started down the hillside toward the city, and Illitha fell into place in the line, trying to ignore the growling of her stomach. She hadn't eaten since that morning, and with the length of the days on Terra Nova, she was assuming that meant at least a full Thessian day had passed since she had any food. She hoped that when they completed their mission and reached the Walters Center where the Alliance forces were supposed to be headquartered, they might be given something to eat.

There had been no sign of any Reaper activity while they circled around into the foothills, which were blessedly free of the wildfires raging further to the west of the city. Illitha was surprised, actually. She had expected to find Reapers all over the area, trying to cut off escape for anyone who might try to flee the city. Not that she was complaining about the lack of danger to this point, but it made her wonder just how successfully the Alliance was fighting back. Perhaps the lack of spare forces patrolling the wilderness meant the Reapers were having a hard time overcoming Alliance resistance.

With every step she took toward the outskirts of the city, Illitha felt her anxiety rise. She was not trained for combat, and the knowledge that enemies could be hiding in any of the buildings around them was terrifying. She wasn't sure how soldiers handled this sort of fear on a routine basis; she felt like her knees were going to give out on her. She pulled her pistol from the maglock at her hip and activated it, eyeing the dark holes of the surrounding windows and doorways warily.

Corporal Roland held up an arm, hand balled into a fist, and at his signal the other soldiers stopped. Illitha came to a stop as well, following the lead of the soldiers since had no idea what these military hand signals actually meant. She watched as the corporal pointed to Private Gerbeck and pointed a finger upward, moving his hand in a circle. The Private nodded and disappeared into a building on the right. Illitha was mystified. She would have to ask Rachel later to fill her in on the meaning of some of the signals they were using. For the time being, since no one else was moving, she stayed perfectly still and waited.

Time seemed to drag on for an eternity while the other soldiers stood around, warily scanning their surroundings. Illitha wanted to speak up and ask what was going on, but she was afraid that if she said anything, she might draw any hostile forces in the area to them.

A soft whistling sound from above drew her attention, and she gazed up to the roof of a nearby building, where Private Gerbeck was crouched right at the edge of the rooftop. He proceeded to execute a long string of hand signals that Illitha didn't understand, closing his hand and opening it, gesturing in curving motions, forming strange symbols with his fingers, and so on. She shook her head.

"Okay," Corporal Roland hissed. "We're shifting two blocks north. We've got a sizeable Reaper patrol sweeping around from the south. Mixed husks and cannibals, forty plus in total. Too many for us to deal with. Sanders, you take point."

Illitha blinked in surprise. She was starting to get the picture. The original motion where the human had pointed up and gestured in a circle was a signal to get to a rooftop and look around. And all of the complex gestures from the roof were apparently enemy counts and positions. Once again, she was impressed by the discipline and utility of the human soldiers. Even without radios, they were able to communicate vital information quickly and efficiently.

They moved north through the streets, keeping close to buildings and abandoned vehicles to make themselves harder to spot. Gerbeck rejoined them as they walked. The longer they were in the city, the more Illitha's anxiety faded. She was still frightened, but she felt herself beginning to adjust to the danger and gain some semblance of control over her fear. It helped that she was surrounded by professional soldiers who obviously knew what they were doing. And they had been lucky enough to avoid drawing enemy attention.

Once they reached their designated northerly shift, Rachel turned and led them down a street to the east toward the center of the city. It seemed clear to Illitha that they needed to move fast. Given the amount of devastation she had seen from the hills and its position, she assumed that the Reaper forces had nearly reached the heart of the city, where their destination lay. She was fairly sure their mission would be cancelled if a Reaper was standing on their goal before they got to it.

A dark object streaked out of the sky and hovered in the street ahead of them, startling Illitha. She reflexively raised her pistol, and might have fired on the object if the dark-skinned human, Private Parker, hadn't grabbed her hand and pushed it downward firmly. She glanced over at him, and he shook his head.

"It's an Alliance recon drone. It's keyed in to the corporal's omni-tool signature," the marine explained. "Must be carrying an update or request from the L.T."

While Corporal Roland was using his omni-tool to download information from the drone, Gerbeck ran to a nearby rooftop to scout their surroundings. While she waited for the two men to finish their tasks, Illitha thought of her friends and wondered how they were faring. At the thought, she crouched behind an abandoned skycar and activated her omni-tool, going to work on the encrypted data she had copied from the salarian's omni. She had almost forgotten about it, given the apprehension she experienced in walking to a war zone, her conversations with Rachel, and trying to adjust to being part of an Alliance team. Thinking of Neela, Prathus and Selura's welfare brought back the uneasy feeling she'd had about the salarian's demeanor. She needed to find out what he was hiding.

She knew only one thing so far. Whatever he was hiding, he didn't want anyone else to discover it. It had been extremely difficult to hack into his omni-tool's communications suite, and she had never seen encryption as complex as that which protected the data. She was a skilled hacker, and despite her knowledge of security and encryption, she was still mystified by some of the code in the security software in front of her.

"New orders from Gradian," Corporal Roland whispered loudly. "Assuming the anomalous signal the first team reported is still broadcasting, after we find and track it, we now have a secondary objective: Finding medical supplies, weapons and equipment. Gradian passed along a list," the tall man glanced up at the rooftop above, where Gerbeck was waiting to pass along another series of hand signals. After watching for a moment, the corporal added, "We're clear for another six blocks."

Illitha sighed and deactivated her omni-tool, rising from her hiding spot so that she was not left behind when the soldiers started moving again. She was puzzled to note that the drone hovered along above them instead of flying off. She was tempted to ask about it, but decided that it wasn't really any of her concern what the drone was doing. She supposed if it was important that she know, someone would have said something about it.

Their trek continued to the east. However, they hadn't even gone a block before Illitha happened to glance in through the window of a building they were passing, and she spotted the bloated, bulbous silhouette of a cannibal down a hallway inside the building, deep in its interior. She stopped and crouched at the window, peering over the windowsill curiously. The cannibal was placing a piece of equipment on the floor, and seemed to be oblivious to their presence outside the structure.

"Asari, get moving."

The command came from Private Parker, who was walking rear guard now that Rachel was in the lead. Illitha put a finger to her lips and nodded toward the cannibal she was watching, which prompted the human to press close to the wall and take a cautious peek into the building. The object the Reaper was positioning opened up, rising to a standing position, and Illitha recognized it immediately as the same type of object as the ones in Mivian Heights.

Illitha glanced down the street, where the other soldiers had stopped and were all looking their direction curiously. She glanced up at Parker, who held up one hand and formed a 'C' shape with it, then a single finger, then gestured in the direction of the building's interior. Illitha wondered if they would take the time to kill the Reaper. She hoped so. Perhaps she had just been soured by how many of the cannibalistic monsters had tried to kill her, but it seemed wrong to leave it alive to carry out whatever horrible plan it had been sent to complete.

To her dismay, she saw the corporal make a slashing motion across his neck and gesture for them to come toward him. Parker nudged her, and she sighed, feeling torn. She was more than a little tempted to take a shot at it and force them to deal with it. But she supposed that it wasn't worth jeopardizing their mission for the sake of killing one Reaper soldier. She sullenly crept past the window and left the building behind, hoping that whatever the cannibal was doing didn't come back to haunt them later on.

As a precaution, she decided to mark the area on her omni-tool's mapping function, so that she could find her way back if needed. She wasn't sure why… perhaps it was because similar devices were planted all around Mivian Heights… but she had a bad feeling about their function and what they would do to her friends and allies.

* * *

**Wilderness near Dig Site Theta-129…**

Prathus limped through the brush toward the hilltop where their group had decided to position their lookouts, cursing the ever-present brambles that made the wooded areas of Terra Nova so difficult to walk through. Their makeshift spy drone had returned just moments before, and he had volunteered to go find Neela, who was supposed to be on watch, and Selura, who he hadn't seen in hours. The human mercenary, Zaeed, had been preparing to go retrieve them, but Prathus insisted on going instead. He had his suspicions that he would find the two girls doing something other than watching, and if so, he didn't want the mercs to see that.

Much to his disappointment, he wasn't wrong. He could barely see anything in the darkness, but he was able to just barely make out the forms of Neela and Selura lying together in the grass, curled up on their sides, with the asari cradling the quarian in her arms. They were talking together in soft whispers. In truth, he had expected to find them engaged in slightly more intimate endeavors, given the obvious change that had undergone their relationship since he had seen them aboard the _Sileya_. But the main reason for his insistence on going to find them himself remained intact. The two were lying on the ground together, with a fallen log between them and the Cerberus camp. Cerberus could have been marching an army across the fields toward them and the two would never have seen it coming. He knew that neither of the girls were military, and they didn't have the discipline of a soldier on watch, but the soldier in him objected to the fact that they didn't take their jobs more seriously.

He activated his omni-tool's search light and shone it on the pair, watching as both girls jumped and scrambled to put space between them. Selura shielded her eyes from the light, and Neela quickly got to her feet, stammering nervously.

"I… Prathus… We… we were just…"

"On the verge of making out when you should have been watching for Cerberus," Prathus filled in for her. "You're damned lucky it was me that found you and not one of those mercs. I doubt they would have been happy at all."

Neela bowed her head, and Selura looked more than a little embarrassed. Prathus deactivated the light, but left his omni-tool's holographic interface engaged so that the soft orange glow could lend a little illumination to their surroundings.

"Is my shift over?" Neela asked. "I didn't think we were talking for that long."

"You've both been out here for hours," Prathus muttered. "Must have been a hell of a conversation."

"If it is not her shift, why are you out here?" Selura cut in. Her expression suggested she was more than a little irritated by his reprimand.

"Our spy drone is back. With the added data, Salik wants to discuss a strategy for hitting the camp."

"Then let's go," Neela suggested.

Even as Prathus turned to go, he noted that the quarian and the asari's hands found each other for the trip back. He snorted and shook his head. He'd never thought Neela was the type to fall for the charms of an asari. But he supposed he couldn't blame her for taking the opportunity to enjoy a little happiness before the Reapers killed them all.

When the three of them reached their camp in the valley between hills, he could see by the dim lights spread through the area that the mercs were gathered around the Alliance recon drone. The drone's holographic display was active and the data from their modified spy drone had already been added, expanding the view of the camp with a series of interior tunnels and chambers. The three mercs looked up when they approached.

"Any sign of activity from Cerberus?" Zaeed questioned.

"Uh… No, none that we saw," Neela answered a little too quickly.

Prathus saw the look of suspicion in the mercenary's eyes, and decided to come to the rescue of his crewmate. He gestured toward the hologram. "So it worked. We have an interior map as well. Do we have an estimate of enemy numbers inside the complex?"

"Another dozen. Nothing overwhelming," Zaeed shrugged.

"Cerberus has managed to restore power to several chambers in the Prothean ruins and break away any accumulated sediment that would have hindered the operation of the portals between said rooms. Our drone was unable to map beyond the fourth door," the salarian pointed to the portal in question on the holographic representation, "which leaves questions as to the accuracy of our count of additional personnel. Could be any number of workers beyond this barrier."

"Why couldn't it scan any further?" Neela asked.

"Opening portals would increase risk of detection," the salarian shrugged. "Programmed the drone to linger near portals for a limited span of time before returning. It was able to pass through the first three in this manner by waiting for Cerberus to open them, but apparently no one entered or exited the fourth. Regardless, additional intel is sufficient for preparation of a plan of attack. Thoughts, anyone?"

"I still think that Prathus's suggestion is our best," Selura spoke up. "The shuttles are fairly close to the mine entrance. We can sabotage the shuttles, hack the mech at the entrance and destroy those turrets, and then rush to the entrance before Cerberus can cut us off."

"Some of us could entrench ourselves at the entrance and the rest could clear the remaining Cerberus troops from the interior," Prathus added. "Even if there are two dozen inside instead of just the dozen your drone detected, we have grenades. We should be able to handle them even if they dig in."

"Would prefer not to focus the entirety of Cerberus's attention upon us once we are inside of the structure," Salik frowned. "Especially since we would be trapped within and forced to fight our way back out."

"What about a diversion?" Zaeed suggested. "We agree that we need to prevent Cerberus from falling back to the interior or getting to the shuttles, right?"

"Affirmative," Salik nodded. "What do you have in mind?"

"We split into two teams. Me, the vorcha, Prathus, Neela and you start by hitting their southern flank, here." Zaeed pointed to the sentry position farthest from the shuttles.

"Wait. You want me to do something alone?" Selura interrupted. "I do not think that is a good idea."

"Let me finish," the mercenary frowned. "As I was saying, the five of us hit the southern sentry post. Salik can hack this Atlas so we can get Neela in the cockpit," he pointed to the mech closest to that position. "Then can use his tactical cloak to meet Selura by the shuttles. While we keep their attention on us and then fall back to draw them off, the two of you can sabotage the shuttles and sneak inside."

"Excellent," Salik nodded in satisfaction, pointing to one of the interior doors. "Once inside, sealing this door will prevent Cerberus troops outside from following us into the interior. We can ambush and disable Cerberus personnel within the complex and reach the heart of the Prothean ruins."

"And outside, we double back after we've given you sufficient time to get in, and we hit Cerberus with everything we have. If we can, we take control of the camp. If not, we do as much damage as possible to give you a clear escape route when you come out," Prathus finished.

"Do you think this could work?" Neela asked.

"It can work," Zaeed nodded. "It'll be dangerous for both groups, but if we avoid any major screw-ups, surprise will give us the advantage we need."

"This strategy is sufficient," Salik announced, deactivating the holographic display. "I will leave an active combat drone with the exterior team for added suppressive fire. Once inside, my tactical cloak will enable us to easily ambush any Cerberus forces we encounter. Seismic alarms might give me away, but once the attack outside has commenced and we have sealed the blast door to cut off exterior forces, alarms will no longer be cause for concern."

"Are you sure you can hack into that Atlas and open the canopy?" Prathus regarded the salarian dubiously. "We really need the firepower from that thing on our side to make this work."

"Accomplished the task once already in the confines of the city," the salarian nodded. "With prior experience, should be able to easily duplicate the feat here."

"Right then. When do we move out?" Zaeed asked.

"Make all necessary preparations," Salik suggested. "We depart from this position in one hour. Imperative that we begin our assault before sunrise. Darkness remains an important asset for success."

"One hour then," Prathus nodded. Then he waited to get Neela and Selura's attention and nodded subtly away from the others, turning and limping off casually.

The two girls joined him as he strolled away, and the three of them remained quiet until they were far enough away from the others to avoid being overheard. Once he felt they were safely out of listening distance, Prathus pulled his rifle from its spot upon his back, holding it out as if he was showing the others how it worked.

"Remember what Aida said about that salarian," Prathus warned, his eyes upon Selura. "I haven't seen anything to suggest he's not trustworthy, but you need to be on your guard."

"I don't like the idea that you're going in there alone with him," Neela crossed her arms and sighed. "If he does betray us…"

"I will be fine," Selura said confidently. "He needs me to help sift through the Prothean data. Even if he intends to betray us at some point, he will not do it before I have had a chance to find what he needs."

"That may be true," Prathus nodded. "Still, be very careful once the two of you reach the archive."

"I will," Selura promised. "And I will encrypt whatever data I recover for added leverage. He will need the decryption key to access the data, which I will give to him once we are safely back with the Alliance."

"That's a good idea," Neela sounded relieved.

"Indeed," Prathus nodded. "Good thinking. But all of this worrying about betrayal is pointless if we get killed by Cerberus first," he pointed out. "So focus on the task at hand first and foremost. You can't hesitate when you get a Cerberus soldier in your sights. Pull the trigger and put him down."

"Gladly," Neela vowed. "After Noveria, I don't see a problem there."

"Agreed," Selura smiled.

"Then I suggest you two find somewhere quiet to say whatever you need to say to one another," Prathus suggested, chuckling at the blush that spread across Selura's cheeks. "I'll prepare our gear and have it ready for you both when we depart."

"Thanks Prathus," Neela said softly, reaching for the asari's hand.

Prathus just turned and walked away, leaving the two to go and make out or whatever it was they intended to do. He focused instead upon his own work, getting their gear ready for the mission to come. Their weapons had already been modded and prepped for use, so he set himself to the task of dividing up the few grenades and other bits of tech that the mercs had been willing to share with them.

He also sifted through the dextro-based medical supplies they'd brought along. While it would have made sense to keep some of them for himself, he opted to give the entire stock of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory meds and antihistamines to Neela. Even though she would be protected inside of the mech, he wanted her to have quick access to anything needed if she was injured. He would probably survive if he was wounded on Terra Nova. If Neela's suit was breached by a lucky shot, she might not be able to say the same…

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: Well, as always, thank you to everyone who is reading, reviewing, favoriting/following, or otherwise paying attention to my little story. I know there was a lot of talking and planning in this Chapter and not much else happened, but there were a few more things that needed to be mentioned and established at this point. I promise, things pick up quite a bit over the next couple of Chapters. Other than that, I don't have a lot to say about this particular Chapter.**

**The next update will be on Thursday morning if all continues to go smoothly, and I have no reason to suspect it won't. I hope everyone has a great weekend! ;)**


	28. Chapter 28: Attrition

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Attrition

.

**Three Blocks from the Walters Center, Scott, Capital City of Terra Nova…**

Illitha crouched behind a fallen chunk of stonework from a damaged building, busily working on her omni-tool. They were just blocks away from the Walters Center according to Corporal Roland, which put them in the area from which Gradian's missing recon team had sent its final update. She was searching for the signal that the recon team had detected, and trying to tune out the faint tremors running through the ground beneath her feet. One of the Reapers was only a dozen blocks south of their position, and even from that distance, every time it moved one of its feet, she could feel the tremor that resulted from the impact.

The remainder of her team was staring at her while she worked, which was not helping with her focus. She was tempted to tell them all to look elsewhere, but it seemed petty to demand that they _not_ look at her. She ground her teeth and finished the final parameters of her signal sweep, and then initiated the search. Within moments, a faint signal pulse showed up on her omni-tool's sensor suite. She frowned.

"There is a signal in the area," she said softly. "I… I do not understand. I thought the Reapers were jamming all signals. This signal is very faint and… and there is some sort of distortion, but it is b-bypassing the interference somehow."

"This is what the recon team was investigating. We find the source of that pulse, and we find them. Which way?" Corporal Roland demanded.

"Uh… T-Tracking the source now," Illitha murmured, trying to refine the scan and pinpoint the source. The best she was able to do was to determine a direction. "Th-that way," she pointed.

Corporal Roland quickly activated his omni-tool, turning toward the recon drone that had joined them near the edge of the city. Illitha assumed that he was uploading a progress report to send back to Gradian, but whatever he was doing, the drone sped off into the night sky as soon as the corporal was finished.

"Gerbeck," Roland fixed his eyes upon the soldier in question. "You take point with the asari. I want you on her hip. She turns, you turn. Clear?"

"Aye aye," Gerbeck nodded and moved to Illitha's side.

"Sanders, you're rear guard. Let's move."

Illitha nervously took the lead, with the Alliance soldier by her side. She kept her eyes upon her omni-tool, leading the way using only the bearing toward signal source for guidance, since she still hadn't managed to pinpoint its exact location. The other soldiers followed her lead, and the group crept along the street and around a corner, then across the new street and into an alley between buildings. There, they found a hatch set into the concrete at the base of one of the buildings. The heavy metal door that had once sealed it stood wide open, and metal rungs set into the wall of the shaft descended into darkness. Illitha stared into the hole, double-checking her readings.

"Down here?" Gerbeck whispered the question.

"Y-Yes. The signal is definitely coming from b-belowground."

"Sir?" Gerbeck turned to the corporal.

"You take point, Private," Roland nodded.

Illitha watched as the young human slung his rifle and climbed down the ladder into the hole, amazed at the nerve the man displayed. She would never have been willing to be the first down into the darkness, following a mysterious signal in a Reaper-infested city.

"Asari, you're next," the corporal hissed.

Illitha frowned at the man's continued insistence on calling her 'asari' rather than her name, but she only hesitated a moment before following the command. She had heard no gunfire or shouts from below, so she assumed it was safe at the bottom of the shaft. She quickly navigated the ladder to the bottom of the hole, amazed at how deep the shaft ran. She wished as she did so that she'd had time to learn to slow her falls. It would have been fun to just leap into the hole and float to the bottom.

When she reached the bottom of the shaft and turned to look around, she felt her heart skip a beat. Her hand flew up to cover her mouth, containing the startled scream that threatened to burst from her lungs. The short section of tunnel in which they were standing was littered with human corpses. Their equipment and weapons were strewn across the floor. Some of them had obvious wounds, while others were swollen and disfigured, their limbs twisted and obviously broken. She turned away, feeling her stomach lurch at the sight.

The others soon joined them in the tunnel, and she could hear muttered curses and sighs of disappointment from her teammates when they got their first glimpses of the grisly scene. Once Illitha was sure she wouldn't vomit, she turned to survey their surroundings once again, trying to avoid looking at the bodies. The tunnel extended only a short distance before ending at a wall of debris from a collapsed ceiling. There was only a small space near the ground through which anyone could possibly proceed.

"Sir, is this the recon team?" Gerbeck asked, bending to examine the dog tags of one of the dead soldiers. "Corporal J. Harriban," he read the name out loud. "Unit insignia says the 317."

"That's one of them," the corporal nodded, his expression grim. "Check the rest," he instructed. "Asari, how far to the signal source?"

"Just a few meters," she gestured toward the pile of wreckage that blocked the tunnel. "It has to be s-somewhere in there."

"Sanders," he gestured to the blonde woman. "Crawl into that space. See if we can get through."

"W-We found the recon team," Illitha pointed out timidly. "Should we… Is it really necessary to find the source of the signal?"

"We were tasked to find the recon team and recover their data," the corporal said evenly. "But also to scavenge for useful supplies. A transmitter that can cut through the Reaper jamming signal sounds pretty damned useful."

Illitha frowned, but she had to agree with the human's logic. She hadn't even considered the idea of taking the technology and using it. She watched as Rachel flattened herself out on the ground and crawled into the space beneath the debris, biting her lip with worry. There was a Reaper stomping around above. If part of the tunnel had already come down, there was a very real chance that whatever space remained might collapse too.

"The rest of the names correspond to the recon team roster," Private Parker muttered. "This is all of them. Here are the tags, sir."

Illitha glanced back and saw the dark-skinned soldier deposit a handful of small metal plates into the corporal's hand. She wasn't familiar with the human identification tags, as it was something her people didn't use, but she was starting to get the idea behind the concept. It certainly made identifying the dead and keeping track of them a bit easier, even if it was a grim eventuality. She tried to imagine wearing tags around her neck all the time with the knowledge that they were there to help others identify her if she died… a shiver ran down her spine at the thought. She hoped there was a more positive reason for their use as well.

"What could have done this to them?" Gerbeck muttered, crouched beside one of the mangled corpses. "Husks aren't strong enough for this sort of damage, and their faces are all bloated…"

"Put a light on them," the corporal instructed, pulling off his helmet.

Illitha activated her omni-tool's search light and pulled her night vision goggles off, wondering what the human was thinking. As soon as she saw the corpse in the light instead of through the shades of black and green afforded by the night vision, however, she understood. In the light, she could see that the corpse's skin was a strange shade of bluish-purple, and his lips were blue.

"What the hell?" Parker stared at the corpse. "Looks almost like he drowned or suffocated."

"The floor's dry," Gerbeck pointed out. "Couldn't have drowned."

"Strangled maybe? Or poisoned?" Parker suggested.

A scraping sound from the crawlspace beneath the debris drew their attention, forestalling any further discussion. Illitha turned her light upon the opening, and saw Sanders backing out of the hole. Once the young blonde was free of the confines of the tight space, she turned over and sat up, holding up a shining silver orb with small blue panels spaced along its perimeter surface.

"This was sitting in the crawlspace about five meters in, right against the wall," she explained. "Like someone just rolled it in there."

Illitha reached out to take the device, scanning it with her omni-tool. It didn't seem to be made from the compounds used in Reaper technology, but she couldn't identify the device based on sight alone. Her omni-tool's scan turned up no receivers, databanks or information storage systems, sensors or other forms of communications technology. It seemed to have the sole purpose of putting out an intermittent beacon pulse, attuned to a modulating wavelength that cut through the distortion of the Reaper jamming signal. And the object's battery was nearing the end of its life.

"What the hell is that thing?" Gerbeck muttered.

"It is not a c-communications device. It is a beacon. There are no other functions in it," Illitha explained, brows coming together in confusion.

"So it was meant to draw someone's attention to this place?" Sanders asked.

"That… It… It would seem that way," Illitha nodded.

"Why?" the corporal wondered. "What's on the other side of the debris?"

"I don't know, sir," Sanders shrugged. "I came back when I found the device."

"Well, now we are going through," Roland gestured. "Gather any useful gear from the recon team's supplies, and then we move. Sanders, you take point, Gerbeck, you're rear guard. If someone planted a beacon here, I want to know why."

They quickly gathered weapons and equipment from the bodies of the dead soldiers, and then Sanders dropped to the ground once more, crawling back into the crawlspace. Illitha deactivated her search light and put her night vision visor back on, crouching and waiting until the blonde soldier was far enough into the hole for her to enter. Then she flattened out and crawled into the crawlspace, trying to control the nervousness that filled her. She was accustomed to tight spaces as an engineer, but the idea that the tunnel was unstable made it a little frightening.

The crawlspace was much longer than she expected it to be, and it was a tight fit in places, even for the slender asari. She wondered how the larger humans were going to get through. At one point she had to flatten out entirely and wiggle her way past a particularly narrow section. Despite the difficulty of the journey, however, eventually the space opened up a bit, and she emerged into an intact section of tunnel. The corridor extended a short distance forward before reaching a section of ceiling that was buckled inward. The space beneath it was much larger than the last gap they'd crawled through, but she didn't like seeing so many damaged sections of ceiling. She stepped aside to wait while the rest of the team crawled through the hole behind her.

The corporal made it through and Private Parker was just crawling out of the hole when there was a tremendous rumble and a cracking sound. Small chips of concrete rained over Illitha, and she screamed and covered her head, expecting the whole ceiling to come down on them. From nearby, a series of loud crashes echoed through the tunnel, and then everything faded into silence for a brief moment. Illitha slowly lowered her arms and looked around.

"Gerbeck? Gerbeck! Say something!" Parker shouted, dropping to the ground and peering into the gap through which they'd come.

Illitha turned to watch the soldier anxiously, and when she saw his head droop and his eyes close, she knew what had happened. The crawlspace had collapsed, and Gerbeck had been inside when it happened… which meant he was either buried alive or crushed under the debris. She turned away and closed her eyes.

"Parker?" the corporal regarded him expectantly.

"It collapsed, sir. If Gerbeck was in there…" he trailed off.

"This section buckled further too, sir," Sanders spoke up, gesturing to the area ahead of them. "If it collapses completely, we'll be trapped in this section."

The corporal activated his omni-tool and pressed a few keys, then deactivated it and gestured toward the tunnel ahead of them.

"We can't go back now," he announced. "So we push forward. I've recorded a nav-point here so that a recovery team can come back for Gerbeck's body when it's safe to do so."

Illitha stared at the pile of rubble behind them, sick with the thought that the young soldier was crushed beneath it. Even more terrifying was the realization that if they had waited two more minutes to enter the gap, it would have been her that was buried in there. How had she ever let Gradian talk her into coming on this mission?

Sanders crawled beneath the unstable section of ceiling ahead of them, and Illitha quickly scrambled through the gap after her. She was afraid that if she didn't do it fast, she would be under the slab when it finally collapsed. When she got through to the opposite side, she let out a sigh of relief. The others came through behind her, and together they advanced to a corner in the tunnel, turning to walk down the new corridor, which seemed to be in much better shape.

At the end of the new tunnel was a door that had been pried open. Sanders led the way through with her rifle at the ready, and when Illitha followed her into the room beyond, she found two more corpses lying on the ground. Both were dressed in Alliance uniforms, and both had been stabbed in the back. A staircase led up to a landing above and then continued onward out of sight from there.

"I think we're under the Walters Center," Parker muttered as he entered the room. "The distances seem about right. The first tunnel, then the turn and this new tunnel. I bet these stairs come up in the Center somewhere."

"You mean…" Sanders trailed off.

"That beacon was meant to reveal a back door into Alliance HQ," Corporal Roland growled.

Illitha's eyes widened as the implications became clear. Someone had deliberately exposed a way into the Alliance base in the city? The signal had been able to cut through Reaper jamming technology, so it was possible that the design was based on Reaper code somehow. She recalled the salarian's comment that he had received operational freedom from Alliance leaders in the city, and her suspicion regarding his behavior grew. Perhaps the Alliance had denied him the freedom he claimed they gave him, and he had undermined their security in retaliation… She supposed there was no way to be sure, but more than ever, she wanted to break through the encryption on the data she'd copied from his omni-tool so that she could find out what he was hiding.

"Let's do a sweep of the Center," Corporal Roland gestured toward the stairs. "Sanders, you're on point."

"Aye aye," the blonde woman nodded and started up the stairs.

Illitha sighed as she fell into step behind the human woman. She had a bad feeling about what they would find in the building above…

* * *

**Southern Flank, Dig Site Theta-129…**

Neela was so nervous that she felt nauseous as she crouched among the grass just a few dozen meters outside of the dig site. The plan they'd agreed upon required Selura to circle the camp alone and sneak in as far as the shuttles, and the quarian was terrified that something might go wrong while Selura was too far away for any of them to help her. Even though they had only parted minutes before, her imagination was providing her with all sorts of horrible ideas about the things that could happen to the asari. As a result, she was beginning to understand why most species did not allow intimate relationships between military personnel serving in the same unit or crew. It was hard enough to know that a friend like Prathus would be in harm's way. It was twice as nerve-wracking to watch someone she deeply loved place herself in danger.

The time to strike was quickly approaching. Selura had been given fifteen minutes to circle around and get into position, but she was not supposed to take any action until the shooting started. Neela activated the targeting systems on her submachine gun and cycled through her omni-tool's functions to find her electromagnetic pulse program in preparation for the fight. Salik was going to initiate hostilities by hacking the Atlas closest to their position, so she waited for him to start things off. Then it would be up to her to rush to the machine.

"Commencing hack," Salik whispered, standing up just enough to get a clear line of sight to the Atlas. "Zaeed, neutralize the pilot immediately when the canopy opens."

Neela glanced over at the mercenary, who already had his rifle trained upon the Atlas as it walked back and forth. She hoped his aim was precise. The vorcha and Prathus were also ready, but their job was to fire upon the half-dozen Cerberus troops positioned behind the portable barricades that formed a semi-circle just inside the camp. Neela rose to her feet to watch the mech, her heart pounding. She would be in dire peril until she was in the pilot's seat of that machine, and she prayed to her ancestors that nothing would go wrong.

The seconds seemed to stretch on into hours while she waited. When the Atlas suddenly stopped moving and the canopy popped open, she immediately went into motion, sprinting through the grass toward the Cerberus barricade and the mech that stood behind it. It couldn't have stopped in a worse spot, she found herself thinking, because she had to run right through the midst of the Cerberus sentries if she wanted to get to it quickly. She had only taken a few strides before the explosive sound of gunfire filled the silence of the night. Everyone in her group was firing upon the Cerberus troops, and she took aim at one of the soldiers behind the barricade as she ran, squeezing the trigger to join the attack. The all-out dash was hard on her knee, which was still in the process of healing, and she winced at the renewed pain, but refused to slow down.

Flashes of blue light from the pylon behind the barricades indicated that the machine was working as Salik had predicted, reinforcing the shielding of the Cerberus sentries, who returned fire with deadly accuracy. As the sole figure rushing into the camp, Neela immediately came under fire. Bullets ricocheted off of her shield, depleting the barrier quickly. Within seconds, an alarm warned her that less than ten percent of her shield's total power remained before collapse.

The two Cerberus soldiers behind the center barricade collapsed, slain by fire from Neela's allies, and she vaulted the obstacle without hesitating. As she hit the ground on the opposite side, she spotted a portable generator behind the shield pylon, and immediately saw a chance to assist her friends. She used her omni-tool to hit the generator with an electromagnetic discharge. The machine was shorted out by the surge, cutting power to the shield pylon and all of the surrounding kinetic barricades. One of the remaining sentries made a run for the Atlas, but before Neela could even raise her weapon, an electrical bolt flashed into him from behind. He staggered and collapsed, and a combat drone drifted over to him, zapping him a second time while he was down.

Neela ignored the fallen soldier, instead dashing directly to the massive robotic vehicle. She leapt up to the cockpit, grabbing the motionless figure of the pilot and dumping him unceremoniously out of his chair. She grimaced at the sight of his blood all over the back of the pilot's seat, but she didn't have time to dwell on the matter. A shot aimed at her back was deflected by her shield, but the protection of the kinetic barrier collapsed as a result. She hit the button to close the canopy just in time to shield herself from another burst of fire, which struck the hard polymer shell with a series of snapping sounds.

Now that she was successfully ensconced within the mech and protected from enemy fire, she took a moment to examine the controls and puzzle out the various functions. She quickly found the power systems and shield generators and activated both, smiling when the machine rose to its full height and the holographic heads-up display on the canopy flared to life. She took hold of the control levers and started testing the Atlas's movement and responsiveness.

She didn't have long to experiment. An explosion rocked the machine, causing it to stagger forward and startling the young pilot. She swung the mech around to find two other Atlases marching across the camp toward her from the other sentry positions. She started backing up, and targeted one of the enemy mechs with her own vehicle's cannons. Each shot rang out with a resounding echo, and she could feel vibrations run through the entire machine with every blast. Both enemies returned fire, and she watched with concern as the visual display of her shield strength dropped steadily.

"This thing is too slow for evasive tactics," she muttered, scanning the holographic buttons that lined the control panel anxiously. "Two on one, I don't stand a chance… Keelah, why did I volunteer for this?"

An explosion rocked one of the enemy mechs, and a moment later, a series of additional detonations showered it with fire. She smiled at the assistance. Apparently her friends were hurling grenades in an attempt to help her. She set her sights on the other Atlas, and finally spotted a trigger that activated an alternate weapons system… the small icon suggested it was some kind of missile. She hit the button to initiate the switch and squeezed the trigger. Her mech shifted position and anchored itself, and she watched as a small rocket streaked out and exploded against the other mech's barrier. The word 'rearming' appeared in the lower corner of her display, so she switched back to the cannon while she waited, marching toward her enemy and firing as quickly as the equipment allowed. The machine's rate of fire wasn't very good, but the power of the shots made up for the lack of speed.

Both enemy mechs returned fire, and she winced when her Atlas's shield collapsed and the first few cannon shots hit the armoring of her vehicle directly. She halted her advance and started backing up instead, and when she saw that her missiles were available, she once again switched over and fired one at her target. The enemy staggered under the force of the explosion. Several followup cannon shots shattered the enemy's canopy, and Neela grimaced as she fired one final shot at the unprotected pilot. She knew these were enemies and she certainly bore no love for Cerberus, but it still didn't make her happy to kill a living person.

A missile streaked in from her right, striking her hijacked Atlas. The resulting explosion caused her vehicle to stagger, and a shower of sparks erupted from a panel beside her. The machine's leg buckled and collapsed, and the entire vehicle pitched over on its side. She tried to get it moving again, but the right leg was completely non-responsive. Four cannon shots in a row rocked the vehicle, each one drawing a nervous wince from the young pilot. The holographic interface briefly flashed the word 'warning' before it shorted out.

Afraid that her Atlas would explode, Neela anxiously scanned the cockpit for an emergency escape device, and finally spotted a release lever overhead. With no choice but to evacuate, she yanked the lever. A series of small explosions detonated around the edges of the canopy, and the entire canopy fell to the ground. The quarian didn't give herself time to think; she scrambled out of the cockpit and dove behind the remains of her mech, using it as cover from the enemy.

"Xara! Run!" she heard Prathus shout.

She decided to trust her friend's advice. Without looking around to see where the enemy mech was, she sprinted out into the field. Behind her, she heard a series of loud metallic clanks and then the dull boom of a thruster igniting, followed by the unmistakable hiss of an incoming missile. She swallowed and veered to her right, hoping to evade the detonation that she knew was coming.

The missile struck the ground almost directly behind her. The force of the blast not only collapsed her shield, but lifted her off of her feet and sent her sailing through the air, only to land in the grass a dozen meters distant with a bone-jarring thud. Pain exploded through her re-injured knee. The impact with the ground forced the air from her lungs and left her seeing stars. The alarm warning her that her shield was offline sounded in her ears, but she was too dazed to take notice of it. It was a struggle just to get her eyes to focus.

Prathus appeared in her field of vision, and the turian grabbed her by the arm and jerked her to her feet.

"We need to go!" he shouted, turning and firing in the direction of the camp. "Run! Now! We need to draw them off and then regroup before we try to push back in."

Neela tried to run, but the renewed pain in her right knee made it impossible to move quickly. The best she could manage was to stagger along through the grass, giving up on any attempt to fire at the enemy. She was forced to focus solely on fleeing to safety. Around her, the other members of the group were withdrawing as well, though the rest were returning fire as they fell back.

Despite the imminent danger she was in, Neela found herself hoping that all the attention their team was getting from Cerberus would make Selura and Salik's infiltration a lot easier. That was the goal of their plan, and assuming she wasn't gunned down because her injury made her an easy target, the pain would be worth it.

* * *

**Northern Flank, Dig Site Theta-129…**

Selura's pulse raced as she moved through the tall grass, circling around the Cerberus camp toward the area closest to the shuttles. She was alone, and because she was trained in science and engineering rather than warfare, her nerves were getting the better of her. She knew that once she was on the opposite side of the camp, she would have to cross about ten meters of open space within clear sight of a sentry position to reach the prefabs near the shuttles. She hoped that if she got across that space, hiding from that point on would be easy. The others were going to start their attack at the fifteen-minute mark, which, according to her omni-tool, gave her six to get into position. Their entire plan hinged on the sudden attack drawing the attention of the sentries on this side of the camp… if the men guarding the northern perimeter didn't turn away, there was no way she would be able to reach the shuttles undetected.

It took her longer to complete the journey than she expected. Upon reaching the opposite side of the camp, she crept forward through the grass until she could see the barricade clearly. Directly ahead of her was the open stretch of dirt that separated the tall grass from a set of four prefabs. Beyond the prefabs lay the shuttles. Off to her left, a semi-circle of portable cover barricades was occupied by six sentries, and an Atlas mech marched back and forth behind them. This position was a mirror of the one on the opposite side of the camp, which her friends would be attacking any second. She waited for the first shots.

The sound of gunfire echoed from the opposite side of the camp, prompting her to venture out of the grass. She glanced toward the sentry post as she moved to see how the guards there would react, silently praying that the sudden attack would have the effect they had all hoped it would. To her vast relief, the Cerberus guards all turned to look southward, and the Atlas mech pivoted and stomped off in that direction. She seized the opportunity while they were distracted and crossed the open area as quickly and quietly as she could. Fortunately, the guards never so much as glanced in her direction during the few seconds it took her to cover the distance.

Once she was among the prefabs, she let out her breath in a sigh of relief, closing her eyes and thanking the Goddess for her favors. Then she crept along the exterior of the closest prefab toward the shuttles. She wanted to get to work on disabling them. Salik had suggested that they disable the engines, but Selura wasn't keen on the idea. She had discussed it with Neela, and mentioned that she wanted to upload a system lockout code to the control systems so that they could actually make use of the shuttles once they had control of the ruins. Rendering them inoperative seemed like a waste. Neela had agreed. She rushed from the edge of the prefab to the closest shuttle, hitting the trigger to open the hatch and quickly climbing inside the vessel.

She went directly into the cockpit and activated the control systems, linking them to her omni-tool so that she could install an encryption suite and some lockout codes. The noise from outside was a severe distraction – the sounds of cannon fire and explosions were far closer than she would have liked – but she got the security program installed fairly quickly. Once her omni-tool beeped to signal success, she left the cockpit and headed for the door, smiling in satisfaction.

Her smile vanished, however, when she headed for the exterior hatch and found a Cerberus soldier standing there. He spotted her and raised his weapon, while she scrambled to activate her omni-tool so she could defend herself. She knew it was a futile attempt… all he had to do was pull the trigger. Even with the shield generated by her borrowed armor, she would be dead before she managed to fire off an incendiary drone in retaliation. She braced herself for the first shots.

They never came. There was a flash and the resounding sound of a single shot, and the Cerberus trooper's head seemed to explode in a shower of gore. A gun materialized out of thin air inches from where the trooper's head had been, and then the slender form of the salarian that held it. Selura almost sobbed in relief.

"Foolish to leave the hatch open," Salik muttered. "All other shuttle access points are sealed. Naturally any enemy spotting open hatches would investigate. Also recommend setting a preferential trigger on your omni-tool for an offensive program of some kind, to obviate the need for scrolling through and selecting the aforementioned program. One-touch activation is critical in combat situations."

"Thank you," Selura breathed.

"Thanks unnecessary. This shuttle has been successfully disabled?"

"Yes. I was on my way out when…" she trailed off, looking down at the corpse of the Cerberus soldier.

"Then there is no time to delay," Salik gestured for her to exit the shuttle. "The diversion has proven an unexpected success. Attack has drawn off all enemy mechs and most remaining security. Only automated turrets remain at the mine entrance. You disable second shuttle, and I will hack some of the turrets and use them to destroy the others."

Selura followed the salarian around the shuttle and quickly opened the hatch on the second vehicle, climbing inside. While she would have liked to install security lockouts into the second shuttle as well, now that Salik was already working on clearing the entrance, she felt it was more prudent to take the fastest possible course, which was sabotaging the engine. She went to work with her omni-tool immediately, opening the access hatch to the engine compartment and then using the plasma cutter function to sever connections between the power systems and the drive core. It was a crude and simple method, but would take far too long to fix to make the shuttle a viable means of escape for Cerberus survivors.

A chorus of rapid-fire gunshots filled the air outside, and Selura stepped into the shuttle's cockpit so that she could see the salarian's efforts at work. She had to smile at what she saw. Two automated turrets were firing on the other two, which returned fire in self-defense. Within seconds one turret on each side exploded, and the remaining two turned on each other, until only one severely-damaged turret remained. The glowing orange orb of a combat drone drifted out onto the field to destroy the remaining turret.

Selura exited the shuttle and circled the vehicle to rejoin Salik, who was already heading for the mine entrance. She crept along behind him, feeling her initial fear give way to excitement now that their plan was working. All that remained was to deal with whatever forces were hiding inside.

Given the close quarters they expected within, she decided to heed Salik's advice. After scrolling through her defensive software until she found the Incendiary Dispersion program, she set up a quick-activation macro that would allow her to fire incendiary drones with the touch of a single button. Once the command setup was operational, her thoughts turned toward her friends outside. She hoped they were both uninjured, and that Neela was having fun in the Atlas mech.

* * *

**South Flank, Dig Site Theta-129…**

The kick of the rifle rocked Zaeed as the alliance-issue weapon discharged and he watched another of the Cerberus troopers pitch over into the grass. He turned and sprinted several meters farther from the dig site, then stopped and whirled around, picking another target. He wanted to disable one of them for questioning, but there were still too many standing to risk wounding some but leaving them alive. The armoring that protected his latest target kept his shots from killing the man, and the figure ducked down into the tall grass. A moment later, a grenade lobbed through the air in his direction. The veteran mercenary was quick to vacate the area. Before the grenade even landed, he was already well on his way out of range.

The plan had been an unexpected success. In fact, they had been a little _too_ successful, and Zaeed shook his head as he circled around to a new position. It was possible that this was the most inexperienced squad of Cerberus goons ever deployed, in his view. As soon as their attack had started, almost every sentry in the camp swarmed out to get them. Only one sentry each remained at the North and East barricades. Everything else was pursuing them into the fields, including one surviving Atlas. Fortunately, while the machine had heavy firepower, it was slow, which had allowed them to outdistance it quickly.

Zaeed surveyed the scene from his new position, sharp eyes picking out the silhouettes of the remaining Cerberus sentries with practiced ease. There were only five men remaining, plus the Atlas. The turian and quarian were falling back, and the vorcha had been employing brutal guerilla tactics, hiding in the weeds and picking off any enemy that strayed too far from his friends. Zaeed wasn't overly concerned with their surviving enemies. His concerns regarded the one defensive element from their scans that he hadn't seen any sign of since they started their diversion: The roving patrol.

Their initial aerial scan of the site had clearly showed some sort of roving patrol out in the fields. The commotion had undoubtedly drawn their attention, so Zaeed was concerned that their little group would soon find themselves caught in a crossfire between the two enemy squads. If they were smart, they were already positioning themselves for an ambush, and the results could be disastrous.

His gaze fell upon the Atlas, and his expression hardened. If the roving patrol did manage to cut off their escape, the Atlas could be the death of them all. So he started carefully circling toward the machine, intending to deprive Cerberus of their heavy artillery. He had three incendiary grenades left, and with a little luck, he figured he could disable the thing. He would have felt a bit better about his chances with a more efficient weapon, but there wasn't time to comb the area looking for a downed Cerberus trooper just then. That could come later; the fact that they were all armed with Mattocks hadn't escaped his notice.

He was carefully picking his way through the tall grass, working around behind the Atlas when he almost tripped over the vorcha, who was crouched in the weeds. Greck whirled around, and Zaeed was quick to grab the vorcha's rifle, keeping him from bringing it to bear.

"It's me," he growled.

"Big Robot is dangerous," Greck snarled. "Want to blow it up."

"For once, we agree," Zaeed muttered. He didn't like the vorcha, but the additional firepower would make the task of destroying the Atlas a lot easier. "I've got a few grenades left. The two of us can flank it. When the first of my grenades detonates, start shooting the bastard. If we hit it from both sides, we should be able to take it down."

Greck nodded and set off through the grass, apparently volunteering for the job of getting around on the other side of the machine. Zaeed crept through the grass parallel to the Atlas's path, waiting patiently until he was certain the vorcha would be in position. He pulled his last three grenades from the compartment that held them in preparation to strike.

Satisfied that he had delayed long enough, he clicked the activation trigger on the first grenade and hurled it at the Atlas. The second and third grenades followed swiftly. He needed the thermite to overload the machine's shields as quickly as possible. A series of explosions echoed across the grasslands, and within seconds the massive robotic vehicle was wreathed in a halo of flame. He took aim and started firing, and was gratified to see the muzzle flashes of another rifle firing from the opposite side of the target. The Atlas turned and started stomping toward him, and the vehicle's cannon thundered as it returned fire.

The first few shots the Atlas pilot unleashed were obviously fired blind, as they didn't strike anywhere close to Zaeed's position. However, the fourth shot impacted the earth within a few meters of him, so Zaeed broke off his attack and quickly shifted position, circling around to the machine's right. The sound of continuing gunfire told him that the vorcha was pressing the assault, but the soldier piloting the Atlas stubbornly pursued Zaeed, ignoring the incoming fire.

Zaeed turned and fired a few shots, and then was forced to displace when cannon fire almost immediately answered his volley. However, this time he wasn't quite fast enough. A shot struck the ground within a meter of him. The second one was even closer, despite the fact that he was in motion, and the third shot hit him directly.

The force of the impact against his shield immediately collapsed the barrier in addition to staggering him. He stumbled and fell to his knees in the grass, but he knew that he couldn't remain stationary. If that cannon hit him without his shield, his armor would never provide enough protection to keep him alive. He scrambled to his feet and ran, keeping low in the hopes that the pilot would lose sight of him.

His plan seemed to work, because the next volley of shots didn't even come close. He slowed down and took a moment to catch his breath, giving his shield generator the chance to recharge and reset itself. The vorcha's gunfire ceased when the echo of the Atlas's cannon fire resumed, so Zaeed guessed that the pilot had turned his attention to Greck. It was about time. Now it was his turn to provide fire support while the vorcha ran for his life. The reactivation of his shield prompted his return to the fight. He rose to his feet and took aim at the Atlas's back, squeezing the trigger.

A loud series of metallic clanks accompanied his shots, and he allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction at the sounds. The Atlas's shields were down, and they were now hitting armor with every shot. Since the machine's back was to him, he aimed at the thruster assembly at the center of its back, as it seemed an obvious weak point without shielding protecting it. Given the speed with which the pilot abandoned his pursuit of the vorcha and turned to face Zaeed, it seemed clear that he had guessed correctly. He immediately crouched in the grass and slowly circled, while the sound of the vorcha's rifle filled the silence. Risking a quick peek, he saw that Greck was firing at the machine's back.

Between the two of them, the Atlas never stood a chance with its shielding down. They took turns firing at any vulnerable spot the pilot exposed to them until they had done so much accumulated damage that the pilot finally abandoned the vehicle. The man didn't make it more than a handful of steps before Zaeed's precision fire ended his life. He hurried to the fallen enemy's side with the intent of relieving him of his Mattock. However, when he got there he found only a Talon submachine gun on the body.

"Figures," he snorted. "Damned pilot is the one bastard not carrying one…"

* * *

**Grasslands near Dig Site Theta-129…**

Prathus slipped an arm around the slender waist of his companion, half-supporting and half-carrying the injured quarian toward the hills where their makeshift camp was hidden. He'd given up on firing at the Cerberus soldiers chasing them, deciding that getting Neela to safety was more important. Given the burden of carrying her, it simply wasn't possible to do both. They were trying to keep low, using the surrounding growth as cover, but even with only occasional glimpses of the two of them, the Cerberus troopers were still managing to hit them. Shots ricocheted off of their barriers intermittently.

"I'm sorry," Neela groaned the word as she hopped along beside him, trying to keep her weight off of her right leg.

"Just keep moving," he urged.

It was his hope that once they reached the hilltop, where there were a few trees they could use as cover, they could dig in and return fire to drive the troopers back. The fact that their enemies weren't able to spot them frequently enough to actually take their shields down was working to their advantage. The intervals between attacks against them were long enough that any damage to their shields regenerated between volleys.

Prathus felt the quarian's posture stiffen, and she suddenly shoved him away from her. Startled, he stumbled to the side, just barely avoiding falling over in the grass. Almost at that same instant, the sound of a single gunshot rang through the air, and Neela pitched over onto the ground.

"Xara!"

Prathus wanted to run to her side, but his training as a soldier prevented him from acting on the instinct. He recognized the sound of a sniper rifle when he heard it, and he knew that the sniper, wherever they were, was looking for another target. He crouched low and tried to stay completely still.

"Xara," he hissed. "Are you alive?"

"Yes," came the whispered relply. "But my shields are down again."

Prathus bowed his head in relief, nodding at the news. He wasn't surprised. Most single-shot sniper rifles packed more than enough power to collapse a kinetic barrier with one shot.

"Are you hurt? Did the bullet penetrate the shield?"

"No," Neela's voice was shaking. "My suit isn't detecting any ruptures."

"How did you know what was coming?"

"My visor's vision augmentation includes detection of the infra-red spectrum," she explained. "I saw the rifle's targeting laser aiming at us."

"Glad you did," Prathus muttered. "But we have to move. If the sniper keeps us pinned down, the rest can surround us. Start crawling. Stay low."

Prathus saw Neela roll over and start crawling away through the grass, and he followed suit, keeping low as he crept off in a different direction. The shot had come from out ahead of them somewhere, which gave him a pretty good idea of what had happened. Their initial scan had included a roving patrol. He'd forgotten about it, and it was never addressed during their planning session. Apparently the mobile group had moved to cut them off.

"Xara?" Prathus called softly. Between the tall grass and the darkness, he could no longer see her, but he knew she was close by.

"What?"

"We need to split up. You circle to the right and stay low. Be ready to defend yourself if the sentries catch up to you."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to circle to the left and try to get around behind the sniper. I have a pretty good idea of where he's hiding."

"Where?" Neela asked.

"The same hilltop we were using as a lookout point. It's the highest ground ahead of us, so it's the best vantage from which to fire. Stay low," he warned. "I'll strobe my omni-tool's search light twice when I clear the area."

He didn't wait for the quarian to answer. He hated to leave her out there, injured and alone, but her injuries would slow them down too much, and he needed to get around behind whatever forces waited ahead of them. Even with his bad leg, he could move much faster on his own than they could manage together.

Even though he could move more freely without carrying the injured quarian, it still took much longer than he would have liked to circle around to the flank without giving away his position. He heard an occasional gunshot ring out as he circled around – apparently the sniper had found other targets – and he hoped that Neela would be able to keep herself safe. Although he managed to avoid coming under fire as he traveled, each shot he heard was aimed at one of his companions, and he growled impatiently every time one went off. Despite the danger to his allies, he still considered it a lucky break that the sniper was otherwise occupied. If he could avoid making much noise during the climb, he was confident he could catch the shooter by surprise. He waded through the tall grass toward the base of the hill on the flank, already grinning in anticipation. Unfortunately, because of the darkness, he didn't see the automated turret positioned on the hillside until it was too late.

The rapid-fire burst of the weapon's attack tore through his kinetic barrier within seconds, and even though his reflexes were good enough to get him moving within that time, the weapon tracked and continued to fire. The last few shots in the turret's firing cycle impacted on his armor, and one even tore through the plating and bit into his side. The turian scrambled through the grass, trying to get out of the turret's line of sight. When he came across a large rock amidst the grass, he was quick to lie down behind it for cover.

_Damn,_ he berated himself. _I didn't give their patrol enough credit. Apparently the sniper had the sense to cover his flanks. And their group had several people, so there has to be support personnel fanning out to find me. I need to move._

The cacophony of another volley from the turret filled the air, and Prathus could hear the bullets striking the rock he was using as cover. He wasn't sure what kind of detection equipment the turrets used, but whatever it was, he was impressed with its ability to track him despite the cover of the plant life around him.

_Probably thermal detection_, he guessed.

When there was another break in the fire, he didn't hesitate to move. He rolled over and got his feet beneath him, dashing through the field as fast as his legs could carry him, intent on putting the hillside between the turret and himself. He just had to hope that they hadn't planted a turret behind them in addition to the one on their flank.

Shots rang out as he ran, but not from the turret. Bullets impacted the ground around him and one ricocheted off of the plating of his armor, forcing him to dive to the ground once again. Frustrated, the turian rose to a crouch and scanned his surroundings, trying to figure out where his enemy was firing from. Once again he cursed the fact that he hadn't grabbed his helmet when the _Sileya_ came under attack. Night vision would have been a great asset at that moment.

He spotted the muzzle flash of a rifle when his enemy resumed fire. He raised his own weapon and returned fire, trusting on his armor to protect him. He could see the faint shimmer from the hilltop when his shots ricocheted off of a kinetic barrier and he growled in frustration, continuing to fire until his heat sink was at capacity. As he ejected the clip and slipped a new one into the slot, he hurried up the hillside. He was sure his enemy was shifting position as well, and he wanted to rob the shooter of the advantage of high ground.

There was a soft thud nearby and then a hissing sound. Within seconds Prathus found himself standing in a cloud of smoke. It struck him as a little unnecessary in the darkness, but he supposed the enemy might think he had night vision. He crouched low and crept to his right, listening intently for any sign of movement. The only sounds he could hear were distant sounds of gunfire at first. Then there was a high pitched electronic whine right behind him.

He whirled around in time to see a heavily-armored figure swinging a glowing baton toward his head. He raised his rifle, blocking the weapon with the barrel, and then he quickly adjusted his grip and smashed the butt end of his rifle into the soldier's helmet. When the man staggered, he followed up by activating his omni-blade, thrusting it upward beneath the human's arm, where he knew there would only be a flexible protective weave instead of solid armor plating. The strike drew an agonized cry from his opponent, and the man staggered and collapsed, writhing on the ground. Prathus planted a knee on the fallen man's chest and drew his hand back, preparing to thrust the omni-blade into his throat to finish him off.

Before his hand could descend, an electrical discharge blanketed the area, and he felt his muscles spasm as the energy surged through his body, drawing an agonized grunt out of him. The paralysis was only temporary, but in that brief moment of vulnerability, several shots out of the darkness struck him in the flank. One penetrated his armor and tore into his good leg. He pitched over, clutching at the injured limb and swearing angrily. The rapid-fire sound of a submachine gun echoed from a little farther in the distance.

A figure moved to stand over him. Unlike the other Cerberus troopers he had seen, this one was lightly armored in black and silver and wore a different type of helmet. The human aimed a pistol directly at his head. Prathus tensed, ready to make one desperate lunge for the man's gun, but he knew he would be dead the moment he moved. He had always known humans would be the death of him, but it didn't make it any less infuriating now that it was about to happen. He could only ask the spirits to see Neela and the others through to victory…

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: Hello everyone, and thank you once again for the attention you've all given to my little story. The reviews, views, favorites/follows and community adds I've received have really inspired me. I'm glad some people are enjoying my work. It keeps me inspired to keep writing at the manic pace I've been maintaining for months now. I'm so excited to share some of the upcoming Chapters that I've completed, I can hardly contain the urge to publish them.**

**Hopefully the assault of the Cerberus position so far has lived up to the wait. It's been a long time coming, and I've really tried to get the tone of it all just right. Plus, there are other things I've been slowly hinting at, little by little, that are finally getting reveals, and I'm excited to share them at long last. One was in this Chapter, but just in case it wasn't obvious, I won't say anything about it. Hopefully anything missed will click in the next handful of Chapters as more details come to light. Last Chapter, as one reviewer astutely pointed out, was the calm before the storm, and I'm sure it will become clear that given the way this Chapter and the next few will play out, it was really important that I get it in there. I can't wait to put up the next Chapter... which will happen this coming Tuesday morning. I won't even add the caveat "if I stay on schedule" because the next several Chapters are already complete, and I'm too excited to delay them, even if I slow down in my writing.**

**So, I'll shut up now, except to add that you're all awesome. I hope you have a great weekend, and thanks again for reading. I hope you're enjoying ;)**


	29. Chapter 29: Innovations

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Innovations

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**Hilltop near Dig Site Theta-129…**

The threat detection system in Neela's suit warned her about the turret stationed on the hillside to the right of the sniper's position as she approached. She was in agony while she crawled forward through the grass, but she had to ignore the pain of the injury. Her omni-tool's electromagnetic pulse emitter was charged and ready and she knew that she would have only a few seconds once she scrambled the turret's systems to close the distance and do enough damage to disable it. She could have fired upon it, but if she used her submachine gun, she would alert the enemy to her approach.

She grit her teeth and rose to a crouch, almost sobbing at the pain that lanced through her right leg. There was no time to dwell upon the sensation. The turret detected her and the barrel of the automated defense swung around. She immediately triggered the overload, wiping out the turret's shielding and momentarily scrambling its system. Then she rushed for it, choking back the cry of pain that threatened to break free of her control at the stress to which she was subjecting the injured joint.

Her omni-blade extended into place as she closed the last few steps, and she grabbed hold of the barrel to keep the weapon from aiming at her when it recovered. She jabbed the blade into every exposed port, sensor and power node she could see, quickly inflicting enough damage on the machine to disable it. Once she was satisfied it was no longer a threat, she slumped into the grass, clutching her knee with both hands and trying to give the pain time to fade.

Shots rang out from somewhere nearby. These shots sounded different than the sniper rifle, however, and were much closer together. She had to assume that Prathus had been spotted, since the commotion was coming from the other side of the hill. She rolled over and started crawling up the slope, staying off of her injured leg as much as possible. Concern for her friend spurred her to the greatest possible speed she could hope to attain while crawling, and within moments she had reached the top of the incline. She put her back against the first tree she could reach and used it as support while she rose to her feet using only her good leg. Once she was standing, she leaned out and took a quick look around the area.

The log upon which she and Selura had been sitting a few hours earlier was just meters away, and a female dressed all in black was using their seat as a rest for the sniper rifle she carried. On her left was a single Cerberus trooper, and on her right was a man in black and silver armor. More gunshots rang out from nearby – much closer than the last ones – and the man in black rose from his position, pulling a pistol and moving off to investigate.

Neela pulled her submachine gun once again from the magnetic holster at her hip and aimed her omni-tool at the two remaining figures. Just as she pressed her thumb against the activation trigger and blanketed the two with an electromagnetic pulse, she heard an agonized cry from the darkness in the direction the third man had headed. Her pulse overloaded the shields that protected the sniper – Neela saw the shimmer when the barrier collapsed – and stunned the trooper. The sniper whirled to face her, but Neela had already taken aim and was squeezing the trigger.

The bullets tore through the sniper's slender frame, and she collapsed. Neela heard several pistol shots from nearby in the same moment that she was squeezing the trigger the second time, this time firing at the Cerberus trooper, who was recovering from the electrical surge. The first volley only wounded him, but she kept pulling the trigger until he joined the sniper in the weeds. With both enemies down, she limped off in the direction of the third man, just in case Prathus needed her assistance.

She found the dark figure standing over Prathus's prone form, aiming a pistol at his head. It felt as though her heart leapt into her throat at the sight, and she aimed her weapon at the stranger's back and fired without the slightest bit of hesitation. The bullets were deflected by the enemy's shield, and the man's finger tightened on the trigger even as he whirled to face her. However, because he was no longer looking at his target and was turning while he fired, what should have been a fatal shot was off-target. Neela saw Prathus flinch as the projectile penetrated the ground just centimeters from his head.

The quarian fired upon the Cerberus figure as quickly as she could pull the trigger, and the man returned the favor a few times. Her shots deflected off of his shield, and his were deflected by her barrier in turn. Neela was startled at how much the shots from the hand cannon he carried weakened her shields. Hers didn't seem to be having as great an effect. But the Cerberus agent had forgotten all about the turian, no doubt assuming he was dead.

Prathus grabbed the man's ankle and rolled to the side, yanking his foot out from under him. When the dark figure pitched over, Neela limped closer, firing upon their fallen foe until she saw the telltale shimmer signifying the collapse of his shield. She would have continued to fire, but Prathus leapt on the fallen man, brutally slamming his fist into the human's jaw several times. When the human tried to roll to the side, the turian slid an arm around his neck from behind, tightening his grip into a vice-like chokehold. Neela saw the human clawing at Prathus's armored forearm, and she turned away, able to guess how this would end.

She could hear nothing but ragged gasps and gurgling sounds behind her as she limped away, and then eventually, nothing but silence. She slumped down in the grass and dropped her weapon beside herself, trying not to sob as the adrenaline faded and the throbbing in her knee returned full-force. Uneven footsteps approached from behind, and Prathus collapsed into the grass next to her, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder.

"Xara, I…" the turian trailed off, seeming to be at a loss for words, "You saved my life," he finally said.

"I'm glad I got to you in time," she grunted the words through clenched teeth.

"I owe you everything," he said simply. "I was pretty frustrated that it took me so long to circle around. Now I'm happy it did. If I had gotten up here two minutes earlier, you would have been too far away to come to my rescue."

Neela only nodded, thanking the ancestors that her timing had been as precise as it was. Any number of things could have delayed her further. If she had been unwilling to run to the turret because of her knee… or if she had been less precise in her shots upon the sniper and company… or had she trusted Prathus to handle the third man alone… She shook her head, feeling sick at the thought. Things could easily have gone tragically wrong.

"How bad is your knee?" Prathus asked.

"I can't walk," Neela practically sobbed the words. "You guys will have to go back and finish Cerberus off without my help."

"You've done enough, Xara," Prathus assured her. "Stay here. We'll get the rest done and meet up with Leneur and Golash."

"No," Neela felt herself filled with sudden resolve. "Help me up. I have to be there for Selura when the job is done. I need to know that she's safe."

"You should stay here and rest. I can look after her for you…"

"Help me up," Neela insisted. She refused to let a little pain keep her from being there to see Selura emerge safe and sound from the ruins. "If you won't help me, I'll limp down there myself," she warned him when she saw him shake his head.

The turian stared at her for a moment, looking as though he could barely see her in the dark. She almost smiled at the thought. Prathus didn't have the benefit of night vision tech, such as the enhancements built into her suit's visor. She actually doubted that he could see her as more than a black shape in the near-total darkness. He looked terribly uncomfortable.

"Xara, I can't…" he finally said with a sigh. Neela was about to beg him for his help when he gestured to his leg. It was then that she noticed what had escaped her before… a puncture wound in the armor that covered his thigh.

"You're hurt," she said softly.

"It's a flesh wound, but it's my good leg. I would help you if I could," his tone was apologetic. "I think I can manage to move around on my own, but I don't think I can support us both."

"I understand," Neela nodded. If she had to get down to the camp on her own, she would do so. She struggled to get to her feet using only her hands and one leg, while Prathus was doing almost the same thing. Once they were both on their feet, she managed a small, rueful giggle. "What a pair we make," she joked.

"Wait just a second," he chuckled, and then staggered over to the bodies of the Cerberus personnel near the log. He picked up the sniper rifle and the assault rifle that the two had been carrying, slinging the sniper rifle over his shoulder, and then holding the assault rifle out to her. "Here. This packs a lot more punch than that glorified toy you're carrying."

Neela laughed a little and took the rifle, sliding it over her back to attach it to the maglock there. Then she put an arm around the turian's shoulders and leaned on him for support. When she heard a subtle hiss of pain in response, she winced and quickly withdrew her arm.

"Keelah, I'm sorry," she sighed. "I wasn't thinking."

"You have a short memory," he muttered. "But since you saved my life, I think I can forgive you."

Neela hesitated for a moment, preparing herself for the pain she knew would come when she put her weight on her injured leg. Prathus started staggering down the hill, and the quarian watched him move, shaking her head at the sight. The poor turian now had _two_ damaged legs. She had no idea how he was managing to stay upright. She sighed and limped after him, making her way down the hillside toward the two mercenaries, who she could see standing together amidst the grass about halfway between the hills and the dig site.

Knowing that the rest of them were safe for the moment, her thoughts centered solely upon her girlfriend. She wanted to believe that Selura was safe and that everything had gone according to plan, but worry was gnawing away at the hope she tried to nurture. The plan had gone a little _too_ well. Given the general bad luck they'd experienced on Terra Nova, her gut feeling was that given their success, disaster was lurking right over the horizon.

* * *

**Walters Center, Central Scott…**

Illitha warily scanned the storeroom into which the stairwell eventually opened. Pallets stacked high with boxes of merchandise were lined up in neat aisles throughout the area, and she saw no signs of bodies or bullet holes. Rachel moved down the path between staging areas, turning and aiming her weapon into each row they passed, thoroughly searching for enemies as they moved. Illitha followed the blonde soldier until they found a door that had been pried open, and Rachel paused there, peering through the opening while the rest of the squad caught up. Illitha activated her omni-tool, running a quick scan for active power systems in the area. The scan came back negative.

The other soldiers gathered around, and Illitha watched as Corporal Roland motioned to Gerbeck and Parker, pointed to his eyes, and jerked a thumb over his shoulder. Then he pointed to Rachel and waved her forward. The young engineer was starting to comprehend a few of their signals. This time she got the gist of what the team leader wanted from his fellow soldiers. Rachel stepped through the gap between doors and into the room beyond, and Roland grabbed Illitha by her arm, giving her a light shove toward the door. She got the unsubtle hint and stepped through, pistol at the ready.

She found herself in an empty storefront with shattered windows. Shelves and racks were piled haphazardly in one of the back corners of the room, as though the shop's displays had been hurriedly thrown aside to make room for something else. The floor was littered with soiled blankets and the remains of large, shredded bags, but there was no sign of anything dangerous. Rachel crouched beside one of the bags and ran her fingers along the interior slowly, then lifted her hand to inspect her glove.

"Sir?" Rachel whispered the word as she turned to look at Corporal Roland. Illitha thought the young soldier looked a little nauseous.

"Body bags," Roland nodded. "Keep moving, Private."

Illitha's eyes widened and she stared around in horror at the collection of shredded bags strewn across the floor. The number of dead bodies that had once been in the room was staggering, but the more disturbing question that came to her mind was given voice an instant after Illitha thought of it… in slightly less polite terms than she would have used.

"Where the fuck are the bodies?" Gerbeck hissed.

"Never mind that now," Roland growled. "We need to finish our sweep. No more talking."

Swallowing nervously, the young asari fell into step behind Rachel, who was heading for the shattered windows and the area beyond. With the benefit of her night vision, Illitha could see a decorative fountain in the center of the next room, with a sculpture of an Alliance dreadnaught at its heart. There were several makeshift barricades set up around the room, and smashed portable lighting units in the corners.

When they stepped through the doorway, the engineer's eyes were immediately drawn to dark spots that she assumed were bloodstains on the floors. The entire lobby was riddled with bullet holes and scorch marks, and the majority of the far side of the room was collapsed. But there was no sign of Reaper troops, and no human bodies. The crystalline sound of broken glass striking the floor echoed through the silence of the lobby, and Illitha whirled around in alarm. She was relieved to see that it was only Private Parker, whose foot had knocked a piece of glass to the floor as he stepped through the shattered window of the storefront. She sighed and closed her eyes. This place clearly had her on edge.

"Private," Corporal Roland hissed, gesturing up a nearby escalator.

Illitha followed his gaze and noted that there was a light shining from somewhere on the floor above. It seemed to be stationary, but it was a sign of habitation, and that meant it was worth checking out. Rachel started up the escalator, and Illitha was about to follow, but Roland held her back, motioning for Gerbeck and Parker to precede them. Once the other two soldiers were on their way to the floor above, the corporal gave her a shove to get her moving. She sighed and tried to keep her irritation in check. She was getting tired of being shoved around by the human.

The second floor of the complex was in noticeably worse shape than the floor below. The ceiling had collapsed inward across most of the right side of the area, and even in the portions that were still standing, there were holes in the ceilings, hanging wires, and the area had been shored up with makeshift supports. The source of the light they had spotted came from a storefront on the left, with a sign over the door that said 'LeFleur's'. The soldiers cautiously approached, staying low and keeping their weapons ready. Illitha followed, crouching low as the others were doing, and she could hear the corporal close behind her.

Rachel paused beside the door to the business, and Gerbeck and Parker crouched beneath the shattered windows that flanked the entrance. Then, all at once, the three of them leaned out from their cover and aimed their weapons into the interior of the place. Illitha nervously waited for the gunfire to begin, fully expecting that Reapers would be hiding inside. Instead, she heard a rustling sound and a muffled grunt directly behind her, and she turned around to find out what the corporal was doing.

She blinked. There was no sign of the man, and his sudden disappearance filled her with alarm. She backed up several steps, looking around wildly, and was just about to call out a warning to the others when she heard a series of muffled thumps from above. Her eyes drifted upward to the gaping hole in the ceiling directly above where the corporal had been crouched, and she felt panic engulf her. There was a series of grisly popping sounds, and a body spilled from the hole, hitting the floor with a thud. Illitha could not contain the horrified scream that erupted from deep inside of her when she saw the unnatural bend in the figure's neck and one of his arms.

"Man down!" someone shouted.

Illitha scrambled away from the hole in the ceiling, but was quickly replaced by Gerbeck and Sanders, who hurried over and aimed their weapons into the darkness above. Parker grabbed Illitha's arm just as she was about to run for the escalator, and he turned her around to face him, shaking her roughly.

"What the hell happened? Where is the enemy?" he demanded.

Illitha was shaking, but the rough treatment broke her free of the blind panic that had briefly taken hold of her. She was about to answer the question when a long, translucent, bluish tentacle snaked down from a small hole directly above them and wrapped around Parker's throat, jerking him into the air and slamming his head into the ceiling.

"Help!" Illitha shrieked.

Acting on instinct, she tried to grab one of the man's legs in the hopes of pulling him free of the attacker's grip, but he was kicking and flailing as he struggled to get free, and his boot struck her in the jaw. She toppled backward, momentarily dazed by the accidental blow. Gunfire rang out, and when Illitha managed to clear her head, she saw Gerbeck and Sanders firing at the ceiling around the hole. Their assailant dropped Parker, who writhed around on the ground, clutching at his throat. Illitha scrambled to his side, gazing down at him in concern.

"What's his status?" Gerbeck demanded, still aiming his rifle at the ceiling above.

"He… I… I do not think he can breathe," she said helplessly, trying to pull his hands away from his neck so she could get a look. "His jaw seems to be s-swelling," she added, noting the strange puffiness beneath his chin.

"Get him away from these holes!" Rachel shouted.

Illitha grabbed the injured soldier by his ankle and dragged him toward the storefront, since she didn't see any holes in the ceiling closer to the entrance. Sanders covered them as they withdrew, keeping between the two of them and the closest holes in the ceiling, her weapon pointed upward. Gerbeck was likewise withdrawing, keeping low and staying well away from any gaps in which their enemy could be hiding.

Illitha tried without much success to wrest Parker's hands away from his neck, until Rachel crouched beside her and helped her to wrestle his arms to his sides. His throat was heavily swollen and looked like it was wet. The asari activated her omni-tool and quickly accessed her medscan function to find the extent of the damage. In the moments while the diagnostic program ran its cycle, she wished that Aida was there to help.

"Goddess," she breathed when the results were displayed. "He has s-several fractured vertebrae in his neck, and he is suffering a severe allergic reaction to a t-toxin of some kind. His throat is swollen shut!"

"Jesus. We have to open his airway," Sanders sounded panicked. "Gerbeck-" she turned toward the other soldier.

Whatever she had been about to say was cut off by a brief, high-pitched electronic whine, which ended in a loud click. Illitha didn't see the source of the attack, but the aftereffects were clear. Electricity arced back and forth across Gerbeck's shield and the barrier collapsed. The soldier whirled around and crouched in one fluid motion, but it was too late. There was a flash from near one of the holes in the ceiling, and Illitha felt blood spatter across her face an instant before Gerbeck collapsed. When she opened her eyes again and looked down at the fallen soldier, there was a harpoon-like object protruding from his back, and he was twitching spasmodically.

Sanders was on her feet almost immediately, firing in the direction from which the shots had come, but Illitha knew she was firing blindly. The asari reached out for her, intending to drag her into the storefront if she had to, but she never had the chance. The concussive force of an explosion from almost directly next to her sent her tumbling across the floor, and she felt her barrier collapse. Her ears were ringing, and it took several precious moments for her eyes to regain the ability to focus. She staggered to her feet and wobbled unsteadily, trying to figure out what had happened. Nearby, Rachel was struggling to rise, and Illitha hurried to her side.

She was just assisting the blonde woman to her feet when she saw a slender tentacle extend out from one of the holes. The serpentine appendage ended in a metallic port that looked suspiciously like the barrel of a gun, and Illitha acted on instinct, tackling Rachel to the ground. The high-pitched whine she'd heard before preceded the discharge of the weapon, and a ball of crackling electricity only narrowly missed them as they hit the floor.

Illitha spotted a grenade protruding from a canvas pouch on Rachel's belt, and she glanced up at the hole almost directly above them, from which a bunch of wires were dangling. A desperate plan almost immediately formed in her head. She quickly dug into the pocket, pulling two of the grenades from inside. She struggled to her feet and clicked the activation triggers on both grenades, and then leapt and grabbed the wiring with one hand, gripping it just long enough to lob the two grenades into the space above the ceiling with the other. When she dropped to the ground, she grabbed Rachel by the collar of her armor, dragging the girl toward the nearest wall.

Two thunderous explosions heralded the detonation of the grenades, and a massive portion of the ceiling collapsed, crashing to the floor below. Fortunately, the damage did not extend as far as the spot where Illitha and Rachel were crouched. She saw a softly-glowing figure plummet toward the ground, but it stopped short of striking the surface, hovering in the air. Her eyes widened.

It had apparently once been a hanar, but the Reapers had obviously made some modifications. The underside of the hanar's body was supported with a metal shell, from which small thrusters protruded, which kept it aloft. Its tentacles bore a variety of dangerous modifications… she saw blaster ports of some sort attached to two of them, a blade at the tip of one, and two-thirds of the length of one had been converted into some form of gun barrel. She had only seconds to take in the horrible alterations of the hanar's form before the soft, bio-luminescent glow of the creature suddenly exploded into a blinding light that overloaded her night vision visor. She dived to the side on instinct, knowing that any attempt to blind them would surely be followed by an attack.

The whine of the Reaper's electrical emitter told her that she wasn't wrong. She tore her visor off and threw it aside, manifesting a new barrier even as she drew her pistol and scrambled to get up. She took aim and fired several shots at the Reaper-hanar, but the thrusters that the Reapers had planted in the hanar's body gave it a speed and maneuverability she hadn't expected. It rocketed to the right, getting well clear of her shots.

The Reaper retaliated with a storm of incoming fire. Crackling bursts of electricity and harpoon projectiles flashed all around her as she dove and rolled to get out of the path, finally diving behind a fallen section of the ceiling. She activated her omni-tool and scrolled through the software she had copied from McSween, settling upon the cryo-dispersion program. She had unpleasant memories of that particular form of attack, but in this case, it seemed useful.

She heard an assault rifle firing, and then the whistling discharge of the hanar's weapons, and she knew that Rachel was in the fight with her. Drawing courage from the marine's assistance, she rose from behind her cover and fired her pistol at the Reaper, noting the shimmer of its barrier when the shots were deflected. The Reaper's tentacle with the long barrel attached swiveled toward her and fired a harpoon while the remainder of the creature's weapons continued to fire at Rachel, who was sprinting toward cover. The harpoon was deflected by her barrier, but when Illitha ducked back behind her cover, she spotted a clear section at the center of the barbed metal projectile that was brightening with a white light.

On instinct, she hopped over her cover, putting the slab of fallen ceiling between herself and the weapon. Seconds later, the harpoon exploded, showering her with fragments of shattered tile and debris. Now that she was on the opposite side of her cover, however, she was exposed to direct fire from the Reaper. An electrical burst hit her barrier, and she felt the field collapse under the onslaught. She leapt forward just in time to avoid a harpoon that would have hit her in the ribs.

Rachel's renewed fire distracted the Reaper, and Illitha turned and fired her pistol upon their enemy, waiting for the telltale flash that would signal the collapse of its shields. She was forced to take cover one more time when the creature simultaneously fired on both of them. Its apparent ambidexterity was frustrating, but when a break in the enemy's fire allowed her to retaliate, she saw the Reaper's shield collapse.

Her cryo-drone was airborne in an instant, but she was unwilling to trust in its infallibility. She followed the drone with a singularity, hoping to catch the hanar with one or the other and keep it immobile so they could finish it off. A thruster burst took the creature well out of the path of the cryo drone, but the singularity blossomed directly in its trajectory, and the Reaper was caught in the gravitational field, spinning helplessly in space. Neither Illitha nor Rachel gave it any quarter. Both of them emerged from cover immediately, firing on the creature until they were absolutely certain it was dead. When the faint glow at the heart of its body faded, Illitha slumped to the ground, her entire body shaking. A moment later, Rachel collapsed to the floor beside her.

"You sure you're just an engineer?" the human asked softly. "Because that was some serious Spectre Action Vid stuff you pulled back there with the grenades and the wiring…"

Illitha smiled faintly and shook her head, turning to look at the young blonde. "I… It… It just s-seemed like a good idea at the time…"

"It was," Rachel nodded. "You ever seen those Blasto movies?"

Illitha nodded. She had always loved those movies for their mix of comedic dialogue and over-the-top action, but she had a feeling she'd never be able to look at them the same way again.

"I used to call bullshit on the action scenes in those vids," Rachel admitted. "Never again."

"Parker and Gerbeck…" Illitha changed the subject. She felt nauseous at the thought of the two men, but having seen what the harpoons did, she knew that Gerbeck, who had been impaled with one, had almost certainly died in the resulting explosion. She struggled to find the words, but in looking at the grief-stricken expression on the blonde's face, she realized there was no need.

"I nearly got killed by one of those exploding spikes when it missed me," Rachel nodded. "And Parker couldn't breathe. By now…" the soldier trailed off.

Illitha sighed and bowed her head. One Reaper hanar had killed three out of the five people in their team. And it was a miracle that either herself or Rachel had survived. She was at a loss as to what they should do now. It seemed clear that there were no other Reapers in the area, or they would have joined the attack, but with their group's leader dead, the question was: how should they proceed?

"You are the soldier," Illitha murmured. "I g-guess that means you are in command of the mission now."

"Me?" Rachel stared at her. "I'm just an FNG. I can't take operational command."

"FNG?" Illitha repeated.

"Uh… It means 'Freaking New Guy'," the marine sighed. "Sort of a derogatory term for new recruits. I completed basic training and ground combat proficiency three weeks ago. Terra Nova is my first assignment."

Illitha nodded and sighed softly. Rachel looked so young that it had been fairly obvious she was a new recruit. But where did that leave them? A civilian and a rookie soldier… It didn't bode well for their chances.

"Listen," Rachel began, "I'm not a leader. But you… You have good instincts. And you stood up to Captain Tarrislav in the F.O.B., and again in Mivian Heights I hear. You have strong opinions when it comes to strategy. You should take command of the mission."

"M-Me?" Illitha stared at the girl. "Are you insane? I… I am a civilian! I am certainly not a military leader…"

"Maybe not," Rachel shrugged. "But I've seen the way you handle yourself under pressure. And I'm following your lead from here on out," the girl smiled. "Consider it an unofficial field promotion. So what's the next step, ma'am?"

"Y-you cannot be serious," Illitha shook her head.

"I am," Rachel stood up, and then extended a hand. "Awaiting your orders, ma'am."

Illitha reached out and tentatively took the marine's hand, standing with her assistance. She winced as she did so. She hadn't noticed the pain while she was fighting for her life, but now that she'd been resting for a moment, she felt like her entire body was bruised. The sensation was no doubt a result of being in close proximity to that first explosion.

Once she was standing, she regarded the blonde speculatively. She had no intention of taking command of the mission, but she hoped that Rachel would consider proceeding as a democracy. She glanced toward the bodies of their fallen allies and frowned. Roland and Parker were ominously still. Gerbeck's body had been shredded by the explosion; his remains were spread across a wide swath of the area. She averted her eyes quickly.

"W-Would the corporal's omni-tool include a navigational hologram of the city?" she asked.

"Yeah," Rachel nodded. "And details on the mission too."

Illitha headed for the corporal's corpse, swallowing heavily and keeping her eyes upon the floor. She needed whatever information she could get on the city, especially since she didn't know the layout. Then they could find a building well away from the front lines and rest for a bit while they discussed their next step. They couldn't stay where they were. One of the Reapers had been only blocks away when they entered the tunnel that brought them to the Walters Center. The thing might destroy the building at any moment.

"I will copy the data needed from the corporal's omni-tool," Illitha said softly. "Would you check that storefront for data and supplies?"

"Aye aye," the marine saluted and walked into LeFleur's.

Illitha shook her head. It had been a question, not a command. She quickly copied the data from the corporal's omni, and after a brief struggle with her conscience, she also appropriated the man's assault rifle and his grenades. While she was searching him for any other useful tech, she came across a small pouch filled with the dog tags of the recon team they had discovered below. She took possession of the pouch and quickly tore one of the dog tags from the necklaces that Roland and Parker had worn. She even went so far as to swallow the nausea and horror that she felt and search through the grisly mess that was Private Gerbeck's remains. Once she had all three dog tags, she solemnly dropped them in with the rest. Though there were only a handful of lightweight metal tags within, to the asari, that pouch felt as though it weighed a ton.

"Hey, you need to see this…" Rachel called from inside the storefront.

Illitha sighed and nodded, heading for the door. She wasn't sure she really wanted to see _anything_ that might await her anywhere inside the Walters Center, but sadly, she didn't feel as if she had much choice…

* * *

**Prothean Ruins…**

Selura pressed her back against an ancient stone column, wincing as yet another incendiary burst struck the side of it and a wave of heat washed over her. Her enemy was doing his very best to get a solid lock on her so that the incendiary drones fired by his omni-tool could accurately track her and arc around behind the column. To the enemy's credit, each one got a little closer to achieving the task than the one before. Aware that there was a brief recharge time before her enemy could launch another burst, she quickly leaned out from her cover and returned fire with an incendiary drone of her own. She didn't wait to see if it would strike its target, however, preferring to immediately withdraw into cover.

_Come on, come on, _she mentally complained, waiting for Salik to make his move.

A trail of glowing orange streaked around the column and struck the wall behind her, showering her back with flame. The heat was uncomfortable, but the thermite itself was kept at bay by her shields, which began to rapidly lose power. She was just about to return fire when she heard a brief sound like static and then two thunderous shots echoed through the room. She stepped out of cover and glared at the salarian standing over the corpse of the Cerberus agent next to the far wall.

"Where were you? Stepped out for lunch and a glass of wine?" she demanded sarcastically. "You let that one take ten shots at me! Ten! The last one was hitting me after five!"

"Pointless to be angry at me in this instance," Salik shook his head. "This one failed to score a direct hit all ten times, so lack of alacrity should not be an issue."

Selura's cold glare became positively icy at this last statement from the salarian, and her hands clenched into fists. When Salik had said during the planning stage that they could easily ambush Cerberus soldiers inside the ruins, she hadn't realized he meant that it would be easy for _him_ to walk up and shoot them because they would all be busy trying to kill _her._ If she hadn't been so certain that he needed her to help mine the archive for data, she would have suspected that he was actually _trying_ to get her killed.

Before she could pursue the matter by ranting at him some more, the salarian turned and approached the door at the far end of the room. It was the door that their improvised spy drone hadn't been able to scan beyond. Selura sighed and swallowed her anger, leaving her companion to hack the locking mechanism while she walked to the left-hand side of the room, which sported not a solid wall, but a decorative stonework lattice, allowing a view of the massive chamber below.

The chamber inside of the door the mining company had originally discovered was similar to this one. In fact, all four chambers they'd explored had the same sort of wall on the left-hand side. Below, she could see a series of tall, slender black structures built in a cluster, each of which had glowing green arcs along their sides and on their ends. Salik had pointed it out as the Prothean data cache, identical to the ones found on a handful of other worlds throughout the galaxy. Somewhere below was the control panel for the archive.

"Unclear what we might encounter beyond this barrier," Salik cautioned her. "Find cover quickly and apply pressure whenever opportunity allows. In deference to your increasing lack of courage, I will endeavor to eliminate Cerberus forces as rapidly as possible," he added in a mocking tone, fading from sight under his tactical cloak.

"My lack of…?" Selura began angrily, but cut herself off and quickly ducked out of the line of fire when the door began to rise. She wasn't the one sneaking around and shooting people in the back. She was the one purposely inciting the enemy to shoot at her. She wasn't sure how _she_ was the one displaying a lack of courage.

A chain of gunshots in extremely rapid succession struck the doorframe when the door opened, sending small chips of stone sailing through the air from the site of the bullet impacts. They had run into a few of these Cerberus turrets already, so she waited as she always did for Salik to deal with them. The turrets actually made their job much easier. Within moments, Salik hacked the automated defenses and the sound of their rapid gunfire returned, but this time they were aimed at their owners.

Selura leaned out from cover, quickly surveying the scene. The room was like all the others they had passed through… a featureless chamber with a curved wall on the left-hand side, which was formed into a decorative lattice like the rest. There was a column in each corner of the room, and two Cerberus turrets at the center of the chamber, which were now trained upon the black-armored Cerberus engineers hiding behind the columns on the far side of the room.

Selura could see the shoulder of one of them from her vantage. After targeting the exposed portion of the man and achieving a lock, she shifted her aim outward. When her thumb hit the trigger, her incendiary drone streaked out over the center of the room, and then curved sharply inward to strike the man behind his cover. She knew from past experience that these engineers all had kinetic shields, but she also knew that having been struck once, he would be looking for a way to move to new cover so he wouldn't be showered with a second volley of fire.

Selura was just leaning out to repeat her earlier attack when one of the Cerberus turrets suddenly turned and began firing toward her. The sudden attack was unexpected, and the first few shots struck her shield before she managed to withdraw behind the doorframe for cover.

"What happened?" she muttered. She was just happy she hadn't tried to fully enter the room… the Cerberus turrets packed a serious punch.

"One of the engineers has hacked the turret and counteracted my hacking," Salik's voice answered her.

The sound of the two turrets firing in unison drowned out any further explanation, and Selura risked a quick peek inside to watch as the two weapons attacked each other. She decided that waiting to see which one would survive was a waste of time, and she hit the enemy turret with an incendiary burst. The explosion that followed made her smile.

"Proceed inside and draw their fire," Salik urged. "Hurry."

Selura sighed and darted inside the room, quickly hurrying to the column in the corner nearest the door. She didn't like making herself a target, but despite her misgivings, she did have to admit that their plan had been working perfectly thus far… except for the part where she was frequently _hit_ by enemy fire before Salik killed the enemies. An explosion marked the destruction of the second turret, and she leaned out and launched an incineration drone at one of the columns on the far end of the room. Several gunshots answered her attack, and she smiled.

She kept their attention focused upon her, as had been the strategy from the start. The enemy engineers occasionally answered with gunfire, and a few times they fired incineration drones in response. The engineers were completely focused upon her, at least until Salik's combat drone floated over to their position and hit one of them with an electrical discharge. Selura took her opportunity when she saw an arm appear from behind one of the columns to fire on the drone, arcing her incendiary drone around cover to strike the owner of that limb directly. Apparently, his shields collapsed, because he suddenly staggered into the open, his armor smoldering, and dropped to the floor in a panic, rolling around in an attempt to smother the fire. The combat drone gave him no such luxury; it drifted over and hit him with a direct electrical burst. Several gunshots followed, and the other engineer toppled into view from behind his cover, a pool of crimson spreading around him.

"Clear," Salik announced.

Selura stepped out of cover, much happier with the way _this_ encounter had gone than the last one. She crossed the room and stopped at the door on the opposite end of the chamber, waiting for Salik to hack the lock. Cerberus had predictably sealed every portal in the complex when they realized they were under attack.

When the door finally opened, they both quickly took cover against the doorframe and Salik reengaged his cloak, disappearing from sight. However, when Selura leaned out to get a look at the room beyond, she was treated to something new. There were stacks of crates marked with the yellow Cerberus logo stacked against the wall, but otherwise no sign of habitation. The far end of the room had entirely collapsed into a pile of dirt and broken stonework. The stone latticework on the left-hand side of the room had been shattered, leaving a gaping hole in the wall that separated the room from the one below. Selura hesitantly stepped into the room and crept toward the opening, inching closer until she could see over the edge. She quickly stepped away when dizziness assailed her at the sight; she wasn't a fan of heights.

There was a twenty meter drop to the room below, where a circular walkway ran around the perimeter of the chamber. A moat of sorts, filled with dark water, was located between the walkway and the Prothean archive at the heart of the room. There were no ropes or elevators to allow them to proceed, and Selura started to wonder if this was as far as Cerberus had been able to get. Perhaps they were preparing to excavate the collapsed area of the room in an attempt to access the areas below.

"Apparently climbing down is the only viable means of proceeding," Salik's voice floated out of empty air beside her.

"I cannot climb down," Selura shook her head, still feeling dizzy from the brief look she'd taken at the drop to the room below. "My arm would never support me."

"The latticework spans the entire distance to the room below. Uncertain how Cerberus got up and down, but should you choose your footholds and handholds carefully, navigating the descent with only one arm is possible. Difficult, but possible."

Selura slowly crept toward the edge one more time, steeling herself against the wave of vertigo she knew would wash over her. Once she was standing upon the precipice, she took a deep breath and peered down along the wall. The latticework did have plenty of handholds, but she was sure she would fall if she tried to climb down. She shook her head.

"I cannot do this," she whimpered. "I am afraid of-"

She never got the chance to complete the sentence. She was given a rough shove, and since she was standing right at the edge of the drop, she didn't even have time to react before she was hurtling out into open air, plummeting into the room below. The shriek that tore free of her lungs as she fell left her throat throbbing in pain. She closed her eyes, waiting for the moment when she would hit the ground…

To her shock, she landed feet-first in icy water instead of splattering all over the floor. Despite the softer surface, it was still a jarring impact, and she plunged all the way to the bottom of the water-filled channel, striking the ground at the bottom of the pool. The sudden impact with the water jostled her injured arm roughly, and the pain that flashed through her was almost unbearable. However, between the armor that protected her, the water, and her position when she entered the liquid, she managed to avoid breaking anything new. She was pretty sure that the work done to repair her arm was ruined, but the pain everywhere else was minor.

She had expelled most of the air in her lungs by screaming as she fell, and the Alliance armor was heavy enough to keep her from floating to the surface, so Selura was forced to brace her feet against the bottom and push off, trying to reach the surface or at least get to the side of the moat where she could use the wall to pull herself up. She sank straight to the bottom again, and by the time she leapt for the second time, her lungs were burning and she was seeing stars. Terror filled her. She would have actually preferred hitting solid floor to drowning.

At the apex of that second leap, her hand struck something solid and she latched on to it, frantically pulling herself up. When her head broke the surface, she gasped for air, greedily taking in all that she could, feeling relief flood through her. She opened her eyes and tried to get her bearings, finding herself holding onto a piece of rebar beneath the walkway that encircled the room. Similar sections of rebar formed a grid along the entire underside of the walkway, so she worked her way to the edge, where she could try to pull herself up. Upon reaching the edge, however, a strong hand grabbed her wrist, and she was dragged up onto the walkway and dumped unceremoniously to the floor. She rolled over, and a booted foot planted itself on the chest plate of her armor.

"Don't move," a distorted voice ordered, and the barrel of a rifle was pressed against her forehead.

Selura stared up at the Cerberus trooper that stood over her, and then she closed her eyes in defeat. Salik had almost killed her by shoving her off the ledge above, and she had survived that only to be killed by Cerberus. Her death would no doubt give Salik the distraction he needed to take the rest of them out, but it didn't make her feel any better about the salarian sacrificing her life for his mission.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" another voice demanded.

Selura opened her eyes, surprised that they hadn't simply killed her. Her gaze shifted from the rifle barrel that was still pressed against her forehead to the face of a young man in a white and yellow jacket, who was crouched next to her. A slender female figure in white and gray armor stood behind him. She couldn't see the woman's face; it was covered in a dark mask with red eye slits. The woman was idly tapping a sword against her thigh. The Cerberus trooper moved his foot from Selura's chest to her left arm, activating her omni-tool and using it to deactivate the shield generator in her armor.

"My… my name is Selura," she swallowed. "I… I need the information in this archive to save a friend."

"Who else is with you?" the young man demanded.

"No one," she lied.

"Please," the man scoffed. "I'm not an idiot. Someone shoved you from the balcony above. No one screams like that if jumping is their idea." He held his hand out to the side, and the woman behind him passed her sword to him. "I'll ask again. How many are with you? What sort of weapons are they carrying?" he pressed the tip of the blade to the flexible section of armoring at her knee. "There are a lot of places an asari can be stabbed without killing her. Don't make this any harder on yourself than it needs to be."

"Please," Selura begged. She was only a civilian, and the idea of being tortured was terrifying. "Please do not do that."

"Tell me what I want to know," the man growled, pressing the blade a little harder against the padding.

"Okay!" Selura tensed. "Okay… I am with-"

A high-pitched squeak cut her off, as if a rubber object was being propelled through a hole too small for it to fit through, and a small pellet struck the armored woman directly in the forehead. The pellet disintegrated on contact into a cloud of fine black grit, which spread over the entire area. Both the Cerberus trooper and the armored woman staggered and fell, writhing around as though they were in agony. The grit seemed to do nothing to Selura or the man crouched beside her, however, and her would-be torturer scrambled away, his hand moving to his omni-tool. However, he received no response from the device, and looked at first perturbed, then panicked. Selura rolled to the side and her hand moved to her own omni-tool, but she found hers similarly inoperative.

Salik shimmered into view, aiming his Carnifex at the man's chest. In his other hand was the strange triangular gun Selura had seen him carrying throughout their journey together.

"Unfortunate that Cerberus has incorporated synthetic implants into their troops," the salarian gestured to the two fallen soldiers, neither of whom was moving any longer. "Subjected to an attack that disables all technology in its area, such extensive modification becomes a disadvantage. Allow me to take over the role of interrogator. What information does Cerberus seek to gain from this archive?"

Selura struggled to her feet, clutching her injured arm, trying to suppress the urge to walk over and punch the salarian in the face. He had almost killed her. Twice. Instead of focusing on her anger, she decided to look around for the control console for the archive. She could confront him later.

"I do not make a habit of repeating my questions," she heard the salarian warn. "What information is Cerberus attempting to access?"

Selura spotted a connecting bridge from the circular walkway to the Prothean archive at the room's heart, and she hurried out to the holographic interface next to the archive. She was unfamiliar with the interface, but if her omni-tool had been working, she was sure she could have gained root access. As it stood, she experimentally pressed a few of the green holographic keys before deciding that she needed a working omni. She started retracing her steps to the fallen Cerberus troops, hoping one of their omni-tools might still be functional.

She stopped when she saw their Cerberus prisoner suddenly pull a pistol from behind his back and aim it at the salarian. Salik never moved, and she saw the look of surprise that spread over the prisoner's face, apparently because his gun failed to fire. Salik shook his head and fired a single shot, which hit the man in the knee. The prisoner collapsed to the floor, clutching at his mangled limb and screaming in agony.

"Apparently you were not listening," Salik said in an almost bored tone. "The Devourer prototype pistol disables all technology in the area. This includes the power systems in standard firearms. It will also have rendered inoperative those ocular flashbangs I know have been implanted in your skull. Suggest cooperating and answering my questions, lest you find yourself absent any usable limbs."

Selura felt sick when she saw the salarian turn his pistol toward the man's other knee. She watched the prisoner glare at Salik for a moment, growling in pain, and then slowly roll over, grabbing the sword he had dropped, which he used as a crutch while he tried to rise. The salarian just watched him struggle to get up. Selura was sure the unfortunate man would realize he had no options and would start answering the questions. She never expected what came next.

The man suddenly reversed his hold upon the blade, turning the point upward beneath his chin, and he fell forward, driving the weapon up through his head. Salik took a step forward as if to stop him, but it was far too late to act. Selura stared at the grisly sight for a moment, and then she turned and staggered to the railing that encircled the walkway, vomiting into the water.

"Dealing with fanatics is always difficult at best," Salik muttered. "Suspected I would not get answers from him no matter how much pain was inflicted. You should begin mining the Prothean archive for data. Specifically, search for recently accessed information and copy every file that has been opened since Cerberus first gained access."

Selura wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and winced. It felt as though she had just rubbed sand across her lips. She dabbed at her mouth gingerly and came away with a fine layer of black grit. She turned to look at the salarian curiously, her anger toward him momentarily forgotten.

"What is this?"

"Rare and expensive experimental ammunition," the salarian shrugged, holding up the triangular pistol he was carrying. "This pistol is a prototype, tentatively named 'Devourer'. Fires pellets packed with nanites based on Reaper technology studied by STG. The nanites crawl into any technological material they encounter and cut it apart at a molecular level. Results in almost immediate loss of functionality in all forms of technology."

"You mean I have nanites crawling all over me?" Selura shuddered.

"Not anymore," Salik shook his head. "Nanites were engineered for an extremely short lifespan. Their power systems shut down after thirty seconds of activity. Otherwise they would continue to seek out and destroy all technological equipment they could find. STG researchers are not stupid. Have no wish to cause planet-wide technological apocalypse."

"My omni-tool is dead, thanks to these things," Selura muttered. "I need an omni to access the archive. I am not familiar enough with Prothean interfaces to manage without one."

"Use this," Salik reached into a small pouch at his side and tossed her a datapad. "It contains interface software allowing me to access systems remotely so that I can work on a comfortable input system instead of an omni-tool in foreign environments. Should suffice to assist you in searching the archive. Please commence your task. I will climb up to the area above and update the others on our status, and then determine best method of retrieving you from this area so that climbing is unnecessary."

"Give me one good reason why I should help you now," Selura glared at him, her anger returning full force. "You shoved me out of that hole and almost killed me!"

"Unfortunate, but necessary. Saw no other available options given your reluctance to attempt the climb down. However, I feel compelled to point out that my estimate of required force to propel you into the water was accurate. Furthermore, your fall distracted Cerberus forces present in this area, and I prevented them from inflicting any harm upon you after they retrieved you from the water."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Selura demanded. "My feet hit the bottom when I went into the water. Had I gone in headfirst-"

"You didn't," he cut her off. "This display of ire is irrelevant. Either you intend to follow through on your assignment and search the Prothean archive for the data necessary to accomplish your goals and mine, or you do not. Decide now, so that I can make necessary adjustments to my plan of action."

Selura swallowed, but the fire didn't leave her gaze. She still needed to find the information necessary to bring Captain Nisaria out of stasis, but she was starting to have serious doubts about Salik's trustworthiness. A nauseous feeling filled her stomach when the full realization of her current situation dawned on her. She was in a room deep in the Prothean ruins. Salik's nanites had rendered her omni-tool nonfunctional and had likely done the same to her pistol and the shield generator in her armor. She couldn't possibly climb out without help because of the injury to her arm, and Salik was both armed and quite obviously willing to kill to achieve his goals. It seemed clear that her only hope of getting out of the room alive was to download the data the salarian needed, encrypt it, and use it as leverage to ensure her safe exit. If she refused, he could easily kill her and claim Cerberus did it.

"We need the data to help Captain Nisaria," Selura said softly. "I will search through the archive for what we need. But it will take time."

The salarian nodded and then immediately turned and started climbing the lattice to the hole in the wall far above. Selura did a quick search of the Cerberus equipment in the area, and was happy when she found another datapad amongst the equipment stacked along the wall. She scanned the contents and found nothing but an inventory list of tech, but that suited her fine. She would transfer the information about the Prothean medical device to her newly-acquired datapad so that they didn't need access to Salik's equipment to save Captain Nisaria later.

There was a door in the wall nearby, and she briefly considered looking around in the area beyond, but decided against it. Working with the archive would take time. She couldn't afford to delay by searching the ruins for the sole sake of curiosity.

She took both datapads with her and returned to the bridge that connected to the archive. Once she was away from the area where she'd vomited, she knelt beside the water and dipped her hands into it, using it to wash the dead nanites from her face and hands. Then she prepared to sift through the Prothean archive. To her delight, the datapad Salik had given her included translation software, which would make her job much easier. Her first task would be to find information on the Prothean stasis pods. Only then would she do as Salik asked and hunt down his data.

Salik's datapad already included what she recognized as an extremely advanced encryption suite, so all she had to do was input an access code. With a sufficiently complex access code and several inputs for modulation of the characters to keep rearranging them, she was satisfied that any data she transferred to the device would take him months to access if he betrayed them. Given the shift in his behavior since the two of them entered the ruins, she hoped that her plan would work. And she hoped that Prathus and Neela were watching their backs.

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: Here we are again! Thank you to everyone who has read, commented, favorited/followed or paid any attention whatsoever to my little story. Or big story, as it has become. Lots happening this Chapter, and I hope it was an exciting read. It was certainly a lot of fun to write. I noticed that a lot of people thought last Chapter was really the end for poor Prathus, but I did mention the sounds of a submachine gun from somewhere nearby last time...**

**And I hope everyone found my little Reaper hanar interesting. I know that there were none in the game, but I figured that the Reapers would make use of what was on hand. So if there was a Reaper shopkeeper or traveler on the planet and they captured him... well, they might experiment a bit. Besides, since the story is at the beginning of the Reaper war, there hasn't been time to import massive amounts of Marauders, Brutes, Ravagers and the like to Terra Nova yet, which is why I've restricted myself to Cannibals and Husks mostly so far. I figured a little variety spices things up.**

**The next update comes on Sunday, and between now and then, I hope everyone who celebrates the holiday has a Happy Thanksgiving, and everyone else has a great weekend! I'm already anxious to share the next Chapter with everyone, so there is exactly zero chance that it will be delayed by lack of progress on my end. It's already written and has been for some time, so whether I stay on schedule or not, it will be incoming at the end of the weekend ;)**


	30. Chapter 30: Dissolution

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Thirty: Dissolution

.

**Walters Center Ruins, Scott…**

Illitha ducked beneath some low-hanging wiring as she stepped through the doorway into LeFleur's. The business looked like it had been a restaurant before it was transformed into an Alliance command center. There were numerous tables and booths pushed off into one corner, and terminals and communications equipment had been set up throughout the room, though most of it looked like it was damaged beyond repair. By all appearances, the place had been the site of an intense battle, and it was the first place in which bodies still lingered; Until that moment, they'd found only blood stains.

Illitha quietly surveyed the scene. There were well over a dozen human corpses scattered across the room, and at least twice that many Reaper corpses on the floor near the door and the windows. The coppery stench of blood was heavy upon the air, and Illitha covered her mouth and nose with her hand in an effort to filter some of it out. There were functional lighting units near the back of the restaurant, which was apparently the source of the illumination that had originally drawn their team upstairs.

"Why did the R-Reapers leave these bodies behind?" Illitha wondered aloud.

"That's why," Rachel pointed at a spot above her head.

Illitha turned and glanced upward, and was alarmed to find an automated sentry drone's weapon aimed at her head. She scrambled backward with a startled yelp, only to have Sanders quickly grab her arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"It's okay," Rachel insisted. "You're in Alliance gear. Our armor includes systems and visual features that our drones recognize. They don't fire on friendly personnel."

Illitha nodded slowly, trying to calm her racing heart. She wasn't cut out for war. She _really_ didn't like having weapons aimed at her, friendly or otherwise.

"I'm guessing when the Reapers hit us, our people fell back to more defensible positions. Every time a new defensive line was overrun, they would have fallen back again. This was obviously the Alamo."

"Alamo?" Illitha repeated.

"Yeah," Rachel crouched beside the body of one of the Alliance soldiers, examining his dog tags. "It's a term from my people's history. The site of a famous last stand."

"S-So this was the final position," Illitha turned in a circle, examining the carnage around her with a frown. "And… And the Reapers did not take the bodies because there was one operational t-turret left in here to shoot them whenever they tried."

"Seems that way," Rachel nodded.

"What is through there?" Illitha asked, pointing to a door at the back of the room.

"Rubble. It was pried open just a little, and it looks like the area behind it is collapsed," Rachel explained, moving from body to body looking at the dog tags. Finally she sighed. "I hate to say it, but the commanders of this F.O.B. are all dead."

"What?" Illitha felt a cold pit form in her stomach.

Rachel gestured to the body beside which she was crouched. "This is Major Stadikov. The man over there is Captain Montsammard," she pointed toward another of the fallen. "To my knowledge, they were the highest-ranking men in the city. I have no idea who is next in the chain of command now. Or where they might be located."

"I thought admirals ran your military," Illitha turned to regard the blonde curiously. "Am I wrong?"

"The chain of command goes higher than that, but the Admiral in charge of the base here was presumed dead when the Reapers first hit us. It demolished the building where his office was located. Major Stadikov was the one coordinating our remaining forces."

"There… It… Surely there must be a line of succession," Illitha suggested anxiously. If there was no one with experience left in charge, they might be subjected to continued supervision by Captain Tarrislav, and if that was the case, she would definitely be looking for someplace deep in the wilderness to hide. If there was one man on the planet that would lead the Alliance directly to a crushing defeat, she was sure he was the man.

"Not a specific line, no," Rachel answered, dashing the asari's hopes. "Whoever has the highest rank in each area will be in charge there. But I have no idea who is deployed where, or even which bases are still in operation. Maybe there will be something on one of these omnis…"

A tremor shook the building, causing them both to look around nervously. Dust and grit drifted down from the ceiling. Illitha listened intently for a moment, wondering how close the Reaper was getting to their position. It had only been a short distance to the south when their team arrived at the Walters Center. It might be right on top of the building by now.

"Then… what do we do?" Illitha asked. She felt completely helpless. She wasn't a soldier, and she was at a loss as to how they could get in touch with other military forces.

"Up to you," Sanders shrugged. "But I think the first step should be getting out of here before the whole building collapses."

"We need supplies, right?" Illitha asked, sorrowfully looking around at all of the dead soldiers.

"Yes ma'am," Rachel nodded.

"Okay then. I will check all the equipment to see if anything still works or has a salvageable data core," Illitha announced. She started moving from terminal to terminal, looking for anything that was still working.

"What about me?" Rachel asked.

"I told you, I c-cannot be in charge. We need to work as a team," Illitha sighed.

"You should be in charge," Rachel insisted. "And I'm more comfortable following orders. I told you, I follow your lead."

Illitha turned to glare at the girl. While Rachel's willingness to trust in her instincts and decisions was flattering on some level, Illitha didn't like the fact that the girl was trying to thrust her into a role of leadership. She didn't want to be responsible for the decisions. What if one of her decisions got Rachel killed? Or got someone else killed? She didn't think she could live with that.

"Please," Illitha bowed her head. "Please do not force me into a position of authority… I am not… I… I do not belong in charge."

"Alliance soldiers are trained to be adaptable and to take initiative," Rachel smiled at her. "But also to follow orders. It's best if one of us has the lead here. And your instincts are definitely better than mine. That thing you did out there with the grenades? I wouldn't have thought of that, and it probably saved our lives…"

"It was just…" Illitha trailed off, bowing her head.

"It was brilliant," Rachel smiled. "And those are the kinds of quick decisions that will keep us both alive."

Illitha said nothing. She didn't know how to dissuade the young human from her mistaken opinion that she was some sort of leader. She understood why the blonde might want her to take charge… between the two of them, Illitha was definitely the elder. But she still didn't like it.

"Look," Rachel's tone softened. "I'll make any suggestions I can. I'll do what I think is best most of the time. But if you get an idea or a tactic or think something should be done, just say it, and I'll do it. Okay? I don't mean to put pressure on you, but I'd like to live through this. And I really think your ideas are more likely to benefit the two of us than mine."

"O-Okay, but… Do not expect me to… to be some sort of brilliant tactician or anything. Between the two of us, you are the one with more c-combat experience. I never even _held_ an assault rifle before yesterday."

"Uh huh," the girl grinned at her. "Your secret is safe with me, Spectre."

"I am not-"

"Of course not. Every lowly mechanic turns into a bona fide action star when they get in trouble," Rachel continued to grin.

Illitha, realizing that the girl was teasing her, found herself blushing at the praise. Flustered by the attention, she finally turned away and muttered "Oh, shut up…"

"Aye aye, ma'am!" Rachel laughed. "I'll start gathering up the omnis, weapons, and any medigel or other gear I can find in here."

"Oh, can you…?" Illitha trailed off, her thoughts drifting back to the pouch of dog tags of which she had taken possession.

"Can I what?"

"Could you collect the dog tags? I have the… the pouch… that Corporal Roland was carrying."

Rachel's expression sobered considerably, and she nodded once. The two of them quickly went to work, Illitha scanning the equipment in search of undamaged parts or intact data storage, and Rachel gathering the weapons, armor and equipment into a large pile near the door. Between the two of them, they gathered far more than they could ever hope to carry.

Illitha was just extracting the core memory systems from what looked like it had been a holographic projection table when Rachel slapped the shoulder guard of her armor to get her attention. The sound, more than the sensation, startled the engineer. She only barely suppressed a gasp as she whirled around.

"I found a tech armor system," she announced. "Since you're the one without combat training and you have lighter armor than mine, we should get it installed in your armor for added protection."

"Tech armor?" Illitha repeated with a ghost of a smile. She was familiar with the technology as it was portrayed in action vids and news footage, but had never dreamed she might actually get to use such an advanced defensive system. It was extremely likely that Rachel had found the system installed in a dead person's armor, but Illitha tried not to dwell on that thought. Her excitement over the idea of using the tech eclipsed her discomfort over the source.

Rachel seemed to pick up on her excitement, because her grin resurfaced when she spoke. "We'll have you looking like a proper Spectre yet."

* * *

**Dig Site Theta-129…**

With only two sentries remaining in the entire exterior camp, the most challenging part of the mop-up for Zaeed was keeping his companions from killing one of the two. He disabled the first of the remaining Cerberus troopers with a few well-placed shots to the gut, but his satisfaction was cut short when Greck promptly leapt over the barricade and thrust an omni-blade through his prisoner's neck. Zaeed very nearly shot the vorcha in his frustration. The remaining sentry obviously knew he was outmatched, because he abandoned his post and made a run for the entrance to the mine.

The turian had excellent aim, Zaeed quickly discovered. Prathus's shots hit the Trooper directly in his armored back, and a few of them pierced the armor and sent the trooper into the dirt. Zaeed immediately shouted for his teammates to stop firing when the man went down, but Greck didn't seem to pay any attention. He ran for the fallen man with an omni-blade at the ready. Zaeed broke into a run, but the vorcha was almost running on all fours and quickly outdistanced him. He was left with only one option if he wanted a prisoner to interrogate… He readied the concussive burst emitter he'd commandeered from the Alliance supplies and fired at Greck's back. The distortion wave hit the vorcha squarely between his shoulder blades, sending him sailing over the fallen trooper and into the mine entrance.

Zaeed planted a foot on the Cerberus trooper's back to keep him still, but his weapon was trained on the mine entrance when the vorcha reemerged, snarling angrily. The mercenary regarded him impassively, waiting for the creature to make a move. He didn't like vorcha, and Greck had spent days getting on his nerves. Part of him was begging the vorcha to attack so he could just kill him.

"You shot me! I _break_ you!" Greck growled.

"I need a prisoner, Jackass," Zaeed growled back. "What part of 'hold your fire' didn't you understand?"

The vorcha only roared in response, taking a few quick steps forward as if he was about to attack. Zaeed's finger tightened on the trigger, but before their standoff could break into open hostility, the turian hobbled between the two. The vorcha tried to push past him, but Prathus grabbed the creature's arm.

"We're on the same team here, remember?" Prathus hissed at the vorcha. "If you want the chance to slaughter some more Cerberus goons, why don't you check out those prefabs? Maybe some soldiers took shelter there."

"Sick of the human!" the vorcha continued to glare at Zaeed. The mercenary snorted.

"Well, the job is almost done, right?" Prathus persisted. "So you don't have to deal with him much longer."

The vorcha's gaze went back and forth between the two, and Zaeed frowned. He had really been hoping Greck would force a confrontation and he could just end this. Instead, the vorcha finally snarled and stalked off toward the prefabs next to the shuttles. Zaeed lowered his weapon, his gaze falling to the writhing figure beneath his boot.

"I've actually wanted to kill that bastard for days," Zaeed muttered.

"I have no love for vorcha, but shooting our allies seems wasteful," Prathus pointed out. "He may be an idiot, but he'll gleefully tear Reapers apart, and that only helps us going forward."

"Doesn't mean I have to like him," Zaeed shrugged, forcing his prisoner over onto his back.

"What do you need the prisoner for?" Prathus inquired, awkwardly lowering himself the ground. "Salik never mentioned taking prisoners."

"This one isn't for him. This is purely for me. Whole reason I took the job."

"You have a problem with Cerberus?"

"You could say that. I did a job for them a little while back, and they betrayed me. I plan to find the Illusive Man and show him what happens to the assholes that cross me."

"You worked for Cerberus," Prathus repeated, mandibles twitching.

"I'm a mercenary. I work for whoever pays me," Zaeed pointed out. He kept his expression neutral, but he was struck by the sudden change in the turian's demeanor, and he watched him carefully.

"Enjoy your interrogation," the turian finally muttered. "I'll go back and tell Xara it's safe to enter camp." He struggled to his feet and hobbled toward the fields.

Both the turian and the quarian had returned from the hilltop with injuries. The turian could barely walk at all, with both legs impaired. But Prathus had been insistent on continuing to help with the remaining Cerberus forces, while the quarian had opted to stay in the fields. Zaeed hadn't been surprised by the quarian's decision, but he respected the turian for his dedication.

He shook his head and put the injured duo out of his mind, instead devoting his full attention to his prisoner. Gasps and coughs from the fallen trooper told him that one of the turian's bullets had penetrated an internal organ, possibly a lung, so he didn't have a lot of time left to get the answers he wanted. He crouched over the prone figure and pressed the barrel of his rifle up against the man's throat.

"I just have one question. Answer it, and I slap some medigel on your wounds and walk away. Jerk me around, and I blow your goddamn head off," he glared down at the man. "Where is the Illusive Man?"

The trooper coughed and sputtered. Zaeed could barely make out a word or two, but they didn't seem to be part of any intelligible answer. He pressed the rifle more firmly against the man's throat.

"Where is he? I want the name of the system!"

The only answer he received was a few more rough wheezes, and then the man went horribly still. Zaeed ground his teeth and struck the corpse's armored chest with his fist, frustrated with his inability to get the information he wanted. He briefly wondered if Salik might take a prisoner, but given the fanatical nature of Cerberus's new troops and previous experience with their suicide technology, he doubted they'd ever get a prisoner they could interrogate.

_Maybe they've got something on their omni-tools_, he thought. _Details about their base of operations, or a travel itinerary_…

He picked up the Mattock the trooper had been carrying and slung it over his shoulder, and then took possession of the man's omni-tool. He activated it and pressed a few keys to try to access the information, but it seemed that he tripped a security protocol of some kind in the process, because the omni's display flashed the words 'Invalid Authorization' and the memory core fried itself; the device spewed a shower of sparks and the interface went dead.

"Damn it," Zaeed growled.

It was obvious to him that he would need an expert to hack into one of their omni-tools for answers. So he swallowed his frustration and distracted himself by collecting the omnis from the rest of the Cerberus corpses. He could ask Salik or the asari to hack into them later. In the meantime, he picked a spot near one of the Cerberus barricades and sat down, working at transferring the mods and the concussive burst emitter from the Alliance-issue Avenger rifle he had been using to his newly-claimed Mattock rifle.

* * *

**Mivian Heights…**

_"Aida, I know she is your best friend," Captain Nisaria whispered, her lips brushing against Aida's neck, "but she is wrong to insist on helping the humans. I won't try to stop her from doing what she believes is right, but fighting the Reapers is suicide. We should return to Thessia… together."_

_Aida felt a thrill run through her at the elder asari's words, even though she was troubled by the idea of leaving her best friend on Terra Nova while she fled to Thessia. When the captain started gently nibbling and kissing her way along her neck, however, thoughts of her best friend fled. The captain's hand trailed across her abdomen, and then slowly inched her shirt upward so that her fingertips could trail across the bare flesh of her stomach. She felt her breath catch in her throat, and closed her eyes. How often had she dreamed of this?_

_"Will you return to Thessia with me?" the captain's tone was heavy with desire. "I know you've dreamt of being with me… I've been alone for too long. And I love you too much to deny my attraction any longer."_

_"Goddess," Aida whispered, tears stinging her eyes when she heard the words she had longed to hear for what seemed like ages._

_The captain's hand slid up under her shirt, drifting tantalizingly close to the undersides of her breasts, but stopping just shy of that destination. Aida bit her lip, silently begging the captain to complete the journey. Her heart was racing and her breath came faster just at the thought of it. She felt warm breath against her lips, and she opened her eyes to find the beautiful face of the elder asari just centimeters from her own._

_"Will you come with me? There is no need to fight the Reapers. If we do not hinder them, they have no reason to harm us. Return with me to my house on Thessia. We can be together…"_

_The elder asari's lips brushed across hers, but the woman drew away when Aida tried to truly kiss her. Aida pouted. It was sweet torture to be so incredibly close to what she'd always wanted, and yet have it denied her for just a little longer. She wanted so badly to say yes. But the nagging feeling that she'd be betraying her friend persisted…_

"Aida?"

The voice startled Aida out of her dream, and she raised her head, rubbing her eyes groggily. The headache that had prompted her to sit down and close her eyes to begin with still persisted, and she sighed, wishing there were some mild painkillers available to dull the ache. The fact that someone had called her name returned to her, and she looked around curiously for the source of the voice.

Gradian was standing near the door, regarding her with an apologetic smile. "Sorry to wake you," he stepped further into the room, holding a steaming bowl in his hands. "I organized a hunting party to go out looking for edible growth and local game. It's not much, but the cooks managed to create a simple soup from wild vegetables and striped madcat."

"Madcat?" Aida repeated. She wasn't familiar with the animal, but the smell of the soup was enticing, especially since she hadn't eaten in some time.

"Yeah. They're native to Terra Nova. Small animals that have a vaguely feline appearance. But their eyes are really large and sort of bulge out from their heads. Makes them look a little crazy."

Aida forced the teasing images from her dream out of her head and gratefully accepted the bowl, stirring it up and sniffing hungrily. When she took a taste, the mixture was rather bland, but anything warm and nutritious was welcome after going the better part of a day without food. The small strips of meat in the soup, when she finally found some, were a little chewy and tough, but had a pleasant taste.

"Thank you," she finally said after taking several bites.

"No problem," Gradian lowered himself into a nearby chair. "How is Private Mitchelson?"

Aida frowned at the shift in subject, her gaze drifting toward the curtains that separated the recovery area from the rest of the infirmary. Knowing that she hadn't been able to spare the man the pain of losing his leg still gnawed at her. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her appetite suddenly dulled somewhat.

"He still has not regained consciousness," she said softly.

"He will," Gradian nodded. "But you should get out of this infirmary for a while. You've spent almost every waking hour in here since your friends left."

"There were so many injured at first. And an almost steady stream of complaints about headaches since," Aida sighed. "I am needed here."

"You're no good to us if you wear yourself out," Gradian smiled gently. "This town overlooks a gorge filled with lush growth, mineral pools and some spectacular rock formations. You should get out of here for a bit. Take a walk down the path into the gorge or something. Let yourself unwind."

"I cannot," Aida said softly, spooning up another mouthful of the soup. She glanced toward the stasis pod.

"I promise, your captain will be safe here with us. Take a little time for yourself."

"I will think about it," Aida conceded. "It might do me some good to find somewhere quiet to relax."

"I think it will," Gradian nodded, rising from his chair. "Rebecca will be here to help anyone that needs medical attention while you relax." He didn't wait for an answer, but instead headed for the door.

Aida smiled and went back to her meal, hungrily polishing off what remained in her bowl. She wasn't sure why the lieutenant was so concerned for her welfare – she was a civilian, after all – but she admired his heart. In that respect, at least, he reminded her of Illitha. Like her best friend, Gradian seemed to genuinely place the well-being of others before himself.

_Perhaps a trip down into the gorge is just the thing I need,_ Aida decided as she mulled over the lieutenant's advice. _I could find a secluded mineral pool somewhere and indulge in a bath. A little time soaking in cool, clear water would probably do me a world of good._

* * *

**Prothean Ruins…**

There was a significant delay in Selura's research while the datapad Salik had given her and the Prothean data archive communicated and their translation systems synced up. Selura was so enthralled with the idea of being the first asari to interact with the data cache, however, that she barely noticed as the time ticked by. She simply stared at the datapad's screen, waiting while it worked to unlock the secrets of the Prothean language. She was surprised that the salarian's preparations didn't include bringing along a translation program, actually. Given the fact that Salik knew he would be accessing a Prothean archive, she figured bringing along a Prothean linguistic database would have been a given.

When the translation systems finished interfacing, however, Selura's scientific curiosity eclipsed all of her other worries. She soon lost herself in running search algorithms, sifting through the data of a civilization wiped out fifty-thousand years earlier. It was exciting, to search through information about such an advanced race. The young scientist was no Prothean expert, but even so, the wealth of knowledge accumulated by the lost civilization was astounding.

It was a real struggle to keep her focus. More than once, she found some piece of information – a map of an ancient Prothean city, or a record of a prominent leader – and got sidetracked reading about her new discovery. Fortunately, with Cerberus dealt with, there was no need for hurry. And so when she caught herself delving into information unrelated to her task, she occasionally gave herself just a few more moments to look before getting back to work.

She had been at work for about twenty minutes when the nasal voice of the salarian startled her out of her task.

"Progress update?" Salik prompted.

"There is a lot of data to look through," she lied. She actually hadn't even started hunting for Salik's data yet. She was intent on finding information on their stasis pod first. "I am making progress," she added.

"Have discovered Cerberus method of egress, but it is of no use in removing you from this facility," Salik frowned. "Cerberus troops employ boot-installed propulsion units. Unfortunately, these units integrate with the synthetic components in their bodies, making them impossible for either of us to use."

"Then how will I get out?"

"Concentrate on your task," the salarian advised. "A solution will present itself eventually. Irritating to repeatedly climb up and down that wall. Alternate means of exit is necessary. May resort to explosives to clear collapsed section of the complex. Do not be alarmed if a detonation or two occurs above."

Selura nodded slowly, trying to hide her nervousness over the idea of Salik deploying explosives anywhere in her vicinity. Any trust she'd placed in him had been erased by his actions when they first found this room, and she was anxious to have her friends close so that she would have support. At that thought, she glanced up toward the hole in the wall.

"Where are Prathus and Neela? I would love some company down here."

"Apprised your companions of the situation," Salik shrugged. "However, unwise to bring more people down here before I have secured a reliable mode of transport from the floors above. If it makes you more comfortable, I will consult with your quarian companion and ask her to come to the breach above. She can watch over you from up there."

"That would be great," Selura smiled. Even if Neela wouldn't be by her side, just having her within sight would be an immense relief.

"Return to work. I will retrieve her," Salik offered, and then returned to the wall, making the climb to the breach above one more time.

Selura watched the salarian go, and then turned back to the task at hand. Perhaps she was mistaken about him. Every time she was certain he could or could not be trusted, he did something to change her mind. If he was willing to escort her friends to her, thereby giving her added support, perhaps he didn't mean to betray them after all…

Her nerves settled somewhat, she was soon lost once more in the data at her fingertips. Her single-mindedness served her work well. Within another thirty minutes, she found a schematic of the Prothean stasis pod, very similar to the one that she had been given by the research team on Ilos. From there, she started searching for operational information regarding the pod, and eventually found a control signal to access the pod's systems. Elation filled her when she copied the control signal and the other information about the pod to the Cerberus datapad. She was so focused on her task that it never occurred to her that Neela should have arrived long before then.

With her own goal complete, she started looking through the recent access entries to find out what information Cerberus was trying to locate. She went down the list, noting that Cerberus had activated the translation matrix just as she had, and then had gone through the various basic directories. She frowned at the next set of entries. Cerberus had been running a search for all signal analysis data in the system, and had accessed the Prothean stasis pod control signal before she did. If she had started with Salik's search, she would have found the data a good forty minutes faster.

_What were you after?_ she wondered.

Judging from their search parameters, they seemed to be very interested in discovering a signal of some kind. Their search had turned up several, including Prothean communications signals, scanning signals, input signals for various systems, but none of the files had been copied. She was puzzled, and so she decided to continue their search, hoping that the Cerberus search algorithm would turn up something that stood out to her as unique or valuable. While the search ran, she set up the pass key and modulation parameters on Salik's datapad in preparation for encrypting the data once she uncovered it. Only after her encryption was confirmed did she finally realize that Neela had never arrived.

_What could be keeping her?_

* * *

**Mine Shaft, Dig Site Theta-129…**

Prathus sat against the natural stone wall of the chamber, tending to his leg while Neela pounded her fist against the heavy stone slab that blocked their entry into the Prothean ruins. The quarian was worried about Selura, and Prathus was starting to share her concern. They had secured the dig site almost an hour ago, and yet there was no sign of the asari or the salarian. Neela grew more agitated with every passing minute, and despite Prathus's frequent admonitions that she should sit down and give her injured knee a rest, the quarian was stubbornly limping back and forth, pacing in the mine shaft.

The tunnel had been bored into the rock at a downward angle, and extended approximately thirty meters into the mountainside before hitting a stonework barrier. The mining crew had obviously stopped when they hit the wall, because from there the shaft ran parallel to that wall until it had broken through into a large natural cavern, from which a single Prothean-made door provided access to the complex. It was at this door that their journey had ended. Salik had mentioned during the planning stage that he would seal that door to keep Cerberus from retreating into the complex, but it had never occurred to Prathus that doing so would lock the rest of them out.

"They've been down there for an hour!" Neela complained. "I need to know that she's all right. Why won't this stupid door open?"

"The salarian probably installed a security lockout code to keep Cerberus from hacking it," Prathus suggested. It seemed a reasonable theory.

"One of my hacking programs should have been able to break it," Neela muttered. "I don't like that he has her in there all alone."

"I know T'Zari said to watch him, but they haven't done anything to give us cause for concern," he pointed out. "And who knows how many rooms or how many Cerberus agents were in there? They could still be fighting their way to the lower levels."

"If we could get past this door, we could help!" Neela shouted, turning and banging her fist against the door one more time.

"Xara, you really-"

A violent tremor and a faint rumble cut off the suggestion he was about to make. Small pebbles and a fine dusting of grit drifted down from the ceiling, and the two exchanged glances. There had definitely been some kind of explosion within the complex. It gave some validity to his theory that they were still fighting their way to the archive. Neela, however, only became more visibly agitated.

"That was an explosion," her voice was shaking. "Keelah, please let her be all right…"

Prathus paused his work in cleaning and dressing his wound, regarding the quarian with sympathy. "She's an intelligent girl. I'm sure she's fine," he told her. Inwardly, however, his concern had grown. If Cerberus had decided to set explosives as some sort of trap, the asari and the salarian might never see it coming.

* * *

**Prothean Ruins…**

Selura jumped nervously when a tremendous explosion echoed through the complex, sending bits of stonework tumbling down from the ceiling. Several huge chunks of rock splashed into the moat nearby, prompting her to stare up at the roof overhead, looking for signs that more of it was going to collapse. The fact that Salik had warned her of possible explosions didn't ease her mind any. She wished, in fact, that she had asked where he was getting the explosives from. Perhaps one of the crates in the room above had held them?

A flash of green light drew her attention back to the archive, and she watched in amazement as a small, green holographic orb floated outward from the heart of the structure. It flickered briefly, and then a humanoid form took shape in front of her. The shape of the head and the quartet of eyes that stared at her were familiar. She'd seen Prothean sculptures in museums on Thessia that looked similar. The rest of the projection's shape had a feminine cast to it.

"Scanning," the figure spoke in soft, synthesized female voice. "Time reference established. Post-Prothean cycle confirmed. Reaper technology detected. Yet you do not bear the taint of indoctrination…"

Selura stared in wonder at the figure in front of her. It couldn't be anything but a Prothean VI. The mere thought that she was interacting with working Prothean technology almost took her breath away. It took her a few moments to collect herself enough to speak.

"Who are you?" she finally managed to ask. "And how can I understand you?"

"I am Verity, a VI programmed using a personality matrix based on project overseer Viasina Taluur. I interfaced with your data unit's translation software and established a dialogue matrix."

"What did you mean, when you said I 'do not bear the taint of indoctrination'?"

"Reapers are capable of emitting a signal that can alter the thought patterns of organic life. In this manner, they can alter the perceptions and thoughts of organics, fashioning them into willing servants. This insidious form of control is referred to as 'Indoctrination'," the VI informed her.

"They can control people's minds?" Selura's brows rose.

"With time and proximity, yes," the soft voice answered. "The degree of control exerted takes a toll upon the mind being influenced. The greater the degree of control, the less capacity the subject retains for independent thought and action. Eventually the subject loses all capability for free thought."

"How can we fight the Reapers?" Selura asked. "They are invading worlds across the galaxy. We need to know how to stop them."

"I do not have access to that information," the VI informed her. "At the time of my activation, the Prothean empire was shattered. Each planet was isolated. Our forces were divided. It became clear that our civilization would be destroyed. Other groups might have put plans into motion to defeat the Reapers, but most would have turned to ensuring the survival of our species."

"You put your people into stasis," Selura nodded, remembering the stasis pods on Ilos.

"Affirmative," the VI nodded. "The last directive of Project Overseer Taluur was to see the survivors of this facility placed in stasis. When the Reapers withdrew from the galaxy, I was to awaken them from their slumber so that a new Prothean empire could rise from the ashes of the old. Unfortunately, Reaper forces had infiltrated the bowels of this complex and sabotaged the power systems. Without sufficient power to maintain the stasis pods, all personnel were lost. Emergency protocols placed my matrix in the archives until a new civilization discovered and restored power to this facility."

"So you reactivated when Cerberus restored power to the facility," Selura guessed. "What did you mean when you said you detected Reaper technology?"

"Multiple instances of Reaper-based technology and code exist in close proximity," the VI intoned. "Reaper encryption algorithms are installed in the data interface through which you accessed this system. Reaper technology was implanted in the organics who first accessed this archive. I could detect the taint of indoctrination upon them."

"You mean Cerberus?" Selura glanced at the Cerberus corpses on the walkway. "Cerberus is implanted with Reaper tech? They are under Reaper control?"

"The control signal was anomalous," Verity commented. "I do not believe they are directly controlled by Reaper forces. However, their technological implants are unmistakably influenced by Reaper technology. If they do not serve the Reapers now, they soon will."

Selura's eyes fell to the datapad she held in her hands. The news that the Cerberus troops were under Reaper control had grabbed her attention first, but now the other part of the VI's statement finally hit her. The datapad was loaded with Reaper encryption?

"What information was Cerberus trying to access?"

"They were searching for the same information that you were. They sought any information and analysis results of signals in my databanks. I believe they were trying to find the research on indoctrination control signals."

When the VI finished speaking, the screen on Selura's datapad suddenly displayed the results of a signal analysis readout, showing a graphical representation of a complex signal wave and the associated data.

"In the final days of our empire, our scientists identified the alterations in Prothean brainwaves that occurred when our people were indoctrinated. Unfortunately, though the information was disseminated through the beacons, it was too late to save our people. By that time, indoctrinated agents were everywhere. They sabotaged our archives and betrayed our people to the Reapers."

"But this information could save us?" Selura asked excitedly. "This could help drive the Reapers away?"

"No," the VI shook her head. "The pattern of alterations is unique for each species, but all share common markers that can be detected with proper software. With this information as a road map, you could learn to detect the signs of indoctrination in your people, but this would only allow you to ferret out traitors among your own kind. This signal has no bearing upon the Reapers themselves."

"But we could keep the Reapers from turning our people against us," Selura persisted.

"It could be used to secure your military systems against the work of indoctrinated agents," Verity nodded. "Our VIs were capable of detecting indoctrinated presences at the end. Security protocols were written into many of us to initiate shutdown if accessed by indoctrinated forces during the next cycle."

"That is why Cerberus wanted the information," Selura voiced her thoughts aloud. "You said they were implanted with Reaper tech. They were trying to use this information to insulate themselves from Reaper control."

"A distinct possibility. With this signal as a basis, any number of countermeasures might be developed with sufficient time and research."

"Upload all of the signal information to my datapad," Selura instructed. "This is the information Salik wanted. And my people need to see it too… if we can ever get it off of Terra Nova."

"Uploading," Verity intoned.

"Actually, I want to upload a copy to my datapad too," Selura added, waiting for Salik's datapad to inform her that the information had been received.

"Upload complete," the VI informed her, but almost immediately followed the statement with another. "Warning. Indoctrinated presence detected."

"What?" Selura whirled around.

She never had the chance to act. Two thunderous shots echoed through the chamber, and Salik shimmered into view just a few meters away from her. The force of each shot caused the young scientist to stagger backward, and prompted a moment of intense pain, followed by a sudden numbness that spread through her entire body in a wave. The datapads slipped from her nerveless grasp, and she pressed her hands to her abdomen, where the plating of her armor had been cleanly pierced. Her whole body shook, but her mind failed to comprehend at first what was happening. It was only when she pulled her hands away and found them stained with purple blood – _her_ blood – that the reality of the situation finally sank in.

She staggered and fell over on the bridge, staring up at the ceiling above. She heard the soft voice of the VI announce "Initiating Security Protocol", and saw the salarian step into her field of view, firing a pellet from his technology-devouring pistol at the archive. She wanted to do something… to grab his ankle… to call for help… _something_. But her body refused to obey her. She felt terribly cold.

The salarian crouched beside her, picking up one of the datapads. He examined it for a moment and then tossed it aside, picking up the other one instead. Then he turned without saying a word and walked away. Selura felt tears trail from the corners of her eyes, running into her scalp crests as she lay upon the cold stone floor. As she lay there, bitter anger filled her.

_How stupid could I be? _She berated herself. _I watched him do that to a dozen Cerberus agents. Of course he would cloak himself and wait until I had what he wanted. He just walked right up and killed me. He'll do the same to the others… Oh Goddess... Neela!_

Determination filled her. After a few false starts, she managed to roll over onto her stomach. The movement blasted away the numbness of shock, wrenching an agonized scream from her lips. She wanted to save her girlfriend. If she was going to die, she needed to know that Neela would live. Unfortunately, determination alone didn't take her far. She only managed to drag herself a short distance before the pain and the growing chill were too much. She curled up, sobbing bitterly, praying that somehow Neela would survive what was coming…

* * *

**Mine Shaft, Dig Site Theta -129**

Neela had ceased pacing as the elapsed time spent waiting passed the one hour mark. She was now seated with her back against the massive stone slab that served as an exterior blast door to the Prothean ruin, waiting impatiently for some sign of life from within. Her worries were gnawing away at her. Deep inside, she was certain that something was wrong. It was a feeling she just couldn't shake. Prathus had been trying to keep her calm, but had finally given up and staggered outside for some fresh air. Neela couldn't force herself to do the same.

She was glancing at her omni-tool's chronometer for what she estimated was the thousandth time when the door suddenly lurched upward. She rolled to the side, struggling to rise without using her injured leg, uncertain as to whether she would find enemies or her girlfriend on the other side of the door once it was open.

A slender figure ducked beneath the rising door and grabbed her arm, assisting her to her feet. She felt relief flood her when she recognized their salarian ally, and looked around for Selura. However, when she saw no sign of the asari, she frowned. Apparently, Salik noticed that she was looking for someone else, because he smiled.

"Decided to emerge and pass along a progress report," the salarian announced. "Selura is inside the complex, searching through the data archive for the intel we require. The operation will take significant time. All Cerberus forces inside have been eliminated."

"I felt an explosion a little while ago," Neela murmured. "I thought you two might be in trouble."

"Apologies," Salik shook his head. "Explosion was my doing. Found Cerberus mining charges inside, and used them in an attempt to clear an obstruction and thus enable quicker access to the lower chambers. Unfortunately, I underestimated the amount of damage done to the surrounding stonework. Destroyed the obstruction only to bring even more rubble down in its place."

"Is Selura safe in there?" Neela's voice was laced with anxiety. She _needed_ to know that her girlfriend was okay.

"See for yourself," Salik suggested, gesturing into the ruin. "I will escort you to the archive. You can keep your compatriot company while I pass along the progress report to the others."

Neela nodded, twisting her hands together in an unconscious indication of the worry she still felt. She would feel much better once she saw that Selura was safe and sound. Though she had discussed the possibility with her friends earlier, the idea that Salik would betray her didn't even enter her mind at that moment. Her only thought was that she needed to verify that Selura was safe and sound.

She limped after the salarian, who passed through the doorway and into an almost-featureless chamber. The left-hand wall of the room was carved into a decorative lattice of some sort, and through the small gaps in the wall Neela could see the tops of a series of sleek black structures. Salik was moving along quickly, and the quarian struggled to keep up, putting more and more pressure on her wounded knee to increase her pace.

The next four rooms through which they traveled were littered with the bodies of Cerberus troops and shattered turrets… evidence of the resistance they had overcome to reach the archive. The fifth room, however, housed only a few dozen crates, a collapsed ceiling and sizeable pile of stone and sediment at the room's far side, and a massive hole in the lattice on the left side of the room.

"Unfortunately, reaching the archive requires a climb down the interior wall of the central chamber," Salik explained, gesturing toward the hole in the wall. "Assisting Selura to the bottom required a rather novel approach. Given the obvious injury to your leg, may have to assist you in the same method. However, your ally is clearly visible from this vantage."

Eagerness to see the girl she loved eclipsed any suspicion she might have felt under other circumstances. Filled with excitement, she stepped up to the hole in the wall, glancing down into the room below.

At first, her mind refused to believe what her eyes saw. Selura was lying inert on a connecting bridge between the archive and the outer walkway that encircled the room, and there was a significant pool of blood around her. Neela felt her heart skip a beat, and in that instant, she knew what a horrible mistake she'd made. She reached for her submachine gun and started to turn, but it was too late.

An electromagnetic pulse collapsed her kinetic shielding in an instant, and by the time she turned to face the salarian, he was already bringing the strange triangular gun he carried to bear. Neela managed to get off a single burst of weapons fire, all of which was deflected by Salik's shield. He fired a single shot that impacted against her chest, and Neela was suddenly standing in a cloud of fine black grit.

Her suit's warning alarms went off, alerting her to loss of shielding, containment breach, foreign contaminants, and a host of other critical malfunctions. If the readings flashed on the holographic overlay in her visor were correct, every function in her suit was offline, including the sterilization components in her air filtration system. Then her visor's display went dead.

A cold knot of fear formed in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't think of a more horrifying demise to inflict upon a quarian than catastrophic environmental exposure. Her finger tightened on the trigger a second time, but the weapon had also ceased working. She tried to activate her omni-tool, and felt panic engulf her when it too, failed to work. The salarian closed the distance between them in a couple of strides and kicked her in the chest. She didn't react fast enough to stop herself from falling. With a scream, she plummeted into the room below.

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: I'm sorry! I just wanted to get that out of the way first thing. I know not everyone is a fan of cliffhangers, and some people downright hate them. But this was what I felt was the most dramatic point at which to end the Chapter. However, I solemnly vow that the next Chapter will be up on schedule no matter what. Which would be this coming Friday. So please, put away the pitchforks and torches. There is no need to lynch me! ;)**

**So, the moment has finally come. This Chapter was one of the first major scenes that solidified in my head when I decided to write this story. I had most of this Chapter planned out before I had even finished writing Chapter Five. And I'm very excited to finally share it. Even if it might be a little dark and bleak. Also, I wanted to point out something that was never addressed in the games, because it struck me right away and the games never even really mentioned it. Prothean VIs, from Vigil in the first game to Victory in Javik's flashbacks to the VI in the temple on Thessia, all mention that they can detect the taint of indoctrination in some form. That always struck me as the sort of information that the Alliance and the Council should have been all over. And yet they never even ask about it. So I wanted it to come up in my story. As for whether or not anything will come of it... well, keep reading and find out! :P**

**That's really all I have to say about this Chapter, other than to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, followed, or otherwise paid any attention at all to the story. I hope I can continue to hold everyone's interest for all the Chapters to come! I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend, or just a great weekend if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving. And have a great Sunday!**


	31. Chapter 31: Aftermath

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Thirty-One: Aftermath

.

**Prothean Ruins…**

The brief moments of freefall were terrifying to the young quarian. She was oriented almost perfectly flat as she fell, facing upward, so when she hit the ground at the end of her journey, she knew the impact would likely pulverize every bone in her body despite their density. The idea that she might land in the water never even occurred to her.

Her right ankle struck the edge of the stone walkway an instant before the rest of her body struck the surface of the water. Because of her position as she fell, the impact with the liquid was almost as painful as if she'd struck solid land. All of the breath left her lungs in a whoosh, and for an instant as she sank into the dark liquid, she was stunned by intense, body-wide, throbbing pain. In ordinary circumstances, her suit was watertight and the internal systems would have automatically shifted to an internal store of oxygen. However, with her suit's systems offline, the brackish water began to slowly seep into her mask through the air filtration system. The feel of the cold liquid upon her skin was what snapped her out of the daze that the impact had inflicted upon her. Her lungs burned with the need to draw a breath, and panic engulfed her.

She rolled over and tried to swim to the surface, but the drag of the water upon her injured leg was painful, and a new and much sharper pain came from the ankle of that same leg; she was positive it was broken. Swimming using only her left leg was difficult at best. Her hand came into contact with the wall of the moat, and she used it to help drag herself up to the surface of the water. When her head broke free of the confines of the liquid, she gasped for air, but even as she did so, a nauseating feeling of horror crept over her. Her suit's systems were dead. The filters in her mask were still in place, but without power, the sterilization fields included in the filtration system were offline. Her only protection against the contaminants present in the air now was a few layers of material intended to catch microbes as they tried to pass through.

Her gaze shifted to the connecting bridge that spanned the water to her left, and thoughts of her own welfare fled. She struggled to pull herself out of the water and up onto the stone platform that held the Prothean archive, and then dragged herself along its edge to the bridge and the inert form of her girlfriend. She was sobbing in pain – both emotional and physical – the entire way. When she reached Selura's side, she shook her vigorously.

"Selura!" she cried, her eyes falling to a pair of holes in the armoring at the small of the asari's back. "Oh Keelah… Wake up! Don't do this to me!" She gently rolled the girl over.

The asari's face was unusually pale, and there were two perfectly round holes through the plating that should have protected her abdomen as well. It was obvious that Salik had used an armor-piercing ammo mod in his weapon. Neela stared helplessly at Selura, uncertain how to even ascertain if the girl's heart was beating, given the fact that her omni-tool was dead. She knew almost nothing about asari physiology from a medical standpoint.

Given the amount of blood on the walkway, it was clear that the automatic systems in Selura's armor hadn't released medigel to seal the wounds… which meant the asari's equipment was probably all disabled too. She frantically struggled to unfasten the chest plate of protective gear, so that she could get some medigel on the wounds and stop the bleeding at least. It had almost killed her before when she'd thought she lost Selura, and to see her die here… the possibility was almost too much to bear. She could barely see what she was doing through her tears.

When the chest piece came free, she hurled it aside and tore open the blood-stained shirt beneath, feeling the bile rise in her throat when she saw the actual wounds in her girlfriend's flesh. She reached into the pouch on her belt that held her emergency store of medigel, intended for use in the event of a suit breach and injury. She tore open two packets, smearing the bioplasm over the bullet wounds liberally. Then she carefully rolled the girl over onto her stomach and pulled the back section of the armor off; the holes she had seen in the lower back section of the armor were telltale signs that the armor-piercing ammunition had sheared right through Selura's body. She hurriedly applied the last of her medigel to the wounds in the girl's back.

With the wounds sealed with medigel, the quarian's fear and grief overcame her. She pressed her head against the asari's back and sobbed bitterly, at a loss as to what else she could do. The pain in her right leg was excruciating, and it hurt to breathe as well… she was guessing she'd broken a few ribs in the fall. She couldn't possibly carry Selura up the wall to the breach to get her out of the room. In fact, she knew she couldn't even make that climb on her own. And she had no way to call for help. Despair crashed over her in a wave. Even though she'd stopped the bleeding, Selura would die without medical attention. And Neela's own future looked just as grim. There was no telling what sorts of contaminants might be in the water that had seeped into her mask, what might be in the air, or what sort of foreign contaminants had already entered her suit, for that matter. She felt like there was a layer of sand _inside_ her suit. Without any idea what to do next, she remained where she was, sobbing against Selura's back…

Selura coughed. Neela's head jerked up at the sound and she carefully turned the asari over. The girl's eyes fluttered and opened, but she seemed to be struggling to keep them that way. Neela leaned over her, gazing down at her anxiously. Gently cupping the young scientist's face, she traced a thumb across her cheek. Much to her alarm, she could see signs of blood inside of the asari's mouth. She couldn't be sure, but it might mean that her girlfriend was bleeding internally.

"Selura…" her voice cracked when she spoke, "can you hear me?"

"Neela… Salik… He… he betrayed us…"

"I know," Neela murmured softly. "Don't worry about him. I'll find a way to get you out of here… Aida can patch you up."

Though she wanted to believe what she was telling the asari, the words rang hollow. Even if she figured out how to get the injured girl up to the dig site above, it would take them hours to cover the distance to Mivian Heights. By then, it would be too late. She felt another sob well up in her throat.

"I… am dying…" Selura whispered. "There… is no time…"

"No," Neela shook her head angrily. "You aren't going to die. I won't lose you now…"

"Neela… The datapad…" Selura gestured vaguely.

"Forget that now," Neela urged. "I have to figure out how to get you out of here."

"Listen… Listen to me…" Selura gasped. Her eyelids fluttered and closed.

"Selura?" Neela slapped her face gently, trying to keep her conscious. "Selura, you can't sleep now! Stay awake! Stay with me!"

The asari's eyes opened, and she blinked a few times, as if trying to focus. "Neela… I have… the signal data… to turn off the stasis," she coughed violently, and blood trickled from the corner of her lips. "There is… a stasis chamber… somewhere in here… Cerberus restored power… Find it… put… put me in stasis…"

"What? A stasis chamber?" Neela looked around uncertainly. "How do you know that?"

"The Prothean… told… me…" the asari's eyes rolled back into her head, and she went limp.

"Selura?" Neela shook her. "Selura! Wake up!"

The asari was unresponsive, even when Neela shook her more roughly and slapped her in an attempt to rouse her. When it became clear that her attempts to wake the girl were useless, Neela's sobs renewed. If it weren't for the fact that she could see the rise and fall of the asari's chest now that she wasn't wearing armor, she might have thought the girl was dead.

She looked around the room for some sign of an exit. When she spotted a door leading off of the walkway, she grit her teeth and started dragging herself toward it as fast as she could manage. It was an agonizing journey. Every time she pulled herself forward, her broken ankle dragged along the floor and sent a shooting pain up her leg, and when she lifted it to prevent that pain, the weight of her foot upon the broken bone was just as bad. But she did her best to shut it out. Selura's life depended upon her, and she was _not _going to let her injuries prevent her from saving the life of the girl she loved.

* * *

**Dig Site Theta-129…**

Zaeed reclined against the T-shaped metal frame of the Cerberus portable cover barricade, staring up at the stars above. He'd failed once again to get answers from Cerberus about the location of the Illusive Man, and that left him uncertain as to how he should proceed. Salik had a ship, and Zaeed was fairly certain that the salarian would take whatever data they recovered and leave Terra Nova. So the question that the veteran mercenary was struggling to resolve was: Should he leave Terra Nova behind and look for another job that acted against Cerberus, or should he stay here and help fight the Reapers?

He was more inclined to do the former. While he knew his efforts here would help combat the Reapers in some small way, he was still sure that Cerberus's plans would have a major effect on the course of the war. If he continued to fight against Cerberus and disrupt their plans, he might have a greater impact on the outcome of the war than if he stayed and helped to liberate one planet. And of course, there was his personal score to settle…

He was still mulling over his options when he saw Salik emerge from the mine entrance and walk toward him. He stood up and closed the distance to his employer, and saw that the vorcha had spotted him and was doing the same.

"All clear in there?" he asked.

"Clear. Data retrieved. Will inspect it once we are clear of this area. Both of you have performed admirably on this endeavor. Full payment will be forwarded to your accounts once we are in an area with functional FTL buoys. In the meantime, I promised you relevant data on Reaper tactics and technology," Salik activated his omni-tool.

Zaeed nodded and activated his own omni-tool, opening a link to the salarian's omni. He watched the progress as the data was uploaded, satisfied that for once this month, he wasn't being screwed over by an employer.

"Have a proposition for you both," Salik continued once he was finished uploading the data. "Will double payment to both of you should you be willing to complete one more simple task."

"Deal!" the vorcha growled.

"I'd like to hear what you have in mind," Zaeed muttered with a sidelong glance at the vorcha. While Greck might be willing to take a job without details, Zaeed never took a job without knowing what he was getting into.

"Follow me," Salik turned and walked out into the sea of tall grass that surrounded the dig site. Zaeed and the vorcha walked after him, leaving the site well behind. Once they were alone, far out into the fields, the salarian turned to face the two of them. "Require assistance in one final task. Kill our turian ally. Nature of this mission must be kept secret. Witnesses unacceptable. Have already dealt with asari and quarian. Will depart now and leave the turian to the two of you."

Zaeed's eyes narrowed. He had been screwed over by the Illusive Man too recently to be comfortable with betraying an ally, regardless of the misgivings he'd had over bringing the three along. The fact that his employer had apparently already killed the other two only further raised his ire at the suggestion. He was about to tell the salarian exactly where he could shove his proposition when the vorcha charged off toward the dig site.

Salik nodded and walked off into the grass, apparently content to assume that Zaeed would accept his offer. Zaeed stared after the salarian for a moment, more than a little tempted to shoot him in the back. However, as if he'd spoken the thought aloud, his former employer activated his tactical cloak and vanished. Zaeed shook his head and then growled and ran after the vorcha. He wasn't going to be a part of a double-cross. But he'd happily take his chance to put the vorcha down once and for all.

Greck was much faster on his feet than Zaeed. By the time the mercenary reached the edge of the dig site, the vorcha was almost to the shuttles, with his omni-blade activated. Zaeed took aim with his rifle. He could have put a bullet straight through the vorcha's head, but after all of the threats he'd put up with from the creature and all the stupidity he'd had to deal with, he wanted to finish this up close and personal. He fired, striking the shuttle just ahead of the vorcha. When Greck turned, he could see the creature's eyes narrow angrily.

"Traitor!" Greck snarled. "I break you!"

"Give it your best shot, Jackass," Zaeed smirked.

When the vorcha turned and charged, Zaeed slung the rifle over his shoulder and pulled the combat knife from the sheath attached to his thigh. He could have used an omni-blade like most people did in modern combat, but he had always preferred a solid, maneuverable blade when he needed one. An omni-blade was fixed in position. A combat knife could be gripped in a number of fashions and switched from hand to hand as needed. He held the blade point-downward in stabbing position and eagerly waited for the vorcha to cover the distance.

The vorcha leapt as soon as he was within range. Zaeed deftly sidestepped and lashed out with his knife, carving a trail down the side of the creature's face. However, by the time Greck landed, pivoted to face him and lunged for the second time, the wound was already beginning to heal.

Like many vorcha, Greck was a tireless and savage opponent. He lunged again and again, slashing wildly, attempting to claw with his free hand from time to time, and made himself a credible threat. Zaeed, however, was a trained and skilled hand-to-hand combatant. Every time the vorcha lunged, the creature came away with a new wound. While he healed quickly, the damage from the wounds mounted, and soon he was covered in bleeding slashes. Every new injury seemed to drive his bloodlust to new heights.

Zaeed didn't have the patience to play tag forever. So once he had the vorcha good and angry, he knew it was time to put an end to the game. Greck's attacks had been growing more and more reckless as his fury mounted, and now the veteran mercenary saw his chance. Greck drove toward him with his omni-blade, thrusting it directly at Zaeed's face. Zaeed ducked aside and thrust his knife upward into the creature's body, beneath his rib cage. When he felt the vorcha go rigid and stumble, he knew his thrust had been perfect. He'd skewered a major organ. For good measure, he withdrew the blade and drove it home twice more. The vorcha crumpled to into the dirt.

"What the hell is going on?" Prathus's voice demanded.

Zaeed glanced over to regard the turian impassively, and then turned and crouched, jamming his knife deep into the vorcha's skull. Regenerative abilities aside, it was a wound he knew the creature couldn't heal. With the vorcha finished, he walked over to join the turian near the shuttles. He could see the suspicion in Prathus's eyes, and that wariness only seemed to deepen as the mercenary drew closer.

"My employer got whatever it was he wanted," Zaeed muttered. "And decided that leaving you three alive was inconvenient."

"T'Zari said he would double-cross us," the turian muttered.

"I've been double-crossed recently myself. There was no goddamn way I was gonna stand by and be part of another one."

"I'm guessing the vorcha didn't have that problem?"

"Nope," Zaeed shrugged. "I didn't mind though. Bastard's been on my nerves since we got here. Unfortunately, I have some bad news."

The turian's eyes widened before Zaeed could say another word. He seemed to know what the mercenary was about to tell him. "Xara!" he pushed past Zaeed, hurrying toward the mine entrance with a speed that, given the fact that both his legs were impaired, the human found surprising.

The veteran mercenary was tempted to simply leave, given the fact that his job was at an end. However, something told him that he should stay and help the turian out. Perhaps it was a lingering feeling that he was partially responsible for the deaths of the other two. Perhaps it was the thought that one of the turian's surviving friends might be able to decrypt the omni-tools he'd taken from Cerberus. He sighed and ran after Prathus, following him into the mine shaft.

He could hear the turian shouting for his companion as he followed him through the tunnel and then through a series of rooms. When the two of them finally reached the partially-collapsed room at the end of the series of ancient chambers, Zaeed stumbled to a stop, looking around in confusion. Prathus was apparently similarly mystified. It was only when Zaeed noticed the hole on the latticework on the left that he stepped closer and finally spotted the motionless form of the asari on a walkway far below.

"Down there," he pointed out for the benefit of the turian.

"How the hell did she get down there?" Prathus growled. "And where the hell is Xara?"

Zaeed leaned out through the hole and glanced down the length of the wall, snorting at the sight. "I'd guess they climbed down. This carved stonework goes all the way to the bottom. Plenty of handholds."

Prathus never hesitated. He slipped past Zaeed and climbed out through the hole, working his way down the wall to the chamber below. Zaeed watched for a moment, impressed with the turian's ability to navigate the wall using only one leg… which had been of questionable use even before the fighting started. The mercenary left him to the climb, more interested in the piles of crates stacked in the room. He found himself wondering if there was something in them that would help to get in and out of the room below, or perhaps some record of a Cerberus base of operations. A few of the crates had been opened, so he pushed the empty ones out of the way and started looking through the rest. He quickly discovered that they were all filled with mining equipment and explosives.

When he opened a large crate filled with robotic mining drones and a VI interface, he paused. His gaze slowly drifted over to the collapsed wall, and then back to the contents of the crate. He wasn't much of an engineer, but if he could figure out how to activate the mining drones and set up the VI, they might be able to clear the collapsed section of the room and get access to whatever was on the other side. With luck, there might be a stairway nearby.

* * *

**Walters Center Ruins, Scott, Capital City of Terra Nova…**

Illitha and Rachel crouched beneath the ruins of the collapsed canopy ceiling that had once stood outside the main entrance of the Walters Center. The young engineer could feel the ground tremble beneath her feet with alarming regularity. Their search of the rest of the building had turned up no signs of Reapers, but had also revealed that all of the other exits from the building were collapsed. Their only option was to go through the front doors. Fortunately, they had found an operational hover pallet in one of the abandoned storerooms. The armor, weapons and gear they'd salvaged was stacked upon it, ready to be taken along with them.

Illitha was uncomfortable with the idea of strolling out of the building with a pallet full of supplies, even if it was still dark outside. There could be dozens of Reaper soldiers within easy sight of the building, or worse, the Reaper itself might have a clear line of sight to the exit. The fallen structure that covered the main doors shielded them from view, but it also cut off any sight of the streets beyond, which was a massive liability at present.

"We can't stay here forever," Rachel whispered. "Let me go out first. I can get a look around and signal you if we're clear."

"Okay," Illitha nodded, moving back to the hover pallet and climbing onto the control platform. "But we… I do not think… I-I think need to get off of the street as soon as possible. We sh-should stick to alleys and side streets."

"Roger that," Rachel nodded.

Illitha watched as the young blonde crept out into the open with her rifle in firing position, quickly scanning the area. The human kept low, moving out along the exterior wall of the building until she reached an overturned truck, and she crouched there, waving Illitha forward.

The young engineer wanted to activate her new tech armor – partially because she was afraid she'd be shot when she was out of cover and partially because she really, really wanted to use it – but the glowing fields would make her a more noticeable target, so she resisted the urge. She took a deep breath and activated the hover pallet's controls, driving the device out into the street. The equipment moved at an infuriatingly slow pace, but it was quiet, and when Illitha looked around, she didn't see any sign of Reaper troops. Even the Reaper was nowhere in sight.

"Looks like the Reaper passed us by," Rachel hissed when Illitha was within whispering distance. "But there's bound to be a shitload of cannibals wandering around the area."

"The Reapers… They are moving n-north through the city, right?" Illitha whispered. "That being the case, I… I would suggest we head south. They have already swept through the southern r-region, so they will not have a reason to go back through it in force."

"Good thinking," the young marine smiled at her. "But that means we have to cross this plaza," she gestured toward the wide-open stretch of pavement, broken by small patches of ruined garden and shattered statues.

Illitha didn't answer. She only nodded to show that she understood, and she drove the hover pallet out from behind the overturned truck, heading toward the nearest building on the opposite side of the plaza. Rachel sprinted ahead of her, moving from cover to cover, scanning their surroundings whenever she stopped. Illitha fully expected the Reapers to hit them while they were in the open, but to her surprise, they saw no sign of any activity during the entire trip across the space. Once they were safely in the alley between two buildings on the other side, she turned and looked back at the remains of the Walters center. The towering form of the Reaper was visible on the other side of the building, and was steadily headed north. She shook her head, awed by the sheer size of the thing. It had to be a kilometer tall, at least.

Illitha activated her omni-tool, scrolling through the local map she'd copied from Roland's omni. After searching for a moment, she found a structure that bespoke of safety to her: A school. It was a silly instinct; the Reapers wouldn't avoid a school any more than they would any other building, but Illitha's mind refused to view the school as a dangerous place. It was a place for children.

"I think… I see there is a school four blocks south and seven blocks west," she whispered. "I-I suggest we go there. A school should have a g-good view of the surrounding area, and there might be some datapads and computer terminals from which I could salvage some tech."

"Aye aye, ma'am," Rachel grinned at her, taking the lead on their trek.

While they had initially been lucky enough not to run into any Reapers, that luck didn't hold for long. They were just crossing the street on their way to the next block when a husk dashed out of a nearby doorway. It only managed to get half a dozen strides toward them before Rachel gunned it down, but it was the first of many. The hover pallet was slow, and the gunfire drew more husks to their location. By the time they'd covered two blocks, Rachel had killed more than a dozen of the creatures. They shifted track and headed a few blocks west, but ran into more and more resistance as they traveled. Before long, Illitha had to join the marine in shooting at the husks when they appeared; there were just too many for Rachel to kill on her own. They emerged from nearby doorways, alleys, a few even crawled out of access points from the tunnels below the streets.

The two of them eventually took shelter in the ruins of a grocery store to get a breather and limit the directions from which the husks could attack them. Rachel covered the front windows with her rifle, while Illitha hurriedly scoured the store for supplies. Like most of the places they'd been thus far, the shelves were largely barren of supplies, but she did find a few quick-prep packages of ramen on the floor in the back corner of the building. She smiled in delight at the find. She'd once been to a small diner on the citadel that served the stuff. The chef said it was a human delicacy. She was surprised that anyone would leave behind such a rare and special treat when they'd taken everything else. A brief burst of gunfire from the front of the store soured her glee. She sighed and hurried back to her companion.

"It's like the damned things can smell us," Rachel grumbled. "That one was headed north and then suddenly just turned and ran right at me."

"P-Perhaps they can. They might have… maybe there is some sort of detection equipment installed in them somewhere," Illitha suggested. "They c-could be reading our DNA, or… or perhaps their hearing is acute enough t-to catch our movements."

"However they do it, it's annoying."

"W-We cannot stay here. We should get to that school."

"We'll never make it," Rachel muttered. "The more we shoot the more attention we get. They're drawn right to us."

"Then w-we need a distraction," Illitha suggested. Her heart raced just at the thought, but she wanted to be sure they could get their supplies out of the city. It was important. "I-I can draw them off. You take the supplies to… to the school."

"What? No," Rachel shook her head. "If anyone should be playing cat and mouse with Reapers, it should be me."

"No," Illitha's voice was firm. "I-I have the tech armor for extra protection. And I… I have my biotics if there are too many of them to shoot. You get the supplies out to the school. If I am not w-with you by dawn," her voice faltered at the thought, but she pressed on, "Then you have to get them back to Gradian."

"Illitha," Rachel frowned. "I-"

"Wait here u-until you hear the shooting start," Illitha cut her off. She didn't want to hear the girl voice her concerns. She was afraid she might lose her nerve if she waited too long. She picked up a couple of extra grenades from their supplies and dropped the packages of ramen in their place.

"Ramen?" Rachel stared at the packages with an almost comical look of confusion.

"I f-found them in the back. If..." Illitha closed her eyes and sighed. "_When_ I get to the school," she corrected herself, "I am going to have one of those in celebration."

"Be careful," the young marine's tone was somber. "I'll be waiting."

Illitha nodded and smiled timidly. Then she activated her omni-tool, setting up her tech armor for quick activation and detonation. She knew that the tech armor systems provided not only added protection, but the mass effect fields they generated could be dispersed to harm nearby enemies in an emergency. She had a feeling she might just need that sort of close-range deterrent at some point. Once she had the link set up properly, she pressed the trigger and smiled when the orange fields appeared around her head, across her chest and shoulders, and on her upper arms. On top of her biotic barriers, this new layer of armoring would give her all the protection she needed… or at least so she hoped.

"I w-will go out through the back," she announced. "Remember, when you hear the shooting start, you get moving. I w-will do my best to keep attention on me."

Illitha headed for the back of the shop, and was just about to pass into the storeroom when Rachel's voice brought her to a halt.

"Illitha…"

"Yes?" she turned, regarding the human curiously.

"You're a braver soldier than most Alliance marines I know," the blonde said softly. "From the moment you first stood up to Tarrislav at the F.O.B., I saw a lot to admire in you. I just wanted to say… I'm glad I met you."

Illitha stared at the girl, feeling herself blushing at the praise. However, as was often the case when she was complimented, her mind drifted to her father. She could hear his deep, growling voice, telling her what a coward she was for quitting whatever new activity she'd most recently disappointed him by failing to excel at. She swallowed and nodded, blinking back tears.

"Be safe, Rachel," she said softly. "I will see you at the school."

Before her courage could fail her, she turned and walked out of the room. It was time to make herself a target. She only hoped that she would be able to keep her promise to Aida by staying alive. She regretted ever making that vow. She'd never broken such an oath to her friend, but if the circumstances demanded her life in order to save someone else's, she wasn't sure she would be able to make the selfish choice…

* * *

**Prothean Ruins…**

Prathus was seething by the time he reached the bottom of the decorative stonework that lined the Prothean chamber. Illitha had warned them that betrayal was coming, and yet somehow they'd still managed to let it happen. From the vantage above, Selura looked like she was dead. There was no sign of Neela and no response when he called her name. And he himself had been lounging in a shuttle when the human mercenary had stopped the vorcha from attacking him. Had the human not intervened, he might have been skewered by an omni-blade before he ever realized it was coming.

How had Salik managed to blindside all three of them when they all _knew_ he was a threat? He didn't understand it. Had Selura and Neela been too distracted by their burgeoning romance and their concern for each other? In his own case, he had just been careless. He'd dropped his guard, plain and simple. It was a bitter pill to swallow… even with forewarning, they'd all been duped.

Prathus limped over to the prone form of the asari on the bridge. Her armor had been removed, and someone had applied medigel to her wounds. She was breathing, but her breaths were shallow and her skin was pale. He spotted the discarded back piece of her armor and picked it up, examining the holes that had been punched cleanly through the protective plate. He knew the effects of armor-piercing ammo mods when he saw them. But the girl was alive and had been tended to, which meant that Neela was still alive too. It was the only scenario that made sense. If Neela had found Selura injured, tended to her, and _then_ been ambushed by Salik, the salarian would undoubtedly have finished off the wounded asari afterward.

"Xara! Answer me!"

His gaze swept the room, finally coming to rest on a door leading off of the walkway. He almost hadn't spotted it, since there was Cerberus equipment stacked all around it. He left Selura where she was for the moment – it seemed too risky to move her without help – and headed for the door. He wasn't sure where Neela had gone, but he assumed she was searching for something. Perhaps another way out.

He opened the door and stared into the dark corridor beyond, listening for any sign of life from within. When he was greeted only by silence, he called out for his quarian companion one more time, waiting anxiously for a response. To his vast relief, he heard a distant voice echo back to him. He couldn't make out the words, but confirmation that the pilot still lived was enough for him.

Activating his omni-tool's search light, he entered the hallway, pausing at each door he passed to see if they would open. Fifty-thousand years of sediment and disuse left the majority of them inoperative, even though the power had been restored to the complex. He was hitting the panels more out of curiosity than necessity; a thick layer of dust and grit coated everything, and so the footprints of recent explorers were clearly visible in them, along with a wide trail that looked like something had been dragged through the area.

All of the tracks led in a single path down the corridor. He followed them to a T-junction in the hallway, and there he paused. It was the first time the paths split. Footprints led off in both directions, but the drag marks went only to the right. As he examined the tracks and tried to decide which direction to take, something caught his eye. He bent to look closer, and could clearly see the outline of salarian boots leading to the left… the shape was unmistakable.

"Xara!" he called.

"Down here!" a voice answered from the right-hand corridor.

Prathus hurried toward the sound of the quarian's voice, and soon found the young pilot, lying on the floor, sobbing bitterly. He crouched beside her, mystified as to what had happened. She held an arm out to him.

"Help me up," she pleaded, her voice thick with sorrow. "We have to find the Prothean stasis room."

"What the hell happened?"

"Salik shot Selura. She's dying," the quarian sobbed. "Then he shot me with something… My suit… My omni… they're both dead. I dragged myself this far, but without a light or my night vision…" she trailed off.

"Wait, your suit…?" Prathus repeated. "Xara, please tell me the filters are still working."

"Nothing is working. That bosh'tet hit me with some kind of powder that fried everything. It even got into my suit. I can feel it, like sand on the interior," Neela explained.

Prathus was stunned. The implications were terrible. If there were foreign contaminants in Neela's suit, she might well die of infection or an anaphylactic reaction. He was about to insist that they get her out to the shuttles, since he was sure they had a decontamination system installed in them, when Neela preempted him.

"Prathus, help me up," she insisted. "We have to get Selura into stasis. She said there will be a stasis chamber in here somewhere."

"Then she'll be stuck in the pod just like the captain," Prathus shook his head.

"She got the data we needed to end the stasis. She'll never survive long enough for us to get her to Aida if we don't put her in stasis now! Please," the quarian begged. "I can't lose her. Not like this."

Prathus sighed and put an arm around the girl, lifting her to her feet. He winced in pain at the strain lifting her put on his injured leg, but there was no other choice. When Neela only hopped along on one foot, he realized that something else was wrong.

"Xara, is your knee bothering you that much?"

"That bosh'tet kicked me out of that hole in the wall up there," Neela's voice hardened. "My ankle hit the edge when I went into the water. It's broken."

"You're in no condition to search for stasis pods," Prathus turned, dragging her back the way they had come.

"No! We have to find them!"

Prathus dragged her along, but the quarian's struggles didn't make the task easy. Finally, he staggered to a stop and shook her.

"Listen to me!" he growled. "You can't hop around this place on one foot. I'm taking you back to Selura."

"But she needs-"

"To be put in stasis," Prathus cut her off. "I know. You said that. But with your injuries, you'll only slow down the search. And I'm in no condition to carry you all over the place. You watch over your… friend," he coughed. "And I'll find this stupid stasis room. I've seen the pod the captain is in, so when I find a place with a bunch more, I'll know I'm in the right spot."

Neela's shoulders slumped, and she nodded. Prathus could only imagine how frustrated the pilot must have been over being left out of the search, but they both knew that he was right… If he had to drag her all over the complex, the search would take far longer. Together they returned to the archive room, and he carefully settled the quarian on the ground next to the asari.

"Please hurry," Neela urged.

"I'll do my best, Xara," he promised.

Of course, he knew his best might not be good enough. Just down the length of the first corridor to the junction, he had passed at least half a dozen doors. There was no telling how large the complex was, or where the stasis room might be located. He could only go on supposition and instinct. Worse, while he'd had the chance to apply medigel to the wound in his leg during his time relaxing in the shuttle, he knew he couldn't walk around on it forever.

He returned to the T-junction in the first corridor, and he paused there, once more examining the tracks. Neela had been dragging herself along the ground, so her body had obliterated any tracks that might have been on her path. But Prathus was curious about the presence of the salarian footsteps. It was obvious that Salik had done some searching, but what could he have been searching for? And why? Was it a simple sweep for additional Cerberus personnel? Or had he been looking for something more specific?

Prathus followed the salarian footprints to the left, noting how they went from side to side, checking each door along the corridor. Prathus did the same, trying each door he passed, looking for any that opened. The few that did work opened into rooms that were covered in thousands of years of dust and accumulated sediment. Eventually, however, he found one that opened into a stairwell. He stepped inside and looked up and down, as there were stairs leading in both directions.

_Must go all the way to the top of the structure,_ he mused as he looked up. The stairs climbed in a spiral up beyond the limits of his search light. _And down to the bottom_, he added with a glance over the rail into the darkness below. _Well, if I wanted to put my people in stasis and keep them safe from attackers on the surface, I'd put them as far underground as possible…_

Satisfied with his logic, he decided to head down to the levels below. Navigating the stairs with two bad legs was tricky, but with the wall for support, he managed. He paused each time he reached a landing and tried the door, but the first two doors he found were stuck fast. The third one had been blasted open; there was only a huge, gaping hole on the landing where the door would have been. His mandibles twitched at the sight. There had been an explosion while he and Neela had been waiting aboveground for news… It could have been Salik's handiwork, or Cerberus's. He stepped through the hole and shone his light around...

A Cerberus turret lurked just inside the hole. At the sight, Prathus scrambled backward, pulling his rifle and aiming it at the deadly machine. It wasn't until he had his weapon trained upon it that he realized the turret wasn't moving. He sighed in relief and shook his head. Obviously this hole was Cerberus's work. He was just glad the turret's power source was either dead or disengaged.

_Why the hell would they put a turret down here? Were they hiding something important on this level?_

He stared at the machine for a moment, and then shrugged and walked past it, looking around the massive chamber into which he'd stepped. It was so large that his light couldn't reach the edges of it. All he could see were numerous columns, and somewhere in the distance, a faint green light. He headed for the source of the illumination, listening for any signs of activity. Unfortunately, his footsteps echoed through the room, making it sound like there were a dozen people walking around in the shadows.

As he drew closer to the source of the light, a new sound joined the echoing footsteps: A faint hum. When the source of the light came into view, the reason for the soft droning sound was clear. A massive reactor was located at the back of the room. The glow came from green panels and status lights along the perimeter of the huge, circular generator. Around the reactor, a web of portable Cerberus generators had been networked together and linked into the Prothean system. There was a hover pallet off in a corner, next to a few desiccated old corpses, too ravaged by time to identify.

_Cerberus must have used their portable generators to provide enough power for the startup routine_, he guessed. He stepped closer and inspected the Prothean technology, noting signs of old damage and recent repairs to the reactor. _Looks like something took the reactor offline a long time ago. Cerberus must have fixed it._

A quick search of the remainder of the room turned up no signs of any medical equipment, so Prathus exited through the hole in the wall and continued his descent into the bowels of the complex. After one more flight of stairs, he was at the very bottom of the structure. Like the floor above, the door on the lowest level had been obliterated, leaving a gaping hole in the wall. He stepped through and shone his light around, nodding in satisfaction at what he found.

A long, narrow chamber stretched on before him. In the walls, he could see cylindrical objects protruding at regular intervals. He recognized them immediately as stasis pods. Neela had been right. The Protheans had a stasis chamber in the complex. He shook his head at the sight. The Protheans had been prepared to save their people… a plan had been in place… and sheer bad luck had brought their race to an end. Something had happened to the reactor above, power failed, and they all died. Had their plan worked, they might have reestablished their empire after the Reapers were finished. He wondered how different the galaxy would have been if the Protheans had been able to survive and rebuild.

He moved to the nearest of the stasis pods, searching for some way to extract it from its space in the wall. However, his unfamiliarity with Prothean technology made it a difficult task. It took him a good twenty minutes to finally locate the manual release lever built into the wall beneath what he thought was the stasis pod. As it turned out, the objects protruding from the walls were docks for the pods, not the pods themselves. When he pulled the lever, the entire cylinder slowly extended out into the room, and then the stasis pod housed within was lowered to the ground.

_This should cheer Xara up a bit_, he thought with satisfaction. _Maybe I should get a second one out for her. If she's at risk of infection, putting her in stasis could be the best thing for her…_

He considered the idea for a moment, and then shook his head. He would ask her, but he couldn't just assume she would want to be placed in stasis like the captain and Selura. Besides, he would need help to get the pod up the stairs; it was far too heavy for him to carry alone even if his good leg _wasn't_ injured. With his injuries, he wasn't sure they could manage it at all, even if Zaeed was willing to help.

"The problems never end," he muttered, setting off in search of the human.

* * *

**Mivian Heights…**

Aida smiled as she strode along the path to the bottom of the gorge, soaking up the peaceful serenity of her surroundings. The trail descended along the steep wall of the gorge in a switchback pattern, with the strange trees native to Terra Nova flanking the path on the rare occasions when it widened to more than a handful of meters. At the bottom of the trail, the faint smell of sulfur drifted upon the air, mixed with the fresh scent of the surrounding foliage. A light, warm fog shrouded the area, making everything appear hazy and indistinct. Continuing to follow the marked trail, Aida strolled past pools of bubbling mud, steam vents, and other natural geothermal wonders.

Eventually, the path reached a sprawling building made of a combination of stone and wood. The walls were formed of solid stonework, while the entire structure was surrounded by a decorative porch, with carved wooden columns and handrails. The building's roof was covered in semicircular ceramic shingles, and the peak of the roof was carved to resemble a long, serpentine dragon, with the head of the beast looming over the entrance. She stood there for several minutes, admiring the dramatic architecture, and finally decided to investigate the building's interior. However, nothing could have prepared her for the shock that she received when she approached the building's front doors, and they slid aside at her approach. The building had power!

Beyond the entryway was a spacious lobby, with comfortable-looking sofas along the perimeter, paintings adorning the walls, and a long counter dominating the back wall, flanked by two doors that led deeper into the structure. She picked a door and headed through, walking into a long corridor flanked by what appeared to be guest rooms. It seemed that the building was some form of hotel resort. She took a look in some of the rooms, but they had all been stripped of anything useful. The only objects left in them were those that were too large to carry easily; each one had a heavy old-fashioned wooden dresser and a king-sized bed. Just the sight of those beds, even though they were devoid of pillows and blankets, made Aida feel like she could sleep for a week.

At the end of the hallway, a door led into a connecting hall that stretched the length of the rear of the building, and then turned the opposite direction, into the section Aida assumed connected to the other lobby door. She pressed the trigger to open the door and once she saw what lay beyond, she couldn't stop grinning. The door opened to a chamber dominated by a huge indoor pool, surrounded by lounge chairs and some tables. There were a number of doors leading off of the pool room, and when she investigated them, she found two locker rooms, a gym, and several private rooms with hot tubs. Almost immediately, she found herself wishing that her friends were with her. After the events of the past several days, a nice, relaxing soak in a working hot tub would have done them all a world of good.

Unable to resist the lure of a nice, relaxing swim, she hurriedly stripped out of her clothes and dove into the pool. While she floated around, enjoying the cool, clear water, she found herself thinking that this discovery could help the situation with the Alliance greatly. She wasn't sure why the building still had power, but if they moved the infirmary down to this building, they would have better light, more privacy, access to comfortable furniture for use by recovering patients, and perhaps the locker rooms even had working showers… She'd seen the showers, but hadn't tested them. Additionally, she had spotted a steam room in each locker area, and she assumed the rooms would be airtight to keep the steam inside. They could be converted into workable quarantine areas. The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. It wouldn't be the most convenient location, since they'd have to get wounded people all the way down into the gorge, but it would be better than the stuffy, powerless basement of a library, with only portable lights for illumination.

She decided that she would talk to Gradian about it when she was ready to return to the town above. She just hoped that the lieutenant would be able to convince his superior officer that the building was best used for the injured, and not as an Alliance command center. If Tarrislav commandeered the place for use as his headquarters, she would be very angry.

In the meantime, she contented herself with a nice, leisurely swim around the pool. It had been days since she'd been able to truly bathe, and the clear, purified water of the pool was the next best thing to an actual bath. She smiled to herself, picturing her friends' delight when they all returned from their missions and saw this place. And if they found the data about the Prothean stasis pods, the captain would have a nice, private room to recover in once they got her out of stasis and patched her up.

Aida's smile deepened at the thought. She couldn't wait to see Captain Nisaria up and around once again. Just imagining the moment when the elder asari's eyes would open made Aida almost giddy with excitement. She really hoped the mission at the Prothean ruins was going well.

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: First off, I must say I've learned a great lesson about promising to have these Chapters up on a certain day. After last Chapter's cliffhanger, I promised this Chapter would be up today, and then my cable modem died this week and I was sure I'd disappoint my readers by being forced to delay. Through a stroke of amazing luck, I managed to get the money to replace it in time, and I get all happy and start making that same promise again... "Oh, it'll be up on Friday morning for sure!" And this morning, what happens? My entire block was without power for four hours. We literally got power back fifteen minutes ago. But that makes two reasons that this Chapter almost didn't go up as promised. So, from now on, no more promises! I will only say that barring any unforeseen problems, the next Chapter _should_ go up on Wednesday.**

**But with that said, I must thank everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited/followed, or otherwise paid any attention to this story. I really appreciate the attention and the interest, and just how much it means to me became very clear when I thought I was going to disappoint you all by failing to put this Chapter up in time. It really, really bothered me when I thought I'd be posting this a day or two late.**

**I don't have much to say about this Chapter itself, save for the fact that obviously, things look pretty bleak for the poor crew of the _Sileya_, and yet there have been some little bits of luck here and there. I mean... Illitha found the amazing human delicacy that is Ramen! How lucky is that? ;)**

**In any case, thanks again for reading, and hopefully, if the universe continues to be kind, the next Chapter will be up on Wednesday, as I said. So have a great weekend!**


	32. Chapter 32: Plots

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Thirty-Two: Plots

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**The Streets of Southern Scott…**

Illitha hurdled over a curbside parking barrier, wincing at the crackling sound made by her tech armor as it deflected bullets that would have otherwise hit her in the back. Even with the protection of her armor, tech armor and barrier combined, the shots still staggered her almost every time they hit, and she'd spent most of her time running while simultaneously trying not to fall down. She was managing to maintain her barrier, but only barely so, and only because running in an erratic pattern and diving behind anything in sight was causing most of the shots aimed at her to miss. The number of projectiles that were striking the wall ahead of her was truly alarming. Cries of husks and cannibals behind her combined into a hellish cacophony that added to her fear and desperation, and she leapt through the shattered window of the building ahead of her as soon as she was within range, landing on her back in the darkness within.

Her plan to draw hostile attention had worked. In fact, it had worked a little _too_ well. She hadn't expected there to be so many Reapers in the neighborhoods the creatures had already been through. At first there had been just a few husks, and she took some satisfaction from putting the poor creatures out of their misery. They might have been horrible Reaper monsters now, but they had once been people, and it was awful to see them used to hurt people they might once have known and loved. However, as she shot more of them, their numbers had increased exponentially, and Illitha was forced to fall back. When the first cannibal arrived, the situation quickly got worse.

Illitha rolled over and scrambled to a spot next to the window, risking just a quick peek out into the street from which she'd just come. There were at least two dozen cannibals spreading out through the area, and twice that many husks. Every time she looked back, there seemed to be more. She was uncomfortably reminded of a human horror vid Aida had once convinced her to watch… Starbase of the Dead, it had been called, and the horde of husks outside was very reminiscent of the army of walking corpses from the movie.

A grenade sailed into the room, and then another an instant later. Illitha didn't have time to look around for an exit. She leapt right back through the window and into the street, staggering when a hail of gunfire almost immediately greeted her. Fire and debris exploded from the windows around her, and the force of the blast knocked her flat, briefly sparing her from the incoming bullets. In the moments following the detonation, she could hear nothing but a ringing sound. She knew she couldn't stay still, however, and she was on her feet in an instant, sprinting along the sidewalk. The husks were so close that she was unable to even pause for long enough to return fire.

Her barrier collapsed under the punishment just as she was reaching another window in an adjacent building, prompting her to quickly dive inside. The instant she hit the ground, she rolled over and focused her energy, creating a singularity over the window to keep any of the husks from following her. With that point of entry blocked, she looked around frantically for another exit, hoping to elude the collected horde while they were prevented from entering. She was exhausted. While her armor was fairly lightweight, it, in addition to the slight added resistance created by the tech armor, was taking a toll on her. Only fear and desperation were keeping her moving.

Unfortunately, she'd forgotten that if there was another exit, it gave the Reapers another entrance. She had just spotted window in the wall to her left that faced into an alley and was taking her first step toward it when a husk suddenly leapt inside.

Illitha never hesitated. She raised the assault rifle she'd claimed for herself and pulled the trigger. The barrage of bullets staggered the creature and within moments it collapsed to the floor, but while she'd been dealing with one, other windows and doors had allowed more of the monsters to get inside. A heavy weight crashed into her from behind, driving her to the floor, and the only thing that spared the back of her head from several powerful blows was the glowing orange barrier of her new tech armor. She felt the hand of another husk grab her ankle and a third monster seized her right wrist.

Panic almost overwhelmed her. Fortunately, she remembered the trigger for her tech armor's emergency dispersion protocol just in time. Her thumb pressed the button, and she was buffeted by the discharge of the protective fields as they expelled their energy outward with explosive force. The husks were knocked away from her, but none were actually killed by the blast; they were already starting to rise. Illitha was heading for the door before she even had her feet fully underneath her. She ran into an adjacent room and from there to another until she found a back door, and then she was outside again.

Her legs were on fire and her lungs burned. She felt like she'd been running forever, and she still hadn't lost her pursuit. The husks were hot on her trail, and they seemed tireless. She knew that she couldn't run much longer. She glanced at her omni-tool as she ran, waiting for her tech armor system to rebuild enough power to be reactivated. In the meantime, she paused in her stride long enough to concentrate and form a new barrier for protection, and then was on her way, running out of the alleyway and across another street.

She was halfway to the buildings on the opposite side of the road when a massive shadow fell over her and she was hit with a blast so powerful that it shattered her barrier and sent her tumbling to the ground. A second blast hit her an instant later, sending a wave of pain through her and knocking the wind out of her. Fortunately, the third shot missed her, or she might have been killed then and there. She scrambled on her hands and knees to get beneath the burned-out and overturned wreckage of a skycar, using it as shelter from her new attacker while she caught her breath. She'd caught just a glimpse of the harvester hovering overhead.

She could feel a cold, gooey sensation on the outside edges of her back, and knew that her armor's systems had just flooded the area with medigel in response to some form of injury. Given the nerve damage in her back, she was mystified as to how bad she'd been hurt; she couldn't feel anything but the residual pain through the rest of her body from the overall impact.

The pursuing husks rapidly closed on her position, and the sight of them drove thoughts of the possible injury out of her mind. She reactivated her tech armor and brought her weapon to bear, firing from beneath her cover, but her arms were shaking and her aim was poor. The sound of the harvester's shots echoed through the street, and every shot rocked the skycar in which she was hiding, further worsening her aim. Still, she was managing to kill a few of them as they got closer and thus became harder to miss. However, she knew there was no way she could deal with the flying creature. She would be lucky if she could just manage to keep the husks at bay, and the cannibals were sure to be close behind. Once they arrived… Well, she imagined she would be forced to choose between dying in the explosion of a grenade or being killed by harvester fire when she scrambled out of the vehicle to avoid the detonation.

"Cover fire!" Illitha heard a voice echo through the street.

The rhythmic drone of assault rifle fire filled the air, and Illitha watched husk after husk stagger and pitch over in the street. Then there was a dull boom and the hiss of a rocket propulsion system, followed by a tremendous explosion. The body of the harvester crashed into the street with smoke rising from a huge hole in its flank. A second later, its body exploded even more spectacularly, shaking the ground and rocking the vehicle in which the asari was hiding.

"Clear!" someone called out, and then several other voices repeated the word.

Illitha silently thanked the Goddess for whatever miracle had brought her rescuers to her as she crawled out of the wreckage of the vehicle. A strong hand grabbed her by the arm and helped her to her feet, and she found herself facing a figure in full Alliance armor and a helmet. Before she could say a word, the figure jerked a thumb toward the nearest building.

"Introductions later. That's gonna draw some attention. We need to get away from here. Move through the buildings. Avoid open spaces wherever possible. Go three blocks south, two east."

Illitha nodded and staggered toward the building, feeling like she was bruised from head to toe. The harvester packed some impressive firepower, and she credited the Alliance armor she wore with saving her life. She was certain that without it, that second shot that hit her would have killed her, not just knocked the wind out of her. Other figures in armor were disappearing into the surrounding buildings, and soon were lost from sight.

Illitha followed the instructions she'd been given. She kept inside the crumbling remains of buildings as much as possible, and when she was forced to cross a street, she did it by darting from cover to cover as quickly as her legs could carry her, much as the Alliance soldiers were doing. At the end of the five-block run, she felt like she was about to collapse, and was grateful to see several of the soldiers disappearing into the remains of a building that was apparently their destination… a four-story, burned-out shell of a structure. She followed them inside and collapsed to the ground near the door.

"I'll be buggered," a familiar and heavily-accented voice caught her attention. "I did'na think I'd ever see ye again, lass."

"McSween?" Illitha turned to look in the direction of the voice, and saw the engineer pull his helmet off and smile at her. "By the Goddess… It _is_ you!"

The human held a hand out to her, which she took, and he pulled her to her feet. She staggered unsteadily – her legs felt like they were made of gelatin – and examined the engineer curiously. She had hoped to see him in Mivian Heights when the survivors showed up, but she had never expected to find him in the city. She was glad to see him in one piece.

"Tech armor?" he stood back to look her over, grinning. "Bloody 'ell, lass… Where'd ye get that kind o' tech?"

"L-Long story," she sighed. "What are you doing here?"

"Ah… Well, first I wanna say sorry," he bowed his head. "I should'na 'ave left ye in the F.O.B. like that…"

"I do not blame you," she smiled at him. "I wanted to run too. But I just… I c-could not leave without my friends."

"Aye," McSween nodded. "Ye said that at the time. And… ye were right. I came back when the bloody Reaper stomped off in the other direction. I had to look for Goodman an' Harper…"

"And am I ever glad he did," another familiar voice cut in. Illitha turned and saw Harper walking in from an adjacent room. "He pulled me out of a pile of crates and wreckage and dragged me to safety."

"Harper!" Illitha grinned and threw her arms around the other engineer, who was visibly startled by the gesture.

"How come I did'na get that kind o' greeting?" McSween complained.

Illitha blushed and stood back, looking back and forth between the two men. She hadn't known either of them for long, but the day she'd spent working with their team had been fun and relaxing, and she was glad to see both of them alive and well. But there was one face that was conspicuously absent from their team…

"Goodman?" she prompted.

"Dead," Harper frowned.

"Aye. Found what was left o' 'im," McSween's hands clenched into fists. "Bastards tore 'im apart."

"I am sorry," Illitha murmured. "He was nice."

"I 'ave to ask… What are ye doin' here?" McSween changed the subject. "I thought ye'd be hiding somewhere wi' your friends by now."

"Oh… We got to a town called Mivian Heights. Eventually the other survivors of the F.O.B. ended up there too. B-but I had a… a disagreement…" Illitha bowed her head, "…with Captain Tarrislav, and he kicked me out of the town."

"Ye're joking…"

"I wish I were," Illitha sighed.

"That man is a world-class asshole," Harper muttered. "What sort of disagreement are we talking about?"

Illitha cringed a little bit, unable to look at either man. "I… I questioned his decision to stay in the town… The word 'idiot' may have been used once… or twice…"

Harper snickered at this last statement, and McSween grinned and shook his head. "I owe ye a beer for that one," he told her. "Ye 'ave no idea how much I've wanted to say that an' more to 'im."

"But that still doesn't explain why you're _here_," Harper prompted.

"Well, Lieutenant Gradian sent a team into the city to look for his missing men and to g-gather supplies. He wanted an engineer to go with them, and he asked me to do it."

"An' this is how ye ended up playing tag wi' an army o' Reapers?"

"Sort of," Illitha nodded. "O-Our team went to the Walters Center, and we lost… uh… Most of us died there," she said softly, bowing her head. "The Reapers overran the place s-sometime before we arrived, and left a… an ambush behind. Rachel and I gathered the things we could salvage and were trying to get them out of the city, but we got pinned down. So I… I volunteered to draw them off… so she could get the supplies to safety."

McSween stared at her for a moment, and then exchanged glances with Harper. Illitha was struck by the change in their demeanor, and wondered what they were thinking. She was tempted to ask, but wasn't sure she wanted to know. She sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"I am glad to know you are both alive," she said softly. "B-But I should get going. I have to… to meet Rachel. She is waiting for me at a school."

"It's just the two of you?" A deep voice from behind Illitha startled her.

She whirled to face the owner of the voice, and found herself facing several solemn-faced soldiers. She hadn't realized there were more people listening to their conversation. Now that she saw how many eyes were upon her, her shoulders hunched further and she stared at her feet.

"Illitha, allow me to introduce you," Harper stepped forward and gestured to each man in turn, starting with the deep-voiced marine, "Privates First-Class Burton, Syrian, and Jonah."

"It is nice to meet you," she bowed her head in greeting. "A-And to answer you, y-yes, it… it is just me and Rachel… But our mission is important. I h-have to get the supplies back to Gradian."

"Lass, if ye were gathering supplies, we 'ave a treat for ye," McSween spoke up. "When I returned to the F.O.B., all o' the Reapers' attention was focused on the other side o' the camp. Me, Harper an' a few others cleaned out the armory… We 'ave crates filled with weapons, armor, grenades, mods… all packed away in a truck an' hidden in a ruined warehouse at the south border o' the city."

"McSween was the one that brought us the equipment that saved your life," The deep-voiced Private Burton gestured toward the man introduced as Syrian, who had a rocket launcher slung over one of his shoulders. "You can take the harvesters down with normal weapons, but it takes too damn long because of all their armoring. Missiles speed the process."

"How did you get a… a working transport truck?" Illitha was curious. "All of the vehicles were destroyed."

"Aye, the ones at the F.O.B. were shot," McSween shrugged. "We snuck the weapons out into the fields until the Reaper pulled out, an' took what we could north to the city. There were lots o' damaged but salvageable vehicles in the streets 'ere. We picked a truck that was'nae too crippled and got her runnin' again, then went back for the rest. She is'nae pretty, but she works…"

"Oh… W-Well, I appreciate the offer. B-But the supplies you gathered are for your use," Illitha protested. "I cannot take the weapons you need to fight."

"Lass, we've been alone for the past day wi' no orders. We've been shooting Reapers and runnin' around wi' no idea where to go… and not one o' us ranks higher than corporal."

"Right," Harper nodded. "If we can hook up with an actual command structure and work with some organized resistance efforts, it would be a big improvement. Shooting Reaper stragglers won't win this war. We need to get back into the fight. And it sounds like our people need the weapons and supplies."

"Y-You want to come with me to Mivian Heights?" Illitha gave voice to her sudden realization.

"Just lead the way," Burton prompted.

"The school is…" Illitha paused, activating her omni-tool and scrolling through the city map to figure out where she'd ended up in relation to the building. When she found it, she sighed. "It is twelve blocks north and eight blocks west."

"Ye ran _twenty blocks_?" McSween stared at her. "In armor? Wi' Reapers shootin' at ye the whole time?"

"I guess so," Illitha smiled weakly.

"Lass… I dinnae 'ave the words to tell ye how much ye've impressed me…" McSween chuckled. "I'm glad ye're on our side…"

Illitha found herself blushing, and she turned away from the assembled group to hide her embarrassment. "I… could really use a rest," she said without looking back at them. "C-Could we delay our departure for just a few minutes?"

"Of course," Harper answered her. "Take the time you need. You took some nasty hits from that harvester. The back of your armor is practically shattered. You should get out of it and let our medic take a look at you."

Illitha's brows rose. The harvester's shots had rattled her entire body, but she hadn't realized how much damage it had done to her armor. Now that she was thinking about it, given the way the first shot had obliterated her barrier and knocked her flat, she shouldn't have been surprised. She nodded slowly.

"I-Is there a private room I could use?" she asked.

"Most of the second floor is intact. The stairs are through there," Harper pointed to a nearby door. "Jonah will be up in a minute."

"Thank you," she smiled at the engineer.

Harper smiled back at her, and she found herself wondering if he was the one in charge of the group. They had mentioned that no one present had a higher rank than corporal, and if she remembered correctly, that was his rank. She looked around at the handful of other soldiers, once again impressed with the caliber of people in the human forces. Aside from Tarrislav, most of the Alliance men and women she'd met were good people. She turned and made her way toward the stairs, hoping that she hadn't suffered any significant injuries in the harvester attack. She didn't want to slow them down… Rachel would be waiting, but only if they reached her by dawn.

* * *

**Prothean Ruins…**

Neela watched anxiously as Prathus and Zaeed carefully lowered Selura into the Prothean stasis pod they had dragged up from the depths of the ruins. Prathus looked absolutely exhausted, and Neela wished that she had been able to help him search for the stasis pod to ease the burden. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do, given the injury to her leg. Fortunately, the two of them had managed to find a working hover pallet somewhere, which they'd used to bring the Prothean technology up from wherever they'd found it.

Prathus had offered to bring up a second pod for her, but Neela shook her head. She had no wish to be placed in stasis, despite the fact that she was starting to feel dizzy and feverish. She wanted to be awake and able to speak to Aida when they returned to Mivian Heights. There was some question as to how they were going to manage to get back, but they had no choice but to think of a way. The captain needed the Prothean data, and Neela and Selura needed Aida's help. The datapad Selura had used to copy the data on the stasis pod was cradled protectively in Neela's arms.

Prathus closed the lid of the prothean device, which had a Cerberus generator strapped to it to provide power, and Neela winced when she heard the pod's lock engage. After the trouble they'd had getting the captain out of stasis, it was hard to watch the woman she loved be locked inside of the device, even though they now had the signal required to end the process. A part of her irrationally feared that she would never see the asari's face again. She sighed and closed her eyes.

"Are you sure you don't want to be placed in stasis?" Prathus broke the silence. "You're hurt pretty bad, and we might be stuck here for a while."

"I'm sure," the quarian nodded. "I want to be there when Aida patches her up."

"I set up some robotic mining drones in the rooms above," Zaeed glanced up toward the hole in the wall far above. "The VI system will work to clear that collapsed ceiling and any other obstacles, but it'll take time. I hope you're not in a hurry to get back."

"How long?" Neela asked. "Selura will live now," her eyes came to rest on the Prothean stasis pod, "But that salarian bosh'tet almost killed her. I don't want to see him get away with it."

"He's got a hell of a head start," Prathus muttered. "We're not going to catch up now."

"What about the shuttles?" Neela suggested. "Selura told me she wanted to install a security lockout in them instead of sabotaging them. Maybe one of them still works…"

"You'd better hope so. Salik's got a ship about ten kilometers outside the capital," Zaeed informed them. "If he gets to it, he's gone."

"What do you care?" Neela snapped, glaring at the human. "You were helping him!"

"You're goddamn right. But then I saved _his_ arse," Zaeed growled, nodding toward Prathus. "So you can either trust me, or I can leave. Because I don't particularly care whether you get out of here or not."

"Give her a break," Prathus interjected. "She's injured and upset."

"She's a whining pain in the arse," the mercenary countered, glaring at Neela, who returned his glare angrily. Finally, he just turned and walked away.

Prathus lowered himself to the ground beside the quarian with a hiss of pain, giving her shoulder a brief, reassuring squeeze once he was settled. Neela took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to relax. However, inwardly, she worried that despite her insistence on being there when Aida patched Selura up, she might not live that long. Not many quarians survived catastrophic environmental exposure, and she had definitely been exposed. There was something inside of her suit, and she had no way of telling what contaminants had been brought in with it.

"I've actually got another concern," Prathus spoke up again. "We felt an explosion in here, but there is no sign of explosives damage in the room above. Someone used mining explosives somewhere in this complex. I want to know where… and why."

"What difference does it make?" Zaeed asked.

"If Golash searched this place and decided to blow something up, I'd like to know what it was. After he turned on us, I find myself questioning his motives."

Neela nodded slowly. "I agree. If that bosh'tet was worried enough about something he discovered to bother trying to destroy it or hide it, I think we should find out why."

"I'll go back to searching the place," Prathus assured her. "But first, if Massani is willing to help, I want to hoist you out of here and get you aboard one of the shuttles. They must have decontamination systems installed in their interiors… most shuttles do. We can at least get you sealed up in a sterile area."

Neela and Prathus both turned their gazes upon the mercenary, who just shrugged. Prathus, apparently taking that for agreement, nodded and struggled to his feet, heading for the wall. As he was beginning the climb to the room above, he explained. "Cerberus lowered their equipment into this room somehow. There must be some ropes and pulleys or a maglift system up there somewhere."

"Ropes," Zaeed spoke up. "I saw a crate full of ropes and equipment up there when I was looking through them."

"Good," Prathus called back. "I'll toss it down. You tie it around her and then come up, and we can pull her up. I know it won't be pleasant, Neela, but we need to get you to a safer place."

"It's fine, Prathus," Neela called up to him. "If Selura did put a lockout in one of the shuttles, I can work on it while you two search the place to figure out what Salik was up to."

The quarian nodded in satisfaction. If things went well, they could get Selura's pod into a working shuttle, fly it to Mivian heights in just a few minutes, and she and Selura could be offloaded. Then Prathus could fly to the location of the salarian's ship and steal it. If they could strand him on the planet, there was a chance they could catch him sometime in the future. She supposed they might be able to set an ambush for him at his ship, but since it was only Prathus and Zaeed who could fight at the moment, she wasn't so keen on that idea. With that strange gun he had used on her, it would be too easy for the salarian to render two people's equipment nonfunctional. They needed a larger force.

She waited patiently for Prathus and Zaeed to get her out of the ruin, plotting revenge on the salarian in the meantime. After what he had done to Selura, there was no way the young pilot could let him get away. Somehow, she wanted to find him and see him brought to justice for what he'd done. He deserved it.

She was so involved in plans for retribution that it never even occurred to her that if they stole his ship, they could get off of the planet…

* * *

**Mivian Heights…**

Aida swallowed heavily and tried to school her features, hiding the distaste she felt. She was standing outside of the room in the library that Captain Tarrislav had designated as his command headquarters, waiting to speak to him about the resort in the gorge below the town. She had spoken to Gradian about it, and he had passed her on to his commanding officer, claiming that it was Tarrislav's decision. In the meantime, the lieutenant had ordered a team to go down into the gorge, search the building for supplies, and secure the area.

Aida had been waiting outside of the captain's room for almost twenty minutes, and her impatience was further worsening her opinion of the man that had exiled her best friend. If it weren't for Gradian's earlier warning about how he needed her not to worsen Tarrislav's opinion of their group, she would have shoved past the guard outside his door ten minutes ago and started yelling at him. She could play nice if the lieutenant might eventually be able to convince Tarrislav to let Illitha return to the town.

The stern-faced human captain appeared in the doorway, catching her attention. When their eyes met, she thought she saw his narrow just a little, and she put on her friendliest smile and bowed her head in greeting. She _wanted_ to plant a biotic punch on the tip of his nose, but she managed to conceal that anger.

"Sir," she greeted him. "Lieutenant Gradian told me I needed to speak to you about a possible improvement for the medical clinic. May I have a moment of your time?"

"Sure," Tarrislav nodded and stepped back, showing her into the room.

Aida looked around the room curiously, noting that they had set up a rack filled with datapads in one corner, and had otherwise cleared out everything except for a large desk and the chair behind it. Seeing nowhere to sit, she stood in front of the desk and watched the human walk around and take the seat on the opposite side.

"I know you have been hard at work in the med bay, patching up my men," Tarrislav commented. "Doctor Tillman speaks highly of your skill and your commitment to helping your patients. It's appreciated. So how can we improve your working environment?"

Aida was a little taken aback by the complimentary tone of the conversation. Given the monster she'd come to regard him as, she had actually expected him to be dismissive, rude and argumentative. But then, her only experience with the man to date had been when Illitha was yelling at him back on the F.O.B.. She smiled softly.

"I was taking a walk in the gorge below, and I found a building down there with working power," she told him, and noted the rise in his brows. Obviously, he was intrigued. "I have no idea why the power there is still running, but work in the basement has been hard. Poor light, cramped quarters, ill-suited furniture… It is hard to do our work well."

"So you want to move the med clinic down to this building in the gorge," his expression turned pensive.

"I know that a building with power would be an improvement for your command center as well, but I thought that the medical care of the injured should get the space. Better lighting, access to filtered water, more comfortable beds for recovery… that sort of thing."

"Actually, I wouldn't want to set up a command center down there," Tarrislav surprised her again. "While it's hidden, it's also on low ground. If the enemy ever took the town, they could just lob explosives on us without ever presenting a target until we were all dead. But hiding the injured down there is a good idea."

"Thank you," Aida's smile became significantly less forced. She was getting far less argument than she had expected. "Then we can begin moving things down there?"

"Let me speak to-"

"Sir," a voice from the doorway cut the captain off. "Lieutenant Gradian is here to see you."

"Speak of the devil," Tarrislav muttered. "Send him in," he called.

Gradian and another man entered the room, and both saluted the captain, standing at attention until he returned the salute and told them to be at ease. Aida smiled at the lieutenant when he relaxed his stance.

"Report," Tarrislav prompted.

"Sir, I sent a recon team down into the gorge to scout the building and secure the area. They found the building's power plant, but unfortunately it would take months of work to expand it to power the rest of the town," Gradian sighed. "It's geothermal, and localized to the building itself, since it is built over a geothermal vent."

"I see," the captain nodded. "I was going to suggest that possible project."

"I anticipated that, sir," Gradian nodded. "It was my first thought when Aida told me the building had power as well. But it would take a lot of time and effort to set up some sort of power conduit and supplemental reactor."

"What else, Lieutenant?"

"I do have some good news, sir," Gradian continued. "The building itself is a resort hotel, and would be ideal for a medical clinic. Additionally, there is a working water filtration system that draws from natural water belowground. There are working showers down there, and we could set up a rotation to allow our men to bathe and relax a little."

"That's fine, Lieutenant, but hardly what I would call _good_ news," Tarrislav shrugged.

"I was getting to that, sir," Gradian answered. "The good news is this: There are three working skycabs down there."

"What?" Aida spoke up, drawing the attention of all three men. "I did not see any vehicles down there…"

"They aren't visible from the structure itself. There is a landing pad behind the building, hidden behind some natural foliage. I expected something like that, so I told the team to look for it. If it's a luxury resort, it would have a way for guests to reach it without being forced to hike down the trail. Sure enough, there was a garage off of the landing pad, with some hotel-owned transports inside. Apparently the staff either didn't have the access codes to get them running, or had enough vehicles to get to safety without them. I have engineers bypassing the security systems in them now."

"So we have transports," Tarrislav nodded, and Aida thought she saw a ghost of a smile form upon his lips. "Excellent. Find six men to serve as the pilots and set up a rotation so that there is always someone on duty to drive them whenever they are needed."

"What are your thoughts, sir?" Gradian asked.

"We'll use two as scout vehicles to patrol the surrounding airspace," Tarrislav explained. "The third will be a medical transport, to fly wounded down to the infirmary when necessary. We can't carry injured men down the trail."

"Aye aye, sir," Gradian saluted.

Tarrislav's gaze turned to Aida, and he nodded briefly. "Excellent work on finding the building, and good thinking regarding its use. You and Tillman can start moving supplies down to our new hospital and get to work cleaning it up. Pick four men to help you with sanitizing the place to your standards. I will be commandeering a single room down there for another project, but the rest of the building will serve to house the injured."

"Thank you," Aida smiled at the man, surprised to find herself pleased with the outcome. She had truly not expected to get what she wanted out of the situation. She still wouldn't forgive Tarrislav for the way he treated her best friend, but at least the urge to hit him had diminished somewhat.

"Dismissed," the captain barked.

Gradian and his escort saluted, and the three of them left the room. Once they were outside, Gradian smiled at Aida.

"Not to take credit for the find, but I'm glad I suggested you go for a walk in the gorge to clear your head," he grinned. "Worked out well for everyone."

"Yes, thank you for the suggestion," Aida smiled back at him. "Could you do something for me?"

"Name it," the lieutenant's expression sobered.

"When your pilots start bringing the injured down, could you have them bring down my captain too?"

"Of course," the lieutenant nodded. "We'll see to it."

"Thank you," the asari smiled.

"You'd better get to work picking your team," Gradian suggested, gesturing to the man at his side. "This is Mills, one of the men that scouted the site. Take him with you and find three more."

The man in question extended a hand, which Aida shook. She quickly returned her gaze to the lieutenant, however, curious about something else the captain had said.

"Do you know what he intends to take a room in the hotel for?" she asked.

"There has been a good deal of discussion about reestablishing long-range communications capability. We have several comms experts working to break the interference. I'm guessing he wants a place with power to set up a comm center if we manage to overcome the Reaper jamming signals. Right now, radios are spotty at best, and the closer one gets to the city, the more impenetrable it becomes. We need to be able to coordinate our forces."

"I understand," Aida chewed her lip. "Has there been any word from Illitha?"

"Last report I received said they had found the signal my other team was tracking and were about to trace it to its source. Since then, there has been nothing. I'm sorry."

Aida bowed her head, her thoughts with her friend. She was worried, and the fact that there was no way to contact her friends to find out how their respective missions were going was not helping. She hoped that the Alliance managed to find a way to restore communications soon. For a girl whose need to keep in contact with others had been central to her life, the lack of contact was especially hard. She was too used to her people's moderated chat programs; it was hard not to have all the information and interaction she wanted at her fingertips.

"I have to get going," Gradian announced. "And you have a lot of work to do. I'll find Rebecca and tell her what's going on."

"Thank you," Aida smiled, shaking off her gloomy thoughts. Gradian was right. There was a lot to be done, and she was eager to get away from Mivian Heights, as Illitha had suggested she do. With luck, the bottom of the gorge would be far enough to ease her friend's concerns when she returned. She set off to find a few more men to assist with cleaning their new hospital, and Mills fell into step behind her. With any luck, they would be able to sterilize the entire structure by the time her friends returned. She hoped that none of them would be injured, but if they were, she wanted to have a proper hospital in which to treat them.

* * *

**Prothean Ruins…**

Prathus limped slowly along a dark corridor, gazing around him in wonder. The surroundings might not have been much to look at, and the turian was certainly not a scientist or historian, but the awe was there just the same. The Protheans were the galaxy's great mystery… the one curiosity shared by all races even before they were part of the galactic community as a whole. To be among the first creatures to walk the halls around him in fifty-thousand years was a great privilege.

They'd managed to hoist Neela out and get her aboard one of the shuttles. The quarian had seemingly been correct about Selura's intention to keep a shuttle functional; one shuttle's engine had been badly damaged, but the other shuttle had no apparent signs of malfunction. It was in the intact shuttle that they had sealed the pilot, so that she could work on overriding Selura's lockout code. With his shipmate in a safe environment, Prathus had returned to the ruin to search for signs of recent explosives damage.

He had thought it would be an easy task… the explosion had occurred less than two hours earlier, so he expected a lingering smell of smoke or melted polymers, but so far, he'd had no luck. The search was complicated by the sheer size of the underground complex. More than once, he'd found himself walking back over his own tracks in the dust and dirt. He kept getting turned around, and wished that he had a laser mapping program on his omni, just so that he could construct a map of the place.

Zaeed had opted to remain outside, 'on guard,' as he put it. The turian shook his head. He wasn't sure what to make of the human mercenary. He had been an employee of their betrayer, and then turned around and saved Prathus's life. He didn't have any apparent interest in exploring a Prothean ruin, but had gone through Cerberus's equipment in minute detail. He claimed he didn't give a damn what happened to any of them, but had been willing to go through a lot of trouble to help haul the Prothean stasis pod out of the depths of the structure for Selura's use…

Prathus sighed, mandibles twitching. He had been burned by placing any amount of trust in the salarian, but his instincts told him there was more to Zaeed than was visible on the surface. Yes, he was consumed with the need for revenge on Cerberus – that much had been clear in his demeanor when he spoke of his desire to deal with them – but there was more lying beneath the surface. The turian just wasn't sure _what_ was hidden under the facade of the hardened soldier.

A rumbling sound jolted him out of his thoughts, and he came to a stop when dust drifted down from the ceiling. Cerberus had brought robotic mining equipment with them for the excavation, and had a VI system to control it so that they had no need to spare men to pilot them remotely. Zaeed had set the machines to work to clear the collapsed sections on the upper levels, but Prathus was concerned that their efforts might bring more of the structure down. This was not the first rumble he'd heard from the floors above… or the loudest. When the sound did not repeat, he continued his search, though his pace quickened a little. He had no wish to be buried if the mining drones caused a collapse.

Turning a corner, he shone a light down a corridor that looked like all the others. He resisted the urge to growl in frustration. Whatever the salarian had done with the explosives, he'd gone well out of his way to do it. Prathus could only assume that Selura had been so caught up in her research that she'd never noticed Salik's comings and goings… or that the salarian had been cloaked whenever he passed through the archive.

Prathus was hitting control panels as he passed them, as had become his habit while searching the structure, and in this hall as with most of the others, the doors were either stuck or too damaged to open. Until he tried the final door before the hall reached another T-junction. When he hit the panel, the door shifted and then rose upward about a meter-and-a-half before grinding to a halt. He paused and pressed the trigger again, but the door didn't move.

Carefully lowering himself to the floor, he shone his search light into the room beyond to get a look around. He couldn't see much from his vantage other than a few shelving units and some dirt-covered furniture, so he decided to crawl through and perform a quick search. He couldn't afford to dismiss any potential opportunity to find something useful, no matter how much it hurt his leg to repeatedly crawl beneath malfunctioning doors.

The air in the room smelled stale and was thick with floating dust. Within moments of entering, Prathus found himself coughing. Eager to get out of the chamber, he quickly examined the shelving units. Most held unidentifiable bits and pieces of tech, which he was sure would be of great interest to an archaeologist, but which meant nothing to him. He was just about to turn and leave the room when he spotted an object lying on a table, crusted with centuries of dirt and sediment. Looking at the cracks in the ceiling above the table, he had an idea from where the material had come. He stepped closer and tried to brush away some of it, pausing when he realized what it was…

It was a Prothean rifle of some kind.

_Now _this_ is the kind of artifact I can appreciate_, he thought with satisfaction. _Too much to hope it still works, but it would make a great display piece if I could clean it up and restore it…_

Running his hand along the sleek lines of the rifle, he thought immediately of the turian-made Phaeston rifles he had been trained to use. The two weapons shared similar general shapes. He activated his omni-blade and carefully worked the tip beneath the weapon, trying to pry it from the table. After a bit of effort, the hardened dirt around the weapon gave way with an audible crack. He picked up the rifle and turned it over in his hands. The underside of it was almost pristine. He was able to locate an activation trigger, and he pressed it, hoping to see or hear some sign that the weapon was functional.

Nothing happened.

_Well, that would have been too convenient…_

With a shrug, he slung the rifle over his shoulder, securing it to the maglock on his back, and left the room behind. He was just standing up on the other side of the door when he heard a voice shouting. He held his breath, listening intently, and when the shout repeated, he followed the sound of the echo, looking for the source. The voice had to belong to Zaeed, or so he assumed, but the mercenary said he was going to stay outside. If he had come in, perhaps it meant something was wrong.

Following the intermittent calls, Prathus eventually found a stairway and went up a level, rounding several corners before he could finally hear the calls clearly. Once he could make out the words, his anxiety left him. Zaeed's voice didn't sound angry or panicked. He decided that he should let the mercenary know he was coming, just so that the man could stop shouting.

"I hear you," he called out. "What's going on?"

"Your quarian got the shuttle working," the gruff voice of the mercenary shouted back. It sounded like he was just around the corner.

When Prathus turned the corner, he found that he was right. The mercenary was standing in front of an open door with his helmet on, staring inside. The turian limped over, wondering what it was that caught the human's attention.

"Good," he said as he approached. "Then as soon as the mining drones clear the rubble, we can get that Prothean pod aboard and get out of here."

"I wasn't sure you'd hear me shouting," Zaeed muttered. "We should have set up a comm channel."

Prathus nodded. When they'd been planning to assault the place, they hadn't set up any communications plans simply because of the risk of Cerberus intercepting their transmissions. Now that Cerberus was no longer an issue, they really _should_ have linked their omni-tools for communication.

"I think I found the source of the blast you felt," Zaeed added.

Prathus shone his light into the room when he reached the mercenary's side. Sure enough, the interior of the chamber was littered with debris, and the walls were blackened and scorched. The faint smell of smoke and burnt polymers lingered on the air. At the center of the far wall of the room was a slender object with a wide base, which swept upward in a graceful profile before ending abruptly at a jagged, shattered peak. Whatever it had been, it seemed to be the focal point of the blast.

"Okay," Prathus finally said. "So whatever this was, Golash found it and blew it up. But why?"

"I think it's a Prothean beacon," Zaeed supplied. "I remember Shepard talking about them. She described one once. The Protheans used them for communication. They could transmit images directly to the brain."

"A Prothean beacon," Prathus repeated. "I guess that makes sense. Whatever information he wanted from the archive, he got. But the archive is nonfunctional now. If he found this beacon, maybe he was concerned it might hold backup copies of the data."

"Maybe," Zaeed grunted, but didn't sound convinced.

"You disagree?"

"Not really. Your guess makes sense. But I've been with Salik for over a week, and he never struck me as the type to do anything without a damned good reason."

"Typical behavior for a salarian," Prathus nodded. "Most of them don't relieve themselves without a plan."

"Listen, I wanted to talk to you about your plans going forward," Zaeed turned to face him.

"Well, we get Xara and Leneur back to the town so they can be treated, and then we go find the salarian's ship…"

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to talk about…"

"The ship?" Prathus asked, already guessing where this was headed.

"I'm willing to help you guys find and deal with Salik. But I want the ship for my trouble. I still have to deal with Cerberus, and to do that, I need a way off of this rock."

"I'm not sure that'll go over real well. Most of us have family elsewhere in the galaxy. I know I want to get out of here… I'm sure the others do too."

"I'd be willing to give everyone a ride to the nearest Reaper-free port," Zaeed shrugged. "But I need to be able to get off of this planet. I'm sure there are more opportunities out there to hurt Cerberus."

"Well, the way I see it… You're the only one who knows where the ship is anyway. So if you can guide us to it, we get the salarian, and you get the ship. Because without your help, we couldn't get either one."

"Glad you see things my way. But it won't be easy. He set sentry drones to guard the ship, and I'm sure he'll have a security lockout on the controls. Like I said, he doesn't do anything without a plan."

"We can ambush him at the ship and force him to give us the security codes."

"Not a chance," Zaeed shook his head. "Trust me on this one. I might not have worked for him for long, but I have a good idea of how he thinks. Here's how it will play out…"

Prathus crossed his arms and waited for the mercenary to continue.

"If we want the ship, we'll have to take out the drones. And if we do that, he'll know something's up. He'll cut his losses and walk away. There has to be other space-worthy vessels on the planet, and he'll track something down. We could leave the drones alone and wait nearby for him to show up, but he's got that damned tactical cloak, so he could walk right past us and be airborne before we know what's happened…"

"Agreed on both counts," Prathus nodded. He couldn't find a fault with the human's logic. "So what do we do then?"

"We have to take the ship. There's no other choice. It will scare him off, but if we leave it alone, he'll board it and be off-world by the day's end. If that happens, we both lose what we want. So we need to go and destroy the drones, hack into the ship's controls, and move the bloody thing to a secure site before he can get to it. We have a working shuttle, so that part will be easy."

"I see what you're getting at. So you'll have your ship, but we'll be left with the task of _finding_ the salarian."

"Exactly. I said I'll help you find and deal with him, and I will. But it won't be easy. I hope one of your engineers can figure out what data he wanted and from here we can figure out how he plans to use it."

"Then it all rests on Leneur surviving her injuries," Prathus's mandibles twitched in an unconscious gesture of concern. "She saw the data, so if she survives, she can tell us what it is. If she dies…"

"We figure something else out," Zaeed supplied. "I'm not the quitting type."

"Good. That makes two of us," Prathus chuckled.

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: As always, I first want to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited/followed or otherwise given any sort of attention to my story. It is greatly appreciated, and continues to keep me motivated. I write a little of this story _every day_, largely because of the encouragement I draw from the views and comments I continue to receive. So thank you all.**

**I also have to tip my hat to the astute observations of my reviewers, both here and on BSN. A certain someone has been saying for a while that Aida should get out of the town, and even said last chapter that she should move to the hotel in the gorge, which made me smile since this Chapter has been written for weeks. Someone else said something on BSN about the possibility of discovering some Prothean weaponry, which made me grin again, because this Chapter has been complete for some time. I have some very sharp readers!**

**And to the people who, many Chapters back, pointed out the missing weapons from the armory on the F.O.B., I am happy to have _finally_ explained that one. I am really trying to avoid including any oversights, so that I can promise that anything that hasn't been explained will eventually be covered. All I can do for now is say I'm doing my best, and I _hope_ that anything that seems like an oversight in a Chapter will be revealed in time.**

**I hope everyone is having a great week. The next update, barring any unforeseen disasters, should be on this coming Monday. Until then, be safe, and have a fantastic weekend.**


	33. Chapter 33: Difficulties

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Thirty-Three: Difficulties

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**Kate Bowman Elementary, Southern Scott…**

Illitha could feel herself trembling as her group crept along the edge of a collapsed shell of a building, approaching the fence that surrounded the school. She wasn't wearing armor for the first time in two days, thanks to the catastrophic damage done to her previous suit by the harvester, and she felt horribly exposed and vulnerable. It made her wonder how career soldiers ever felt safe without it after they retired from service. In fact, she imagined it was worse for non-biotics in her position. At least she was capable of generating her own barrier for defense… Without their armor, the humans around her would have been completely defenseless.

After she had realized that her armor was too damaged to provide any protection from the back and thus useless to her, she had insisted on removing the tech armor system from it. The expensive emitters and components were all packed up in a canvas bag and slung over her shoulder, to be installed into whatever armor they found to replace what she lost. This meant her only protection was her shirt and the bandages that had been applied to the miraculously minor wounds on her back. She hoped they managed to find some armor for her soon.

Now that they were within sight of their destination, she felt both relieved and more nervous than ever. This was the agreed-upon meeting spot where Rachel should have been waiting, but they had decided upon it before either of them knew what was there. The school was partially-collapsed, the windows were shattered, the walls were blackened with scorch marks and riddled with bullet holes, and the playground equipment was twisted and smashed. It was obvious there had been some heavy fighting here at some point. Illitha wondered what they would do if Rachel had arrived here to find the place infested with Reapers and had to go somewhere else. She had never even thought to discuss a backup plan.

"Looks abandoned," Harper hissed. "Whatever happened here, I'd guess we missed it."

Illitha nodded, chewing on her lower lip as she scanned their surroundings for signs of Reapers. As she had discovered frequently here in the city, just because they didn't _see_ any cannibals or husks didn't mean they weren't around. Finally, she sighed. "We should go now… W-While it is clear."

"Move up," Harper gestured forward.

Illitha and the Alliance soldiers quickly darted from cover, sprinting across the rubble-filled street to the gate that provided entry to the school grounds. While it might once have kept the school grounds self-contained and safe, little remained of the barrier aside from twisted metal and shattered fragments; it looked like an explosive had been used to breach it. They all slipped inside and pressed against the wall once they were on the interior, pausing for a moment to listen for signs that their brief sprint had attracted attention. One thing that could be said about the Reapers was that they weren't often subtle when they spotted a target. Hearing no signs of howls or gunfire, Illitha exhaled slowly and lowered her rifle.

The main doors of the school were undoubtedly automatic like most other modern public buildings, so without power, whoever had taken shelter here prior to the fighting had been forced to pry them apart. As a result, there was a gap of darkness between the two halves of the door, large enough for an adult to slip through. Illitha frowned and looked around for some sign of the hover-pallet she and Sanders had been using to transport their salvaged supplies… there was no way the machine could have fit through the narrow opening in the door, and it wasn't capable of hovering high enough to go through a window. She was just about to voice her concerns when she saw a dark shape move across the opening. Her breath caught in her throat and she froze.

"Did ye see that?" McSween whispered.

Illitha nodded her head slowly and took a few hesitant steps forward, raising her voice just enough to be heard by whoever was lurking beyond the door. She assumed it wasn't a Reaper or it would have been attacking by now.

"Rachel?"

When there was no immediate response, she swallowed and tried again, a bit more formally. "Private Sanders, is that you?"

"Did you say Sanders?" A young voice answered the question. The figure that stepped through the opening was blonde-haired, but not the soldier… it was a boy somewhere in his early teens, Illitha guessed. "You Alliance?" the boy asked.

"Aye," McSween spoke up. "We're looking for a fellow soldier. She was supposed t'be waitin' 'ere."

"Come inside," the boy eagerly waved them in. "She's in the cafeteria with everyone else. I'll tell you how to get there."

Illitha stepped past the teenager and into the main entryway of the building, trying to adjust to this new surprise. When she picked a spot deep in the territory that the Reapers had already passed through, she'd never even imagined that there would be any survivors to be found. This was the second group of living souls she'd come across. She was glad there were other living people in the area, but certainly hadn't expected it.

"What are you doing out here if everyone's in the cafeteria, kid?" Harper asked.

"Watching," the kid answered succinctly.

"So I'm guessing there are other people watching any other entrances?" Burton asked.

"Yeah," the boy responded, turning and pointing down the corridor beyond the entryway. "The cafeteria is down there. At the end of the hall, turn right. It's the first and second doors on the left."

Illitha set off down the hallway without waiting for her Alliance allies, who she could hear discussing the idea of leaving an armed guard in the boy's place at the door. She was just eager to get to the cafeteria and see how Rachel had fared in her absence. She walked to the end of the corridor and turned, following the directions she was given, but her eyes lingered sadly upon the decorations in the hallway as she moved. There were banners about holiday events, artwork that had obviously been created by children, dark vid screens that might once have broadcast information about students or school news, even a shattered case with a pile of fallen trophies at the bottom… the idea that the Reapers had actually attacked a _school_ brought new horror to an already-terrible reality. She couldn't help wondering how many children had died so far in this war, and quickly found herself on the verge of tears. Her thoughts went to her little sister, and she pictured the child in the midst of a similar scene on Thessia. Suddenly the desire to be with her family was almost overwhelming. She hoped that they would be safely on Illium by the time the Reapers got as far as Thessia.

When she reached the door to the cafeteria and stepped inside, she received another shock. She had expected a handful of survivors to be hiding in the building. Instead, she found at least three-dozen people present, most of them children. There were only four or five adults in the group, and perhaps as many teenagers; the rest were far younger. She closed her eyes and felt a tear trail down her cheek.

_Goddess, how did this happen? How was the galaxy not prepared for this? How many of these poor children are orphans now because we were not ready to defend ourselves?_

"Illitha!" Rachel's voice brought her out of her melancholy musings.

"Rachel," she managed to smile at the blonde, who hurried over to her. "I am glad you got here s-safely."

"Thanks to you," the blonde smiled, and then looked her over curiously. "I take it wearing the armor and tech armor was too easy for the Spectre? Decided to get rid of them for added challenge, did you?"

"Ha!" the beginnings of a laugh burst out before the asari could stop it. She felt herself blushing and shook her head. "Not at all," she countered. "I got hit in the b-back by a big flying monster. It d-destroyed my armor. I cannot even convey how badly I-I want a new set. I feel so… vulnerable without it."

Rachel nodded and smiled. "Well, I'm glad you made it here in one piece. When I heard all the gunfire and explosions accumulating in the distance… Well, I wasn't sure you'd be here when the sun rose. It sounded bad."

"I would not have been if I had not run into help," Illitha confessed.

"Bloody 'ell," a voice exclaimed from the door.

Illitha smiled and turned toward the entrance, where four of her five companions were standing, together with the teenage boy. She assumed the last man, Syrian, had been left on watch at the main entrance since the boy had left his post. She gestured for the group to approach and introduced everyone.

"Rachel, this is Harper, McSween, Burton and Jonah," she gestured to each man in turn. "This is Private Sanders," she motioned to the blonde.

"Aye, I remember ye," McSween nodded and grinned rakishly. "The HNG in the security detachment."

"HNG?" Illitha repeated curiously, looking at the blonde who, she was surprised to note, was blushing. "Do you mean FNG?" she asked, remembering what Rachel had said about the term.

"No, he means HNG," Harper assured her, chuckling. "Hot New Girl."

Illitha's eyes widened, and she turned to look at the young blonde, whose blush only deepened. Rachel cleared her throat self-consciously and turned, gesturing toward the group of adults in the room, who were all watching them anxiously.

"I need to introduce you to our hosts," she said softly. "These people were all here when I arrived."

Illitha and her group approached the collection of adults, and she studied them curiously. There were three men and two women, all dressed in the unassuming garb of civilians. All five looked pale and exhausted. Most had bloodshot eyes with dark circles beneath them. The eldest among them, a man with short, salt and pepper hair and sharp features, stepped forward and extended a hand to Harper when they approached.

"Boy, am I glad to see some more Alliance faces," he smiled warmly. "We could sure use the help."

"Corporal Harper," the human introduced himself. "These are Privates McSween, Burton, and Jonah," he introduced his fellow soldiers, each of whom shook the man's hand. "And this is Illitha."

Illitha smiled softly and extended her hand, but the man never took it. He instead turned to the other adults, introducing them all in turn. Illitha let her hand drop, exchanging glances with Rachel, who was frowning.

"I'm Michael Pavv. This is Julie Markinson," he gestured toward a weary-looking brunette woman. "And these are John, Dan, and Cynthia."

"What happened here?" Harper asked.

"No idea," the man shook his head and gestured toward Julie. "The two of us headed here after the Reapers had already been by. Figured that it might be the sort of place where survivors would gather. And we were right. We found everyone else already here."

"None of us were here when the school got hit," Dan, a rotund young man, spoke up. "I was the first adult to come here. When I got here there were already a dozen kids hiding in the building. More showed up over the course of the day."

"Right," Michael nodded. "We knew we had to get out of the city, but it seemed like suicide with dozens of kids and no guns. We weren't sure what else to do but hide and wait."

"Now that you're here," Julie smiled at them, "you can get us out, right?"

"I…" Harper trailed off uncertainly, looking at Illitha and McSween in turn. "I need to discuss it with my friends," he admitted. "This wasn't what we expected to find here. Moving children through the streets will be… uh… tricky."

Illitha noticed that Michael's eyes were now upon her, and she wasn't sure what to make of his stone-faced expression. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"Well, I know you guys need to strategize or whatever," Michael said at last. "If you can get us out, we'll be grateful."

"Of course," Harper looked around at the children spread through the room. "In the meantime, you can keep the kids under control, right?"

Michael nodded. "We have a system in place. They know to keep away from the windows and not to make a lot of noise."

"Is there a room where we can set up a temporary headquarters?" Harper inquired.

"Pretty much any room you want," Michael shrugged. "All of us were staying in this room. Seemed safer to stick together."

"Alright then," Harper nodded. "When we have a plan, we'll let you know right away. Until then, just keep doing what you've been doing."

Illitha and the rest of her allies left the cafeteria, choosing a room a few doors down, which seemed to have been the school's administrative office at some point from the look of it. Most of the furniture was damaged, but there were a few intact chairs and desks, and Illitha gratefully chose one of the former and sank into it.

"What the 'ell was that about back there?" McSween was the first to speak.

"What do you mean?" Harper asked.

"That bastard would'na shake Illitha's hand," the engineer pointed out. "I could'na believe he'd be so blatantly… dickish. Especially while askin' for our help…"

"Racist," Harper shrugged. "Forget him."

Illitha nodded, only too eager to put the human out of her mind. She'd dealt with Cerberus, so she'd dealt with worse. She was more anxious to hear thoughts about their unexpected discovery here. It seemed to her that the addition of a large group of children to their ranks would cause problems.

"I'm glad you made it here," Rachel repeated her earlier statement, smiling at Illitha. "And that you picked up some friends. I was at a loss as to what to do when I found all these people here."

"You're not alone," Harper sighed. "It's far too large a group to cram into our truck, especially with all the supplies aboard. And just getting them all that far without attracting attention is going to take time and a hell of a lot of luck."

"You have a truck?" Rachel repeated.

"Aye," McSween nodded. "Found one in the streets that was'na too damaged an' got her runnin'. She's loaded wi' supplies rescued from the F.O.B.."

"Where are the things we gathered?" Illitha asked curiously.

"I couldn't get the hover pallet inside," Rachel explained. "So I brought all of our supplies into the building and hid the pallet behind some dumpsters in the back."

"Good thinking," Harper commented, glancing out the nearby window, toward the brightening sky. "I have no idea how we'll get all these people out," he sighed. "But with the sun coming up, I think we're stuck here for the day. We can't pull out until it's dark again."

"I agree," Illitha sighed. "In full daylight, there are too many people. We would be sure to be seen."

"Any ideas about how we make our escape?" Rachel asked, but Illitha noticed that the blonde's eyes were lingering upon her, not upon Harper, who was her superior.

"W-We can do it like we did it after the harvester," Illitha spoke up, looking at Harper and McSween. "It will take time, but it is the safest way."

"What do you mean?" Harper asked.

"We… uh, we can move through the buildings… R-Relay the kids one or two at a time across the open areas. If we stay out of s-sight and take our time, we might escape notice."

Everyone seemed to consider the idea, but Rachel was quick to offer her support. "I think that's the only option. We sure can't walk down the streets in a big mob. The Reapers would be all over us."

"Okay, so we work as a chain," Harper nodded. "We get our people into several adjacent buildings and keep the civilians moving one at a time from one to the next. When the last building in the chain is empty, that group moves up to the next building in the line and continues."

"Yes," Illitha nodded. "And if there are any signs of trouble, w-we cannot start shooting. Believe me… it attracts too much hostility."

"Ye would know," McSween chuckled. "Maybe ye could lead them on another chase?"

"No!" Illitha shook her head vehemently. "I have been a target enough today to last a lifetime."

"Okay, so we have a plan," Harper smiled. "That gives us about 21 hours of daylight to kill, so rest up, relax, sleep… whatever you need to do to pass the time. We move out as soon as the sun goes down."

Illitha smiled and nodded. While staying in a ruined school wasn't quite her idea of a relaxing environment, she was happy to have some time to work on decrypting the copied data from the salarian's omni-tool. Harper, McSween and the others all went their separate ways to occupy themselves during their downtime, leaving Rachel and Illitha alone in the room. Illitha activated her omni-tool and went to work trying to hack through the encryption.

"You know, you've saved my life twice now," Rachel pointed out after a minute.

"What?" Illitha looked up from her work, surprised by the inference. "I did not-"

"Yes you did," Rachel cut in. "First with the grenade trick in the Walters Center, and then by drawing the Reapers away so I could get here."

"I…" Illitha bowed her head, unsure what to say. She had only wanted to help. She wasn't trying to be a hero or anything.

"I know that Harper is the ranking soldier here," Rachel said softly, sliding off of the desk she had been sitting on, "But you're the one in charge as far as I'm concerned."

Illitha was about to protest, but before she could say a word, the blonde smiled and added.

"In case you didn't notice, Spectre, you're the one that came up with the plan for extraction."

The young marine walked out of the room, leaving Illitha to dwell upon her last words. She knew that Rachel's insistence on calling her Spectre was just good-natured teasing, but the more serious part of the blonde's statement was what now had her thinking… She _had_ been the one to suggest their plan for withdrawing, hadn't she? She shook her head and sighed. She wasn't sure if that was confidence-inspiring or not. Somehow, if she was the one coming up with all the ideas, she felt like they were in even more desperate circumstances than she had realized. With a sigh, the asari went back to work.

* * *

**Resort Hospital, Mivian Heights…**

Aida looked at the line of massage tables stretched out across the tiled floor that surrounded the pool, nodding to herself in satisfaction. The Alliance team sent to secure the area had discovered a basement section of the resort that she'd missed on her first pass through the building, including a number of massage rooms and a full bar and restaurant. The hotel's supply of food had been entirely cleaned out by the staff when they fled, but everything else remained. Aida had decided that the massage tables were perfect in height for use in treating patients, and thus she had her team of assistants move them upstairs, closer to the bedrooms they would be using as recovery areas.

The entire area smelled of chlorinated water and traces of bleach and sanitizer, and Aida inhaled deeply, nodding to herself. She, Doctor Tillman, and their team of assistants had been hard at work for hours, scouring every surface in the building on both floors. After their labors, the place was as clean and sanitary as any hospital, though perhaps a little more humid, thanks to the pool. Now that their work was complete, Aida walked over to one of the lounge chairs they had pushed off into the corner; the last one in the row was positioned right next to the captain's stasis pod, which Gradian's men had kindly shuttled down for her. Sinking into the seat, she reached over to rest her hand on the device, seizing the opportunity to rest. She actually felt better than she had in some time; the headache that had been plaguing her incessantly for the last two days had finally faded.

"This was an excellent find," Rebecca Tillman lowered herself into a nearby chair. "Much better than the library basement. I'm really glad Gradian's team found you and your friends. I don't know what we'd have done without you."

"I am sure you would have done fine," Aida smiled at the human woman. "You are all capable and resourceful people."

"Maybe," Rebecca admitted. "But you've still made our situation a little brighter."

Aida just nodded, her gaze far away. Their new hospital was an improvement and a minor cause for celebration, but the entire situation was still so bleak. There was a significant chance that a Reaper would eventually land on the town above and obliterate it, and then everyone in their new hospital would essentially be trapped in a giant pit for the Reapers to execute at will. She sighed. And as always when her thoughts turned to such dark topics, she felt the need to find something to do.

"I should check on Mitchelson," she muttered.

"No need," Rebecca shook her head. "I just looked in on him. His vitals are strong and he is resting comfortably in his recovery room. I also had one of the boys bring down several dozen datapads salvaged from the library for use in keeping patient records. I'd like to keep details on each patient handy, since there are two of us working here. That way there's no need to find one another and ask about a patient. All our notes should be in one place."

"Makeshift hospital charts," Aida nodded. "Good idea."

"It isn't the modern system of biometric data access used in most hospitals, but it will do for now. I already set one up for each of the patients in recovery. When you get a chance, would you look at them and add any notes you feel should be added?"

"Of course," Aida nodded.

"Shuttle incoming!" one of the men on guard duty shouted as he entered through the door. "It's not one of the skycars," he added.

Aida and Rebecca exchanged glances, and both women slipped out of their chairs and hurried toward the door. They followed the guard out into the connecting corridor in the back of the building and from there through the exit onto the back patio. Sure enough, there was a shuttle floating down onto the landing field, which was located behind a wall of foliage that concealed it from the view of the hotel. Several of the guards were already on their way out with weapons ready, since their visitor was in a vehicle they didn't recognize.

"What do you make of this?" Rebecca asked.

"I have no idea," Aida sighed. Somehow, she wasn't expecting good news.

There was nothing for the two women to do but wait while the sentries spoke to whoever was at the controls of the shuttle. Curiosity was eating the asari alive. Who even knew that this place was down here? Had someone from the hotel's staff returned? Or had the Alliance sent reinforcements?

She was not prepared for the scene that greeted her when the sentries returned. The two Alliance soldiers had been joined by the scarred human mercenary from Salik's team, and the three were struggling to carry another Prothean stasis pod up the path toward the hotel. Behind them, Prathus had his arm around Neela, who was hopping on one leg while the turian assisted her up the path, staggering as if he was seriously injured. Aida's heart leapt into her throat, and she sprinted out to the pair, taking over the task of supporting the injured quarian.

"By the Goddess, what happened?" she demanded.

"T'Zari was right," Prathus growled. "_That's_ what happened."

"Salik betrayed you?"

"He almost killed Selura," Neela's voice was shaking, though whether with anger or grief was difficult for Aida to say. "He may have killed me too," the quarian added sullenly.

"What?" the word came out as a gasp.

"He has some sort of weapon that disables technology," Prathus explained.

"When he shot me with it, everything went dead," Neela took over. "My suit's functions are offline. Most of the filters too. And there's some sort of contaminant inside of my suit."

Aida bit her lip, suddenly more than a little worried. If the protective features in the quarian's suit were offline, she might die of infection due to the exposure. It was of paramount importance that they get her isolated immediately. Unfortunately, while they had plans to turn the steam rooms into clean rooms for quarantine, they hadn't yet been able to set them up. She could feel the quarian shaking as she supported her, and it wasn't a good sign.

"We have to get her isolated immediately," Aida shouted to Rebecca, who was hurrying over to them. "Her suit has been compromised. We need to examine her somehow, but… I don't know how to do it without exposing her to even more danger than she already has been."

"I need to get up to the city above," Rebecca turned toward the sentry that was with her. "Signal the skycab. I need a full suit of armor with working environmental seals. And we need a team of engineers down here ASAP."

"I'm on it," the young man nodded, hurrying out toward the landing zone.

"What is the plan?" Aida asked the doctor.

"With a full environmentally-sealed suit and helmet, I can be thoroughly sanitized and locked inside one of the sauna rooms with your friend. That way we can get her out of that suit and I can examine her without exposing her to anything I might be carrying. You have to set the engineers to work on creating an airlock chamber outside of the sauna. We can cannibalize the decontamination systems in that shuttle to convert the sauna and the airlock to a clean room facility."

"We need the shuttle," Prathus was quick to point out. "How long will it take your engineers to get what they need out of it?"

"Twenty minutes at most," Rebecca's tone suggested it was a guess.

"Alright," the turian nodded.

"What do you need the shuttle for?" Aida inquired.

"That bastard Golash has a ship hidden outside of the city," Prathus explained. "Zaeed and I are going to beat him to it. I'm not about to let him just run off to whoever he answers to after he betrayed us. If we can strand him on this planet, then we have a chance to find him and deal with him."

"How did you know to land down here?" Aida asked.

"We didn't," Neela's voice clearly indicated she was in a great deal of pain, "We landed up above and were told you set up a hospital down here."

"Oh," Aida nodded at the answer. "How bad is your leg?"

"I reinjured my knee during the fighting, but when that bosh'tet pushed me off the ledge, my ankle hit the walkway below. It's definitely broken," the quarian's voice was edged in steel.

"Do not worry, Neela," Aida tried to reassure her. "You will be alright."

"Don't worry about me. You have to save Selura. Please," Neela pleaded. "She has to be alright. I can't lose her."

"We will do what we can," Aida promised. Selura's conspicuous absence had already made it clear who was inside the new stasis pod, which was why she never asked where the girl was. Since she was in stasis, however, her treatment could wait. "But I need to tend to you two first. She is safe for now," her gaze turned toward the turian, who was still staggering along awkwardly even though he was no longer supporting the quarian. "Prathus, where are you injured?" she asked.

"My leg. But it can wait. It's just a flesh wound. My armor took the worst of it."

"Out of the question," Aida shook her head firmly. "If we have twenty minutes, I'm going to get you patched up before you go."

"Dalinas-"

"Do not argue with me," the asari glared at her XO, "We have the time, and I will see to your injuries before you go."

"You should see to the captain and Leneur," Prathus protested. "I'm fine."

"You are _not_ fine. You are injured. The captain and Selura can wait. They are in stasis," Aida pointed out.

"Fine," the turian sighed.

"Speaking of stasis, where did you get the new stasis pod?" Aida asked.

"The Prothean ruins. There's a whole room full of them," Prathus muttered. "But more importantly, we have what we were after," he added. "There's a datapad on the shuttle. It has all of the information on the Prothean stasis pods. It should tell us how to shut down the stasis."

_Thank the Goddess_, Aida thought in relief. _At least we can now save the captain and Selura…_

"We should get the stasis pods wired into the building's power systems so that they have a stable power source," Aida suggested to Rebecca. "Once we get the captain and Selura out of them and treated, we can use them to place critically-injured patients in stasis until we have the supplies to save them."

"Good thinking," Rebecca nodded.

"This place has power?" Neela asked. "How?"

"It's geothermal," Doctor Tillman answered before Aida could. "The entire area is geologically active, and the building has been constructed with the tech to use that energy for power. Aida was lucky enough to discover the place."

"It is our new hospital," Aida smiled.

"I'm glad you found it," Neela admitted. "I was pretty sure I would die of exposure. If this place has power and you can do what you say, maybe I still have a chance…"

"Be honest, Neela," Aida urged. "We need to know. How do you feel?"

"Not good," the quarian sighed as they assisted her into the building, maneuvering her down the hall toward the pool area and the locker rooms waiting beyond. "I'm sure I'm running a fever. I'm shaking and my head is throbbing… I feel nauseous. And it's getting hard to breathe."

Aida frowned worriedly, glancing over at the human woman, who looked similarly concerned. Nothing else was said until they got Neela settled on the bench in the sauna connected to the women's locker room. As the quarian stretched out on the hard wooden surface, the doctor cautioned her.

"We will be bringing something more comfortable in here," the human woman promised. "Remain in your suit until I return. Once I'm properly outfitted to treat you, and the engineers wire the decon systems into the sauna, we'll be locked in here together for a while. Then we can get you out of that suit and get you treated. Until then, try to rest."

"Thank you," Neela muttered.

They withdrew from the room and closed the door, and then the three of them walked out of the locker area to the pool, where Zaeed and the two Alliance sentries were just settling Selura's pod on the floor next to the other one. Aida turned toward Rebecca, watching her with concern.

"Do you think we can save her?" she asked, unable to keep the worry from her tone.

"I don't know," Rebecca sighed. "I'm sorry. I don't know much about quarian physiology other than vague theory. But like all of her people, her immune system is bound to be very weak. And worse, quarian physiology is symbiotic, meaning that instead of fighting infections and pathogens, her body will try to adapt to them. I can't lie… she is in serious danger."

"But human diseases can't infect another species, right?" Prathus asked. "So what is making her sick?"

"She can't contract a disease native to this world, true," Rebecca nodded. "But any microorganisms native to this planet would cause a serious allergic reaction if she were exposed to them. And because quarian immune systems are so weak, she wouldn't have the natural resistance to them that you do. You can breathe here without suffering ill effects from anything in the air. In a quarian, that same exposure might cause a minor allergic response, or the reaction could be so severe as to be fatal."

"How did this happen?" Aida turned her gaze upon Prathus, unable to keep from glaring. "You all _knew_ he could not be trusted! How did he manage to almost kill two of you?"

"Three," Prathus corrected.

"What?"

"He almost killed all three of us," Prathus admitted, scowling. "If that human hadn't opened fire on his vorcha ally, the damned creature might have killed me before I even saw him coming," his eyes lingered on Zaeed, who was talking to some of the Alliance soldiers on the other side of the room.

"But… how?"

"I don't know how he surprised Leneur," Prathus admitted. "By the time we found her, she was bleeding to death on the floor. As for Xara, she said she was too anxious to see Leneur, and he was leading her to the girl, so she wasn't paying attention to him as a threat. She followed him right to her body, and by the time she registered what was happening, he had already disabled all her tech. Me… I let my guard down. I was letting myself unwind a bit when the vorcha came for me. Like I said, I might never have seen it coming…"

"How badly is Selura injured?" Aida asked.

"The bastard used armor-piercing mods. She's got two holes clear through her abdomen according to Xara. The shots punched right through her armor front and back. And she lost a lot of blood."

"We do not have any synthetic blood substitute for asari on hand," Aida muttered. "I do not know if any of us have compatible genetic markers," she added. While asari didn't have blood types in the fashion that humans did, there were certain genetic markers in their blood that made some members of their species incompatible with others in terms of transfusions or organ-donations. "I will have to run some scans."

"Doc," a voice interrupted their conversation. All three turned to see that the sentry from outside was waiting by the door. "The skycab is on its way down," the man informed them.

"I'll do everything I can for her," Rebecca promised them both, obviously referring to Neela. "In the meantime, get one of those massage tables in there so she has something comfortable to rest on and I have a good surface to work from. And get me a few packets of medigel and any dextro-based meds we have left."

"She's got a bunch of dextro meds on her," Prathus told them. "I gave her our entire store before we hit Cerberus."

"Good. I'll be back soon," the Doctor assured them before hurrying off.

"Help me get one of those tables in there and get her settled on it?" Aida asked Prathus. "And then I'll get your wounds treated."

"I'm glad you are here and able to help us," Prathus told her solemnly. "As much as these humans have done for us, I feel a lot better knowing that you're involved in our care."

Aida nodded, but couldn't bring herself to comment. She was only an intern, and there was still a great deal of uncertainty regarding the fate not only of Neela, but of Selura and the captain as well. She hoped that all three would survive, but her fears were beginning to eclipse that hope. As they lifted one of the massage tables and started carrying it into the locker room, she prayed to the Goddess for some luck. They needed it.

* * *

**Ten Kilometers Outside Scott, Capital City of Terra Nova…**

Zaeed glanced at the turian seated in the co-pilot's seat of the shuttle, trying to get a read on his expression. It wasn't an easy task. While he could usually interpret the subtle motions of the mandibles around a turian's mouth, when they were sitting stone-faced and still as Prathus was now, it was a lot harder to make anything of their emotional state. He was concerned… not for the turian's sake, but for his own. If he was going into a dangerous situation with an unstable partner at his side, it put him in danger. Doubly so, since his partner was injured. Unfortunately, the turian had insisted on being there. Zaeed would have been more comfortable making this a solo mission.

They had spent almost an hour lingering in the hospital area after they dropped off the injured. Prathus had been treated for the injuries he suffered against Cerberus, and the Alliance had pulled the decontamination systems out of their shuttle. By the time they'd left, the Alliance engineers were well on their way to constructing an airlock enclosure around the sauna to turn it into a clean room, using metal plating from a number of sheds and storage structures around the landing pad. It had been difficult to convince the turian to leave despite their goal.

"Are we close?" the turian finally asked with a hint of impatience in his voice.

"Almost. Just keep your head when we get down there," Zaeed cautioned.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"We're on a mission. This isn't personal."

"That bastard almost killed two of my comrades. He betrayed us. This is _very _personal."

"I need your head clear," Zaeed's expression hardened. "If I can't count on you, I'm better off without you."

"I'm not going to get either of us killed," Prathus assured him. "I mean to survive long enough to shove my fist down the traitor's throat."

Zaeed snorted. He harbored similar feelings about the Illusive Man, and could certainly understand the feeling. If the turian was as committed to his revenge as Zaeed was, then their partnership would work out just fine. When this was over, they'd have the salarian's ship, and then they only needed to track him down. The problem was, with a whole planet to hide on, finding him wouldn't be easy. Zaeed had promised to help, but he had his own revenge to pursue. If it took longer than a couple of months to find Salik, he would be taking the ship and getting off-world with it.

They were closing in on their destination, so Zaeed veered off and started circling, looking for a clear spot to land the shuttle amidst the sparse woodland that covered the area. When he finally found a clearing large enough to easily land the shuttle, he set the vehicle down and powered down the systems. Prathus was out of his seat before the engines were even shut off, collecting his gear and preparing to disembark. Zaeed joined him at the shuttle door as soon as he was able.

"What are we dealing with here exactly?" Prathus inquired.

"Before we left the ship, Salik deployed two sentry drones to protect the area while we were gone," Zaeed informed him. "I didn't recognize the configuration, but I have to assume they'll have enough firepower to pose a serious threat. There'll probably be a security lockout on the ship's systems, but with luck, my auto-hacker will break the security."

"Are you sure Golash will avoid coming here if the drones are offline?"

"Yeah," Zaeed nodded. "Like I said before, he's a planner. I'm sure if he realizes his ship is compromised, he won't even risk it. He'll fall back somewhere to come up with a new plan… if he hasn't got a backup plan already."

Prathus's mandibles twitched in a way that suggested frustration. Zaeed understood completely. Having seen his own personal nemesis Vido escape his grasp had been one of the most infuriating moments of his life, and there had been many. It was hard to know that a traitor was out there enjoying life when he should have been long dead.

"Don't let it get to you," Zaeed suggested. "Once we have his ship, it's only a matter of time before we track the jackass down."

"I hope you're right. He doesn't get to walk away. Not after what he did," the turian vowed.

"Right then," Zaeed pulled his rifle and activated the targeting systems. "Approach with caution. Once we engage the first sentry, it'll definitely draw the second one. But they're just drones. They won't be brilliant tacticians. Dig in and take 'em down."

"No problem," Prathus voiced his confidence, rifle ready.

Nodding to himself, Zaeed hit the trigger for the door, and the two of them left the shuttle, spreading apart and advancing into the undergrowth that dominated the sparse expanse of woodlands. The ever-present brambles forced them to weave through the growth where it was thinnest, but they made sure to stay within easy visual range of one-another. Zaeed scanned his surroundings warily while they moved. The drones were simple constructs, programmed to patrol the perimeter, and as such, they wouldn't be innovative. Their job would be easy. The hardest part would be hacking the ship's controls so that they could access the systems.

Or so he thought.

The first shots struck him in the back, shattering his shield with a single burst of fire. He dove behind the nearest tree, cursing when he was safely behind cover. He had no idea how one of the drones had gotten behind him, but he was going to chalk it up to Prathus not being focused. He knew _he _had been watching their surroundings, so the turian must have missed it. He leaned out to return fire, but when he did, his eyes narrowed… he didn't see the target. He heard the turian call out to see if he was alright.

The resounding sounds of gunfire echoed through the trees to his right, and he could hear Prathus cursing and returning fire. Zaeed's shield came back online, so he darted out of cover and headed over to help, but the instant he was moving, he was shot in the back for the second time. The impact against his shields rocked him and once again the barrier collapsed, but this time he just rolled to the right, twisted, and immediately returned fire. He could see the shimmer around the drone as his shots were deflected by the machine's shields. He quickly took cover behind another tree.

"I lost mine," he heard the turian shout a warning. "Where the hell did they come from?"

"You tell me," Zaeed growled, putting his back against the tree and watching for the second drone. "I was watching my surroundings."

"So was I," Prathus retorted. "I thought these were simple drones!"

Any further conversation between the two was cut off when a drone suddenly swung out from behind a tree and opened fire on the mercenary. The first several shots struck his armor and one penetrated the plating and bit into his side. His armor immediately flooded the area with medigel in response to the breach. He dove away from his cover to get out of the line of fire, rolling and scrambling toward another tree. His original attacker was quick to respond when he was in the open, and only his armor and the fact that he was in motion kept him safe from their combined barrage; several more shots ricocheted off of the protective gear, but none penetrated.

The sound of a Mattock firing reached him just as he was diving behind a fallen log, and he nodded in satisfaction. At least the turian was taking some of the pressure off of him. He rolled over and rose to a crouch, quickly spotting one of the drones as it fired on the turian. With the injuries to his legs, Prathus was slow to get to cover. Zaeed squeezed off several shots, but he was worried by the fact that he didn't see the other drone anywhere. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn the drones were actually _thinking_ and employing cooperative tactics. His instincts told him that the second drone was circling around behind one of them. So without waiting for his shields to recharge, he abandoned his cover and moved around to cover the turian's back.

He wasn't wrong. The second drone was floating around behind the turian, who had taken cover behind a large, jagged boulder. Zaeed's eyes narrowed and he set his sights on the machine, calling out a warning to his partner. "On your six!"

Prathus whirled around at the warning, and the two of them opened fire on the drone simultaneously. Their target employed evasive maneuvers and returned fire, forcing Prathus to abandon his attack and stagger for another source of cover, but their combined shots managed to overwhelm the machine's shields. Zaeed saw the flash when the barrier went down and continued to fire, but the moment it was exposed, the drone broke off its attack and backed off, weaving behind trees to get out of the line of fire. Only a few of his shots actually struck the drone's armored shell before he lost it.

"Son of a bitch," Zaeed muttered when realization dawned. He quickly dashed to a nearby tree and set his back against it.

"These things aren't drones," Prathus called out.

"I just realized that," Zaeed shouted back. "They're using tactics and actually trying to protect themselves. They're goddamn AI!"

This revelation brought the danger to a whole new level. The two of them had been expecting simple sentry drones and were apparently dealing with intelligent sentries. They needed to quickly isolate one of the drones and destroy it so that they could focus on the other. By now, the drone they had damaged would have regenerated its shields.

Prathus hobbled through the undergrowth and crouched behind a rock near Zaeed's tree, activating his omni-tool and quickly scrolling through the programs installed on it. "I've got my electromagnetic pulse generator," he suggested. "We need to bring the shields down on one of them and take it out."

"Agreed," Zaeed nodded. "When you spot your target, hit it. I'll zero in on the flash and take it out before it has time to run. By now they have to be flanking us, so watch your back."

No sooner had he said the words than weapons fire pelted the two of them from the left. Both of their shields had fully regenerated, so they were saved from the incoming fire, but the drones packed too much firepower not to take cover before commencing their counterattack. Zaeed repositioned, putting the tree between himself and the drone, and he saw Prathus do the same. Once they both had cover, they put their plan into effect. Prathus targeted the drone and hit it with an overload burst, and Zaeed fired on the machine as fast as he was able to pull the trigger. The instant the overload stripped the machine of its shields it started to withdraw, but Zaeed's first shots struck it directly, and he tracked it with precise aim, putting bullet after bullet through the polymer at the front of the machine that housed its sensor suite. Within moments, it plummeted from the air.

The second drone streaked past at high speed, apparently fleeing the combat. Prathus and Zaeed both fired at it, but it was lost to their sight within moments. With their enemy gone, the two soldiers stepped out of cover and exchanged glances.

"What the hell is an STG operative doing with functioning AI?" Zaeed growled.

"There seem to be a lot of 'what the hell' questions concerning Golash," Prathus pointed out. "Are you sure he's STG?"

"Of course not," Zaeed shook his head. "He's said it multiple times, but I didn't check his goddamn credentials. He was just an employer."

"So where did the other drone run off to?"

"The ship would be my guess. With its mate down, it must have fallen back to defend the ship."

"So we go and finish it off, right?" Prathus suggested. "It's alone now, so it can't tag team us and hit us in the back anymore."

"Right," Zaeed nodded, his gaze falling to the turian's leg, where there were holes in the armor. "You okay?"

Prathus followed the mercenary's gaze and shrugged. "That leg doesn't work right anyway. Let's just get this done."

Zaeed snorted and raised his rifle, leading the way toward the ship. He'd had his misgivings about working with the turian on this little mission, but he had to admit that without him, he would have been in over his head. The two AI drones would have pinned him down and finished him without the extra help. And he admired the turian's spirit. He hadn't known many soldiers during his entire career that would have staggered around with two injured legs and still been dedicated to completing the mission.

They covered the distance to the ship without incident. When they reached the edge of the clearing where the ship was resting, both men came to a halt, taking cover behind trees and cautiously scanning the area. The ship's exterior hatch was open, and there were no signs of movement.

"It must be inside the ship," Prathus suggested.

"But why?" Zaeed wondered aloud. "It has good maneuverability in the air. It's restricting itself too much by retreating to an enclosed space, not to mention cornering itself."

"Then what could it be thinking?"

"Son of a bitch!" Zaeed swore, suddenly understanding. He left his cover behind and made a dash toward the open airlock, shouting, "Salik always has a plan!"

Zaeed heard gunshots commence even as he ran across the rocky clearing toward the waiting ship. He could see flashes through the cockpit's viewports, and realized what a mistake they'd made. The salarian was nothing if not a planner, and if he'd left intelligent machines to guard his ship, of course he'd give them instructions to make sure that if the ship was in danger of being lost, it would be sacrificed to keep it out of enemy hands. As he raced up the ramp into the airlock, he saw the drone streak by in the corridor beyond, headed toward the rear of the ship.

He glanced into the cockpit briefly, and saw that the controls had all been destroyed. Then he heard the sound of renewed gunfire from the rear of the vessel. He followed the noise and found the drone firing upon the ship's eezo core, which was powered up and active. He opened fire on the machine, but its only response was to circle around behind the core, continuing to fire on the engine. Zaeed cursed and turned, running for the exit. When the machine breached the engine's containment, the core would explode. He almost ran into the turian at the ramp to the airlock, and gave Prathus a rough shove, ordering him to run. Prathus never questioned him, reversing course immediately. Zaeed grabbed the turian's armor to drag him along since Prathus could barely walk, let alone run. The two of them put as much distance as possible between themselves and the ship.

They were almost to the edge of the clearing when a deafening explosion occurred. The force of the blast hurled them both into the trees, and Zaeed reflexively shielded his helmeted head in an effort to protect himself against the inevitable impact. When he hit the ground a moment later, the impact jarred every bone in his body and sent a wave of pain cascading through him. He lay perfectly still, stunned by the landing. The air filled with the stench of smoke, melting polymers and the bitter smell of eezo dust. Zaeed rolled over and sat up with a groan, clutching at his ribs… he was sure a few were broken. Nearby, the turian was lying unconscious amidst the thorny shrubs, bleeding from a nasty head wound.

Zaeed reached into the pocket on his belt that held his store of medigel, and he crouched beside the turian, quickly smearing a generous portion of the bioplasm over the wound to keep it from bleeding. Then he turned his gaze through the trees toward the clearing.

The only thing left of the ship was a massive crater, surrounded by chunks of twisted metal. He scowled and ground his teeth in frustration. He had needed that ship. He needed to get off of Terra Nova if he was ever going to continue to pursue his revenge on the Illusive Man. But he had underestimated the amount of forethought the salarian had put into every aspect of this mission. He wouldn't do so again. From this point on, he would be assuming that anything they thought of, the salarian had considered first. So when they finally found the amphibious bastard, they would have to be unpredictable.

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* * *

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**Author's Note: As always, thank you to everyone who has read, commented, favorited/followed or otherwise paid any attention at all to my story. It's much appreciated and has gone a long way toward keeping me motivated for months now. I can only hope I continue to hold your attention for the Chapters to come. Hopefully it won't be too spoilery if I say that the story may slow down a little on action for the next couple of Chapters. I figure there's no harm in warning you all ahead of time since it should be fairly obvious considering that most of the cast is moderately to severely injured at this point and the futures of some are altogether uncertain. But I promise that once the fallout from the recent action and all the injuries is dealt with in the coming Chapters, things will pick up again on the action front.**

**Also, the info in this Chapter about the possible dangers Neela faces is merely my take on things. I'm not a microbiologist, and the games were sort of vague about the specific dangers of infection quarians face when injured, but I figure bacteria on a non-dextro world would be unable to actually thrive in a dextro-based life form. They'd be a foreign form of environment. So I figured the specific danger would be from allergic reaction and the quarian body's attempt to adapt to it rather than from the microbes or contaminants actively doing damage. As I said, I'm not a doctor and I may be way off-base there. Hopefully my readers can just go with me on this point. :)**

**Barring any catastrophes or unforeseen developments, the next update to the story should come on Saturday. While the action may slow down a little while the characters try to recuperate, there is still a bunch of upcoming material I'm really excited to share, so I can promise I'll be doing my best to stay on schedule.**

**I hope everyone has a great week!**


	34. Chapter 34: Incapacity

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Thirty-Four: Incapacity

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**Resort Hospital, Mivian Heights…**

Neela had never felt so embarrassed or miserable in her life. Her people spent most of their lives in their enviro-suits, even among family. There were very few instances in which they were exposed to others, and most of those involved close family… reproduction, childbirth, and the like. Even when injured, quarians typically removed only the sections of their suits necessary for the doctors to do their work. The human doctor had entered the room in a full, sealed suit of armor, and once the door was sealed, the chamber had been thoroughly cleansed and decontaminated with the newly-installed decontamination system. Once it was safe to do so, the human woman helped Neela out of her environmental suit. It felt almost humiliating to the injured pilot to be without her suit in the presence of another. Since she didn't have a mate and hadn't given birth, the last time she had been nude in front of another living soul had been in her childhood, before she was fitted for her first suit. The fact that it was a complete stranger that had seen her so exposed only made it worse. She was now covered mostly by a sheet, but it didn't make her feel any better.

She had expected Selura to be the first person to see her in such a state. It shamed her to admit it to herself, but she had actually spent more time dwelling on the idea of late than she felt was proper. The human woman had been polite and businesslike – she didn't gawk or comment – but Neela still felt sure that by the day's end, the majority of the humans in the town would have a secondhand description of what a quarian looked like without the suit. She was fighting back tears as she tried to remain still for the doctor to do her work. She wasn't having much success with the latter; her lungs felt like they were on fire, and as a result, she was coughing almost constantly. The doctor's first act after getting her out of the suit had been to inject her with every dextro-based immuno-booster, antihistamine and antibiotic she had on hand, but it remained to be seen whether any of it would help.

The majority of her body was covered with a light dusting of fine, black grit. The doctor was currently using sterile gauze to carefully wipe it away from her injured leg, so that whatever it was, it wouldn't contaminate the brace she intended to put on Neela's ankle to keep it immobile so that it could heal. The quarian sighed. The impact with the walkway had been forceful indeed. Most of quarian body structure was higher in density than that of other species, including their bones. Their flesh was a little more resistant to piercing than most species, and their bones were much harder to break.

"What are these implants?" the human doctor asked her, tracing a finger along the line of a dark metallic inlay that ran up the side of Neela's calf.

"They're cybernetic interfaces for the suit," Neela explained, but was interrupted by a fit of coughing. Her voice was already becoming hoarse. "They connect to the tactile emulators in the suit so that we can feel our surroundings to some degree, and they also gather physiological data for the suit's biometric and medical programs."

Had Neela not been so upset over having been exposed to a stranger, she would have been glad to be out of her suit for a single reason. With the systems offline, the suit had started to feel uncomfortably isolating… like a shell. Without the tactile emulation systems to give her some ability to feel her surroundings, and without the interior environmental systems to provide some measure of comfort, the suit made her feel terribly disconnected from everything around her. She'd never felt that way about her suit before, and it had been extremely distracting.

"They're corroded," the doctor pointed out, returning Neela's thoughts to the matter at hand.

"What?" Neela sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest. "They can't be. They're made of a high-quality conductive metallic fiber."

She couldn't tell from her vantage if the doctor's statement was true or not, but she was extremely upset by the idea. The cybernetic implants were specially-constructed to last a lifetime. Replacing them would require access to her people's resources and she would need to undergo surgery conducted by trained specialists. And without them… even if she could get her suit repaired somehow, she would still be disconnected from the world around her. Tears spilled down her cheeks.

The doctor activated her omni-tool and ran a scan of the implants in Neela's leg, bringing up a magnified view of the results for both of them to see. When Neela saw the holographic image, she started sobbing. The doctor had been wrong. They weren't corroded. There were hundreds of precise, microscopic cuts through them. But the end result was the same. They were ruined.

"I'm sorry," was all the doctor could say. Her tone conveyed a deep level of sympathy, but it didn't make Neela feel any better.

"I don't understand," Neela cried, coughing violently. "How could this happen?"

The doctor shook her head, scanning the black grit she had collected on one of the pieces of sterile gauze. Neela settled back into a laying position, covering her face with her hands. She hoped Aida was working on saving Selura. She desperately needed some good news right now.

"I think I know how your suit was disabled," the doctor's tone was filled with discomfort.

"How?" Neela raised her head and then stopped, staring in disbelief at the holographic image displayed above the human's omni-tool.

A spider-like synthetic construct stared back at her. It was clearly made of metallic materials, and in the place of mandibles that might have been seen on a real spider, there were small emitters of some kind, likely for the projection of lasers or some other form of cutting tool. She raised her arm, staring at the black grit that was clinging to her skin, and felt a chill run up her spine.

"This stuff is some sort of nanite swarm?" she felt a second shiver run through her.

"It seems so. They must have invaded your suit and cut their way through the systems to get inside. Then they found the implants and continued their work. If they were created for the purpose of disabling tech, they would have attacked anything synthetic they encountered."

Neela's skin was crawling. The idea of millions or billions of tiny synthetic spiders crawling around inside her suit had her on the verge of panic, even though she was no longer wearing it. "Give me the rest of the gauze," she urged. "I need them off of me."

"You won't be able to clean yourself up," the doctor shook her head. "Let me brace your ankle, and then I'll help you."

"No," Neela shook her head firmly. "I'll do it myself."

"Neela…" the doctor stared at her through the visor of her helmet.

"I'll do it myself," Neela repeated with emphasis.

_I will not have a stranger cleansing every inch of my body. The only one I'd ever consider letting help me with something like that…_ Her eyes drifted to the blacked-out window in the door of the sauna, and her thoughts turned to the young asari scientist that had claimed her heart. She felt herself blushing. _Well, it's not this doctor_…

"It's up to you," the doctor finally said. "But let me tend to your leg first."

Neela closed her eyes, trying to suppress the urge to cough and let the doctor do her work. Her condition was deteriorating, and she knew it. She could feel, more than hear, a wheeze in every breath she took, and she felt dizzy and feverish. Queasiness filled her stomach, and it was clearly only a matter of time before she started vomiting. Of course she was immune to any of the diseases that would be found on a world habitable to humans – her DNA and that of the world's natural life forms were incompatible – but the anaphylaxis caused by whatever microbes she'd been exposed to had the potential to be deadly. The immuno-boosters and other antihistamines the doctor had injected to help her body fight off the effects of environmental exposure weren't helping much.

_Keelah… Please let me live long enough to know that Selura is okay…_

* * *

**Kate Bowman Elementary School, Scott…**

Illitha yawned, trying to focus on her work and ignore the growling of her stomach. The complexity of the encryption on the copied data from the salarian's omni was incredible, but she felt like she was on the verge of cracking it. She'd already breached several layers of protection and was working on what she was confident was the final security block. But she'd been at it for hours, and she knew she would have to sleep soon. Only the determination to find out just how many of her suspicions were correct was driving her forward at this point.

She was so focused on the task at hand that she never heard anyone enter the room. And so, when a steaming bowl was suddenly placed before her, it startled her. She looked up in astonishment, and saw Rachel settling herself into the seat opposite her. Her gaze went from the face of the blonde soldier to the bowl, and she smiled, appreciatively inhaling the aroma rising from the contents of the container.

"Ramen," she murmured.

"You said if you survived to get back here, you were going to have some in celebration," Rachel grinned at her. "There are a lot of hungry people here, so it wasn't easy to smuggle that to you."

Illitha frowned and considered the implications. Rachel was right to admonish her. There were children in the building that could have used the food far more than she. She pushed it away with a sigh.

"You are right," she said softly. "The y-youngest children should share it."

"Absolutely not," Rachel shook her head. "I was only teasing about smuggling it to you. You saved my life today… twice. You came up with the plan that will get these people out of here. You found the food to begin with. Eat."

"I cannot eat while-"

"Eat it," Rachel cut her off insistently. "You need to keep up your strength. Everyone else can eat once we get them back to Mivian Heights. Besides, you promised yourself this treat."

Illitha was torn. She felt horribly guilty over the idea of eating a human delicacy while there were hungry people throughout the building. But she hadn't eaten in quite some time, and her stomach was trying desperately to overrule her conscience at the moment. She sighed. As powerful as her stomach's growling argument was, she couldn't let children go hungry while she ate.

"Give it to the kids," she insisted.

Rachel gave an exasperated sigh. "Think about it for a minute, will you? You found two servings of ramen. There are dozens of kids and a handful of teenagers and adults in this building. If you feed two of them, you're likely to make the rest angry and resentful. I'd be surprised if people didn't start fighting over it. You deserve a meal. And if you eat without anyone else knowing, it doesn't hurt anyone."

Illitha stared at the bowl again. Rachel was correct, of course. It was hardly fair to feed just a few while everyone else went hungry, but that didn't make her feel any better.

"Eat your food, or I swear I'll sit on your chest and force feed it to you, Spectre," Rachel threatened.

Illitha laughed. She couldn't help it. The vivid image brought to mind of the noodles being forced down her throat in that fashion was too amusing to resist. She finally sighed and nodded, deactivating her omni-tool and pulling the bowl over in front of herself. She knew she'd feel even guiltier when she was finished, but Rachel's insistence was hard to refuse.

"So what is it that you're working on?" Rachel asked, leaning back in her chair.

"D-Decrypting data," Illitha murmured, closing her eyes and reveling in the warmth that filled her when the first bite of noodles hit her stomach. "It is important."

"Where'd you get it?"

"I… uh…" Illitha shifted uncomfortably. She wasn't sure that she wanted to admit that she'd stolen it.

"I get it," Rachel rescued her. "Classified Spectre business. Not my concern," the blonde grinned. "What do you expect to find when you've decrypted it?"

"Bad news," Illitha admitted with a sigh. "I sincerely hope I am wrong, but if I am right, then your Captain Tarrislav has placed everyone in great danger, and my friends are in even worse trouble."

"How so?" Rachel sat forward, her expression filled with concern.

"Th-There were devices… in Mivian Heights," Illitha explained. "Tarrislav accepted the word of a salarian mercenary that they would be harmless if the soldiers kept away from them but otherwise left them alone. B-But I think… I… It seemed to me that the salarian was lying."

"I remember him," Rachel nodded. "He walked by me a few times while I was on duty. Why would he lie?"

"I do not know. But I hope that this data will tell me," Illitha said softly, slurping down another forkful of noodles.

"What makes you think this salarian can't be trusted?"

"I am not sure," Illitha confessed. "It was just a feeling. But that feeling has been getting worse. I think… He… He said he was at the Walters Center before going to Mivian Heights. And someone left a beacon that brought the Reapers right in through your leaders' back door… I-I think he is trying to help the Reapers."

"That's insane," Rachel shook her head. "The Reapers are a threat to everyone. What could he hope to gain by helping them?"

"I do not know. But if I am right, he is a threat to everyone around him. And my friends went with him to do something important…" she trailed off, deeply worried about Neela, Prathus, and Selura. She wished she had some way to contact them.

"Are you close to cracking the encryption?" Rachel asked. "Because if you are… I'd like to see the data, if you don't mind. If this son of a bitch is sabotaging my people… I want to know."

"Of course," Illitha nodded. "I hope I am close. A-And you are more than welcome to see whatever I find."

Rachel smiled faintly and crossed her arms, lapsing into silence. Illitha ate the remainder of her ramen without further conversation, trying to suppress the guilt she felt for eating while others were hungry. But the feeling only grew as she drank the broth left behind when the noodles were gone. When she set the bowl aside, she frowned at her selfishness. But she didn't have time to dwell on it. At the very least, having some food in her stomach made her feel a bit less lethargic, and she set to work on cracking the last layer of encryption. She both dreaded and exulted over the approach of the moment when she would prove or disprove her suspicions.

Rachel sat quietly while she worked, and the asari almost forgot the blonde was there. It took nearly an hour to break through that final protection block, and Illitha was immediately thankful to the instructors and classmates that had helped her to learn data security in her youth. She doubted there were more than a handful of people she'd known in her entire life that could have broken encryption of this complexity. She was actually amazed that _she _cracked it. It made her wonder if she could have had a career as a data specialist instead of an engineer. Not that she would have chosen hacking and encryption over engines and starship operations, but the idea that she'd had other options was still appealing.

"I am in," she announced with a smile of satisfaction, gesturing for Rachel to come closer.

The young blonde picked up her chair and brought it around the desk, settling beside Illitha, who started scrolling through the copied data, looking for something that stood out to her. She had several new forms of defensive software available and dozens of files that were designated only with serial numbers of some kind. When she found entries for a holo-journal, she stopped. If there was one source that would give her the information she needed, that was it.

Taking a deep breath, she scrolled back to the oldest entry and initiated the playback, wondering what sort of information such a journal might contain if her suspicions were right. She sighed when the salarian's image appeared, smiling at them as he gestured to the pristine laboratory that served as a backdrop for his recording.

_"Providence had placed me in a position of importance in the advancement of the salarian race," _the recorded voice of the salarian recounted. _"My first assignment as a member of STG comes as a result of fortuitous timing. Because I was present on the citadel during the Geth attack last year, command assigned me to the salvage team tasked with covertly recovering debris from the Geth flagship. There were a multitude of vessels scrambling to claim the salvage, including freighters STG had identified as possible Cerberus assets, but our efforts resulted in the recovery of several significant pieces of the structure. The construction of this new, top-secret facility has taken time, but those of us on the salvage team have now been assigned to this project, researching the technology we recovered, which has been transferred here."_

"Is he talking about the Battle of the Citadel?" Rachel wondered aloud.

"The timestamp is almost two years ago, and he said 'last year'," Illitha pointed out. "So, I am guessing so."

They watched as the salarian reached toward the recording device, and then the view shifted, panning around the massive laboratory room. There were huge sections of hull plating, intricate chunks of tech, and dozens of other devices the like of which Illitha had never seen. Then the recording was turned around to face the salarian once more.

_"It is exhilarating to be assigned to such a collection of brilliant scientists and operatives to participate in the study of such advanced technology. Command has passed along reports gathered from sources in Alliance command structure suggesting that this flagship was sentient. The humans refer to this ship as a Reaper and insist that the accompanying Geth forces were servants, not designers. Foolish assertions, and no doubt part of human attempts to further usurp control of galactic government. Reports received during the salvage efforts regarding the aftermath of the battle included distressing news: The Destiny Ascension was destroyed, and the Council died when the ship was lost. These two losses, combined with the damage to the Citadel Fleet, have left humanity with one of the strongest forces in the galaxy. They have all but assumed control of the Council since."_

Illitha shifted uncomfortably, glancing sidelong at Rachel, who was scowling. Many citizens of various cultures throughout the galaxy held a negative opinion of humanity, and those opinions had only become stronger after the Battle of the Citadel. The humans had justified the sacrifice of the _Destiny Ascension_ as necessary, but they had been quick to seize a seat on the Council and to place a large number of their people in positions of command in C-Sec afterward. Many people resented their opportunism. Illitha's father had been quite vocal about the unworthiness of humanity, and many in the galaxy shared that opinion. She had a feeling her human companion was going to hear worse as they went through the logs that followed.

_"Our newly-appointed councilors are reportedly still adjusting to their roles and the government is in chaos, so STG has taken autonomy over this project and deleted all traces of it from governmental records. Classified nature of forthcoming work necessitates that only emergency external communication can be conducted. Because contact with family and friends will be impossible for the duration of the project, I have opted to begin this journal in an effort to maintain focus and objectivity. All specimens have been delivered as of this morning and all personnel are present. Initial testing begins tomorrow."_

"So they were running tests on Reaper tech," Rachel mused.

"Have you… Did… Did the Alliance ever tell you about something called 'Indoctrination'?" Illitha asked.

"I heard rumors, mostly, but there was a briefing earlier this year during training, so… yeah," Rachel nodded. "You think he became indoctrinated?"

"I… I do not know. It is hard to believe it is even possible… that a machine could… c-could control your thoughts," Illitha admitted. "But I guess we will find out…"

Illitha initiated the second entry in the journal, staring intently at the screen. At first, she wasn't even sure what she was looking at. The screen was entirely black, though it glinted as though it was a surface with a light shining off of it. As the image zoomed in, however, it became clearer, showing a visible texture of crisscrossing metallic fibers. Salik's voice joined the image.

_"Initial testing of alloys in the flagship's exterior shell has taken weeks to complete and confirm. Astonishing advancements in material composition have puzzled Team Monoi for an extended period. The density and resilience of this material is superior to anything any council species has managed to generate to date. Both fascinating and troubling, however, is the undeniable discovery that this alloy contains a percentage of organic material in its mixture. The technology required to incorporate organic material into a solid alloy surpasses anything of which even our greatest scientists have ever conceived."_

The image turned, and Salik's face appeared on the screen. He was settling into a chair, and he frowned.

_"The sophistication of the samples, not only of exterior plating, but of other components being studied by other teams, is frightening. Should the Geth have advanced as significantly as our preliminary data suggests, implications of continued war against them are troubling. Impossible to determine what other forms of advancements they may have achieved since last recorded contact with organic species. This flagship was responsible for inflicting significant losses upon the Citadel Fleet, and the Geth may have constructed dozens of similar vessels. Impossible to be certain."_

Illitha frowned. She wondered, had the salarians actually been aware of the true nature of what they were studying, if they would have been less secretive about their work. Perhaps, if the other council races had known and assisted, they might have learned something that could have helped them now that they were at war with the Reapers. Or perhaps there just would have been an asari version of Salik out there sabotaging _her_ people.

_"My colleagues on Team Monoi are an exemplary collection of salarians,"_ Salik continued with a smile. _"It is exciting to be part of such a collection of brilliant minds. However, I miss my family and friends. Sincerely hope that this project results in the realization of our goal to advance salarian technology beyond that of the other council races. Should significant improvements be made to salarian technological prowess, perhaps our species can take an even greater role in the shaping of galactic policy. At minimum, increased capabilities might allow for added defense against humanity's ambitions to control the galaxy."_

"Racist asshole," Rachel muttered, crossing her arms. "We never wanted to control the galaxy. We just didn't want to be second-class citizens in it."

Illitha bit her lip and said nothing. She actually hadn't formed any strong opinion one way or the other regarding the human race before the events of the past months, but she had to admit to herself that her own feelings about humans had been sliding toward distrust, prior to ending up on Terra Nova. There were just too many horrible things connected to humanity… the deaths of the Council, loss of the Destiny Ascension, the Alpha Relay explosion, Cerberus… However, since being on this planet, she'd met both the good and the bad in humanity. She could understand why some were so resentful of humanity's position in the galaxy. But she could also see how the humans had earned it.

_"Team Dilast has been assigned to the analysis of what is believed to be a sub-processing unit from the destroyed flagship,"_ Salik's voice continued. _"In the project coordination briefing this morning, it was revealed that their progress has ground to a halt. However, their hypothesis that reactivation of the unit might provide opportunities to bypass this hurdle seems logical. If the unit is active, they might analyze its actual processing routines and capabilities. The entire project's success relies upon this possibility coming to fruition. I maintain an optimistic outlook on their chances."_

"Th-They activated a Reaper processing unit in their laboratory," Illitha frowned. "If Reaper technology can actually influence the thoughts of living creatures… I-I can already guess where this is headed."

"That was the first Reaper ever encountered," Rachel frowned. "They would have had no way to know about indoctrination."

"No… They would not," Illitha murmured. She activated the next recording.

Salik appeared on the screen. He put a hand to his head and closed his eyes, sighing softly. He was clearly in pain, but more than that, his expression suggested frustration. Several moments passed in silence before he finally raised his head and addressed the journal.

_"Headaches continue to plague not only myself, but the entire team. Medical overseer attributes them to stress and isolation, and assures me that we will adjust given sufficient time. However, the incessant throbbing in my cranium stifles creative thought and increases the difficulty of our analysis. Difficulties are only compounded by consistently disturbing dreams and waking hallucinations. Lack of sleep and frustration are clearly taking a toll. Have neglected to mention the latter occurrence to medical personnel during routine exams after Melek was relieved from duty for that very reason. I refuse to be removed from such an important project due to being overtired…"_

The salarian sighed and shook his head, picking up a holo capture, regarding the image silently. Illitha could just make out three salarian figures in the picture… Salik and two others. After gazing at the image for a moment, he set it aside and resumed speaking.

_"Despite repeated attempts to break down the organic markers found in the exterior alloy of the Geth flagship, they do not match any known biological data in our database. Replication of the fabrication process has proven impossible without additional knowledge regarding the source of this organic additive. Resultantly, our primary project has come to a standstill. Daily discussions regarding possible avenues of advancement have proven fruitless."_

He stared at the screen sullenly for a moment, and then raised his hand as if to turn off the recording. He hesitated just long enough to add, _"Disappointment has overcome all of us,"_ before the recording terminated.

"I wish I paid more attention to the indoctrination lecture," Rachel admitted. "It seemed like such an unlikely thing ever to have to deal with. Stay away from Reaper tech, and we're safe…" she sighed. "But if those are the side-effects… Headaches, bad dreams, hallucinations… How could he not realize something was wrong?"

Illitha only shook her head and initiated the next entry, which was extremely short. Salik only complained again about making no headway on the project, and had nothing else of note to say. The dozen or so that followed that one were more or less the same. She scanned down the list of entries, looking for one that had a runtime longer than thirty seconds. Finally finding one, the twenty-ninth entry, she selected it. Salik's image and voice greeted them.

_"Final conclusions and data cataloguing of materials analysis has been completed,"_ he announced without delay. _"Without any measurable progress on analysis of materials in the past two months, our team has been reassigned to the study of some of the independent tech discovered in the remains of the Geth flagship. What the function or purpose of these devices might be is a mystery, but excitement over the prospect of shifting focus to a project where new discoveries might be possible is significant."_

Illitha thought that the salarian's gaze was a little glassy as he regarded the screen, but his smile was prominent. He settled back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

_"Likelihood that the Geth engineered this technology has been universally dismissed by all teams. Now that we are six months into the project, the advanced nature of the technology in comparison to samples of geth weapons and other materials has become obvious. The architects of this vessel were clearly superior, not only to the Geth, but to any race in the known galaxy. Cannot help but to admire any species that could compile such a staggering wealth of knowledge and technological superiority. The desire to learn more has blossomed into an almost compulsive need. To meet such a species and learn what they have to teach us…"_

The salarian sighed wistfully, but Illitha felt a little nauseous. She hadn't really wanted to believe in Indoctrination, but based upon what she'd seen so far in the holo journal, she had to at least acknowledge it as a possibility.

_"Given the chance to ally with such an advanced culture, not many among us would refuse the opportunity. The sophistication of the technology aboard this station was frightening at first, but looking back, I cannot remember why it concerned me as much as it did. Clearly, any intelligence vast enough to achieve such staggering advancements would value reason over conflict. The Geth must have discovered their flagship somewhere and opted to use its secrets for war. The creators of the vessel would be beyond such concerns. Would love to converse with the designers of these vessels and discuss their scientific process…"_

Another series of short, uninteresting progress reports followed that entry, and then there was a gap of several months in the timestamps. Curious about what had caused such a long break in journal entries, she selected the first one after the jump and initiated the playback.

Salik's image appeared on the screen, but he was in a dark room, and his face was illuminated only by the light of his omni-tool. His voice was hushed, as if he didn't want to be overheard, and his expression was grave.

_"Troubling occurrences have plagued this station, forcing me to abandon this journal in favor of more important activities. The majority of the project personnel have become paranoid and subversive. The medical overseer even had the temerity to suggest that the active technology around us has been influencing our behavior. Ridiculous. Several prominent project members suggested that this research should be terminated and all specimens destroyed,"_ the salarian scowled.

_"Obviously, steps had to be taken to ensure that research could continue unimpeded. Several of us coordinated to sabotage station communications and escape shuttles, and we have locked out the central computers and engineering access to prevent dissidents from either fleeing or destroying the station. Working together, we have managed to neutralize key proponents of ceasing research, but resistance continues. The project has been temporarily suspended while we work to terminate this internal dissonance. Once all opponents have been eliminated, those of us committed to the success of the project can resume our work."_

_"Unfortunately, our opponents are as brilliant as we are. Counterattacks have been innovative, decisive, and decidedly deadly. Lost four colleagues in the last Galactic Standard Day. This station has become a staging ground for guerilla warfare and ambush. Those of us loyal to the preservation of this technology are outnumbered, but a strategy has been proposed that may enable us to eliminate the remaining dissidents before the situation slips out of our control… Have already started restoring function to one of the shuttles in case our strategy fails and we are forced to flee the station."_

"He was murdering colleagues," Rachel shook her head. "The Reapers had them fighting each other."

"I… I cannot believe they could let it come to that," Illitha shook her head. "Could the Reapers truly influence their minds so much that they did not see what they were doing?"

"There's only one more entry," Rachel pointed out. "Let's see it."

Illitha frowned and initiated the playback. Nothing she had seen so far made her feel any better about her instinct not to trust the salarian. In fact, she hadn't been concerned _enough_. He was apparently firmly under the control of the Reapers. Which made him very, very dangerous.

When the final recording began, Salik stared wearily at the screen, seated on the bench of what looked like a transport shuttle, if she were to judge from the limited view provided by the recording. He was surrounded by piles of Reaper tech. He frowned and crossed his arms, seeming to be searching for the proper words to begin his entry. Finally, he shook his head.

_"Our strategy was working. By sealing off sections of the station and terminating atmosphere processing and heating systems, we were guaranteed victory. However, our traitorous counterparts in the project proved to be significantly more determined to eradicate us than anticipated. They managed to circumvent our lockout of key station systems and place the facility's power plant into critical overload. No doubt, because the shuttles had been disabled months ago, they believed us trapped aboard the station with them. We evacuated aboard our restored shuttle with what little project tech we were able to save. The station's core went critical an hour ago, destroying all trace of the project save what we were able to bring with us."_

Salik picked up a small, black, egg-like object, staring at the little yellow light at its top as if entranced. He turned it back and forth in his hand, and a smile slowly crept into his expression.

_"Three of us have survived this debacle. We discussed the option of returning to STG with our reports, but have opted not to return to the command structure. There is too much to be learned about the source of this technology to risk being shut down by our superiors because of the chaos that erupted during the project. We unanimously agreed to leave behind an automated buoy to broadcast monthly status reports on the project, giving us the opportunity to seek further information on the creators of this technology. We plan to contact the Collectors, to discuss the possibility of exchanging STG intel on Alliance outposts for any information at their disposal regarding the source of this tech. We have learned today through various contacts that the Collectors are interested in information on humanity, and with STG information databases at our disposal, we may be able to work out a deal. If anyone might have some information on the creators of these items, it is the Collectors."_

"Wait," Rachel said suddenly, reaching over and pressing the key on Illitha's omni-tool to pause the recording. "The timestamp on this entry… This is three months before the Collectors started abducting human colonies in the terminus…"

Illitha frowned. If she recalled correctly, Rachel was right. If Salik and his compatriots had assisted the Collectors, then he had been sabotaging humanity for far longer than she had suspected. She no longer had any doubts about who had exposed the back door into the Walters Center to the Reapers. She needed to figure out how to contact her friends immediately. They were in grave danger… if they weren't dead already.

Rachel reached over and resumed the recording, but her gaze was edged in steel as she regarded the salarian's face. Illitha couldn't blame her. She was having trouble looking at the image herself without growing angry.

_"We have been out of contact with the galaxy for far too long,"_ Salik continued. _"The humans have taken steps to seize control of the galaxy while we were sequestered. The turians and asari are too willing to work with them. Our own government seems to have taken the stance that they cannot defy the other three council races. Clearly, the salarian people will need to form an alliance with the originators of these devices if we hope to remain free of Alliance rule. If the turians and asari must be destroyed along with the humans, then so be it… Somehow, we will see the future of the salarian race ensured…"_

When the recording ended, Illitha sat there in stunned silence, unable to believe what she'd just heard. She had thought that Salik was lying for personal reasons, and had been worried that he was willing to mislead the Alliance for his own ends. But the knowledge that he was working with the Reapers… it chilled her. There was no telling what he might do to further his goals. The fact that he had been brainwashed wasn't much of a consolation.

"That son of a bitch needs to die…" Rachel growled. "I need some air," the girl added, standing up and stalking angrily from the room.

Illitha stood up and started pacing while she worked on her omni-tool, feeling restless and upset herself. Her friends had no idea who they were dealing with. If the salarian hadn't already betrayed them, the longer they spent with him, the more danger they were in. She wished she knew what was happening to them. She started going through the remainder of the files in the copied data, looking for information that might help her figure out his goals.

She discovered schematics for a Reaper-enhanced cloaking device, and noted that with the Reaper upgrades, the salarian's tactical cloak was capable of hiding him for upwards of a half hour in addition to being more resistant to shimmering while in motion or failing as a result of violent shocks. There was also a schematic for some kind of nanite based on Reaper tech that was capable of rapidly invading and disabling tech of all kinds.

When she opened up the file marked 'A-199125-X', however, she stopped in her tracks and a chill ran down her spine. "Rachel!" she shouted, and ran from the room. They couldn't wait for nightfall. They had to go. Now.

* * *

**Resort Hospital, Mivian Heights…**

Aida was fighting to keep her emotions in check and concentrate on her work. The Alliance engineers were hard at work and had been for a number of hours, building an airlock around the entrance to the sauna inside of which Neela and Doctor Tillman were locked. Their dedication and efficiency was admirable, and they were making great progress, but the time they spent working was time during which the captain and Selura's treatment was delayed. Having the captain's revival within her reach and yet being unable to proceed was almost maddening to the asari medic. She didn't have the skill to perform the surgery herself, so she had no choice but to wait for Rebecca. Unfortunately, Rebecca was trapped in the room with Neela until the engineers finished building the airlock. They couldn't open the sauna door without a sterile buffer between it and the outside world, for Neela's sake.

She had no idea what Neela's condition was. The sauna didn't include an intercom system, so there was no way to communicate with her colleague until the airlock was complete either. As a result, Aida was doing her best to concentrate on other tasks and put her concerns aside. She wasn't having much success. She sighed and started over, rereading the notes on the datapad in her hands for the fourth time. She wasn't comprehending them any more than she had the third time through.

_Goddess,_ she sighed in frustration, _I was fine while everyone was away, but now that they are back, I cannot focus…_

She replaced the datapad in the small basket on the bedside table, shaking her head. She couldn't add any notations to the files while she couldn't concentrate. She would have to come back to them later on, when her thoughts were settled a bit more. She ran one more quick scan over her patient to assure herself of his condition, and then left the room behind, stepping into the silence of the hallway beyond. She arched her back, attempting to stretch some of the tension out of her muscles. She knew she would feel much better once the surgeries on Selura and Captain Nisaria were both completed. Although she wasn't quite so confident of her ability to actually assist in those surgeries… If anything went wrong, would she be able to remain calm and work as a professional? Or would she lose it and start panicking? She hoped she could maintain her composure.

She strolled down the hallway to the main lobby of the building and from there out onto the front porch of the structure, seating herself on a wooden railing and staring at the foliage all around her. The gorge was actually a beautiful study in contradiction. Terra Nova's surface was composed of dark, basaltic rock, but was home to some lovely green foliage and the occasional bright blossom. And so, the scenery was a vibrant veil of greenery against the backdrop of dark, jagged rocks in the surrounding cliff faces. The air carried the subtle scent of blossoms and the faint lingering stench of sulfur. She could hear the occasional rustle of small animals in the brush, but always the distant bubbling and hissing of steam vents and boiling pools of mud. The quiet serenity suited her at the moment. It helped to calm her thoughts and bring her back to a feeling of inner balance.

_I can see why the humans were able to develop thriving colonies on this world. There is a definite beauty to it. It is not Thessia, but it is impressive in its own way…_

"Doc!" a shout shattered the brief feelings of peace she'd been enjoying.

She turned to regard the young man standing in the doorway, who gestured for her to come inside.

"Your friends are back," he informed her. "The turian is unconscious and needs medical attention."

Aida felt her heart contract painfully. She hurriedly slipped off of the railing where she'd been sitting and ran inside to the pool area, which was also their treatment center. The human mercenary and a few of the sentries were just settling Prathus onto one of the massage tables, and she hurried to his side, struggling to keep her voice steady when she spoke.

"What happened?" she demanded.

"We had an issue with the ship," Zaeed told her in his gravelly voice. "Salik left a few surprises for us. They detonated the ship's engines when it was clear the ship would be lost. We got clear of the primary blast zone, but the force of the explosion hurled us both into the goddamn forest. I broke a couple ribs, I think. But he had a nasty head wound when I got to him. Might have been sent headfirst into a tree or something… And his other leg has a few new holes…"

Aida activated her omni-tool and scanned her friend's head, noting that several of the protrusions in his fringe were broken. She anxiously waited for the scan results, and frowned when she saw them. There were no fractures in his skull, but blood had gathered beneath. She wasn't a surgeon, so she couldn't be sure, but she didn't think his condition was life-threatening. However, while the bleeding in his brain seemed to have stopped on its own, the pressure of the buildup of blood was likely to leave him comatose for a while, and she needed to bind the laceration on his scalp so that it would heal properly.

"You used medigel to seal the wound," Aida pointed out. "Do you have any left?"

"Some," the mercenary nodded warily.

"Give it to me," Aida held out a hand. "We are extremely low on supplies, and we need all the medigel we can get."

"Why should I?" Zaeed crossed his arms, his expression steely. "In case you forget, I'm a mercenary, and if I get injured in combat, I need to have some medigel on hand."

"Then give me _most _of it," Aida glared at the human, shocked by his selfishness. She had assumed that any human would be more than willing to hand over his medigel to help a hospital that was working with Alliance forces. "We are running extremely low," she added. "We really need it."

The human regarded her in silence for a moment, and then finally reached into a pouch attached to his belt, handing over three packets of medigel. Aida stared at the few packets for a moment, tempted to demand more, but finally swallowed and nodded.

"Thank you."

"Just don't waste it," Zaeed shrugged. "Can I get you to look at my ribs when you finish with him?"

Aida nodded, but otherwise didn't answer. She told one of the men that had been assigned as an assistant to get out a surgical tray, and then hurried off into the nearby women's locker room, quickly scrubbing her hands clean at the sink. By the time she returned to her friend, the requested materials were waiting on the massage table adjacent to the one on which Prathus was resting. They weren't true surgical trays – she and Rebecca had spent hours preparing these makeshift ones – but they had the necessary implements for emergency care, and had been thoroughly sanitized and sealed. Her assistant cut the seal and removed the cover, allowing her to select the tools she needed.

_Goddess, what I would not give for an actual ultrasonic emitter_, she complained silently as she picked up a scalpel and set to work removing the hardened medigel from Prathus's head. The human invention was incredibly useful, but without the proper high-frequency equipment to easily detach the hardened bioplasm, it had to be carefully cut free of the flesh to which it was attached. It took time and a great deal of care, since a thin layer of the dermis had to be removed. It was tenacious stuff.

By the time she got the medigel free, the tension in her shoulders and upper back was already significant enough to be very uncomfortable. She set the scalpel aside and rolled her shoulders briefly before getting to work cleaning the wound with sterile gauze and purified water. This was yet another area where she was glad the building had power and working filtration systems. Otherwise, there might have been microbes in the water that could have provoked a dangerous allergic reaction when it was used on a dextro-based life form like the turian.

At first, Aida had been upset that yet another of her friends was injured, and thus had been nervous and distracted. However, as she focused on her work, the nervousness faded. She took her time and did her job with care and patience, binding the wound closed and applying a thin layer of medigel to seal the area against infection. It took some time, but when she ran her follow-up scans to ensure herself that the work was done to her satisfaction, the results made her smile. Prathus would need to be kept under observation to be sure there were no complications from the blood pooled inside of his skull cavity, but she was confident that he would be okay. She quickly tended to the wounds in Prathus's leg, and was relieved to see that like the other leg, they were only minor injuries. The projectiles had torn through the tissue, but missed any major arteries or bones. Once she was finished, she stepped back and bowed her head, trying to let the tension fade from the muscles in the back of her neck.

"Can you move him to a recovery room please?" she asked her assistant, who promptly wheeled the massage table from the room. Aida raised her head and regarded Zaeed for a moment, and then finally smiled at him. "You will need to get out of that armor," she pointed out. "I need to sterilize my hands. I will return momentarily." She turned to leave, but paused and glanced back at him. "Thank you. For tending to him. And for bringing him back."

Zaeed said nothing; he simply nodded.

By the time Aida returned to the room, once again clean and prepared to treat her next patient, Zaeed had stripped out of the upper section of his armor and any shirt he had been wearing beneath. Aida was surprised at the physique of the man, given his apparent age. He looked like he was carved from stone. She activated her omni-tool as she approached, but her eyes were drawn to the human's torso and the multitude of scars that marred his skin. There was barely an inch of smooth flesh between old battle injuries or other signs of healed wounds. She found herself wondering how anyone could put themselves through a lifetime of such hardship.

Zaeed was silent as she did her work, scanning his ribs on both sides and studying the results. Unless a section of his ribcage was broken so severely that it had shifted and lacerated an internal organ, there wasn't a lot she would be able to do for him save to bind his ribs for added support. Fortunately, there was no need for more serious treatment. His ribs were cracked, but not even fully broken. There was a minor wound in his side, but his armor's systems had automatically applied medigel. Beyond a scan to be sure there was no need for additional care she didn't have to do anything to treat it.

"You have minor fractures in ribs on both sides," she informed him. "But the damage is as minor as it can be. I will apply a sterile binding to support them, but they will heal if you relax and do not stress them for a couple of weeks."

"I doubt the Reapers will let that happen," Zaeed muttered. "It's not like the bastards are gonna take the month off and give us all time to relax. Don't you have any cellular growth stimulation treatments?"

"I told you, our supplies are extremely limited," Aida's tone was apologetic. "Unless the team in the city finds something to help us out, we are forced to rely on time and natural healing processes. We have very few of the medical compounds that would ordinarily be standard care."

"Fine," Zaeed shrugged, though his expression clearly conveyed that he wasn't pleased. "I'll try to take it easy. In the meantime, how do I get up to the town above? I'm starved."

Aida pointed to the rear door. "Through there you'll find an exit to the back patio. From there, go out to the landing pad, and you can strobe your omni-tool's search light to signal the sentries at the top of the gorge to send one of the skycabs down."

"Nevermind," Zaeed muttered. "I have a shuttle. I'll go up myself."

Aida watched the human collect his gear and head for the door, and she shook her head. She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised about the relative lack of manners from a career mercenary. Although she certainly couldn't blame the man for his irritation. If their clinic was properly stocked, the minor fractures in his ribs would have knitted within a matter of days.

Aida turned and headed for the recovery rooms. She was feeling far more focused than she originally had, and now was the perfect time to check on Prathus, start a datapad chart for him, and finish entering her notes for the other patients in recovery. She was still anxious to see the captain and Selura tended to, but now that she wasn't distracted by her impatience, she could at least get other things done.

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has read, favorited/followed, commented or otherwise given any attention to my story. As always, it is greatly appreciated, and is continuing to help keep me motivated to stay on schedule. Barring any unforeseen disasters, the next Chapter of the story should be up on Thursday.**

**I know that a large chunk of this Chapter focused on Salik's data and the particulars that led to his indoctrination. This was the first Chapter I've written that I wasn't fully confident about the reception of. I felt that some of the salarian's backstory and motivations needed to be covered, and there were other bits of info sprinkled in that it was important that I include, but I do feel the need to apologize if that section seemed to drag on just a little too long. And the same goes for the Chapter overall, because not a lot happened in this Chapter other than to set up some bits and pieces for future sections. But really, I just felt it was too important to cover some of this stuff to skip over it. Hopefully I haven't disappointed anyone.**

**I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend, and as always, it means the world to me that you've taken the time out of your day to read my writing. Be excellent to each other. :)**


	35. Chapter 35: Priorities

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Thirty-Five: Priorities

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**Kate Bowman Elementary School, Scott…**

"You have to be kidding," Harper shook his head, frowning at Illitha. "It's not going to happen. You're coming back with us, and that's final."

"I may have borrowed Alliance clothing and armor, b-but I am not under Alliance command," Illitha stared at the engineer defiantly. "I c-can do as I wish, so I am going to deal with these things. It is too important to walk away from."

Illitha had been filling in her Alliance companions on the alarming information she'd come across in Salik's data. When she'd started browsing through the data files after finishing with the holo journal, she had discovered detailed analysis files about various Reaper objects. One was a schematic of the devices in Mivian Heights. The salarian had lied again. They were not jamming devices to interfere with communications. They were range-boosters for Indoctrination.

"If you're right, every man, woman, and child in Mivian Heights could already be showing signs of Indoctrination," Harper argued. "We have to get back there immediately and you have to convince our superiors to move our base of operations."

Illitha shook her head, frowning at the suggestion. "I… I have already had disagreements with your Captain Tarrislav on two occasions. He ordered me expelled from the town," she explained. "He would n-never listen to me. If I tried to give him this evidence, he… he might even accuse me of making it up. You all have t-to go back and get your people away from those devices."

"And ye expect us t'leave ye 'ere… alone," McSween crossed his arms, staring at her in disbelief. "Ye'd be killed."

"She's not staying alone," Rachel spoke up. "I'm staying with her."

"Oh for Christ's sake…" Harper rolled his eyes and turned away, obviously frustrated.

"You… It… I-I saw one of these devices being planted in a building here in the city," Illitha explained in exasperation. "We cannot just leave them f-functional. Any survivors hiding in the city… they will be indoctrinated! B-Before long, any refugees your people find… they would be traitors…"

"She's right," Rachel supported her, earning a smile of gratitude from the asari. "If we just leave these devices to broadcast throughout the city, we'll find ourselves picking up sleeper agents and saboteurs at every turn. We can't fight the Reapers if we can't even trust the people we're fighting with. This could turn ugly. Fast."

"But the two o' ye cannae do this alone," McSween protested. "If ye start disabling the devices, who's t'say the Reapers won't send troops to guard the others?"

"We…. I-I have some ideas about that," Illitha assured him. "We cannot waste any more time arguing about it. E-Every second delayed could mean f-further instability in your fellow soldiers. You have to take the refugees and go. Now," she urged.

"You don't even have any armor," Harper pointed out. "If you come under attack, you'll be killed."

"We have… the ruined armor I was wearing," Illitha suggested. "I-I can pull it apart and use the power systems to power my tech armor. A-and I will cobble together a… a vest or something out of s-some of the chest plating and the other intact bits."

"Lass…" McSween trailed off. He clearly wanted to argue further, but didn't seem to have any idea what he could say to dissuade her from her plan.

Illitha only smiled at the two men. In truth, she was terrified at the prospect of staying in the city… especially without a full suit of armor to protect her. But she couldn't just flee the city and leave the Reaper indoctrination devices spread throughout the ruins to brainwash the people that were hiding in the buildings. She knew right where one was, and given the distance between objects in Mivian Heights, she had a reference she could use to determine the approximate distance from her saved nav-point to the other devices. Once they found a second one, it would be easy to set up a search program to pinpoint the rest.

"You're really going to support her in this?" Harper demanded, turning to glare at Rachel. "I could order you to restrain her and bring her with us," he added.

"You could," Rachel nodded. "But I'd tell you to go to hell… sir."

"You're a Private in the Alliance Navy and I'm your superior officer," Harper glared at her. "What about your oath of service?"

"I swore not only to serve Alliance interests, but to protect our people," Rachel pointed out. "Illitha is right. This _has_ to be done. You know as well as I do that there are more people hiding in the city. There has to be. We can't just leave them as prey for Reaper mind control."

Illitha watched Harper close his eyes and sigh in exasperation, running his hands through his hair. McSween crossed his arms and stared at the floor, seemingly lost in thought. The other marines, who had been silent throughout the entire argument, continued to say nothing, but many of their eyes were on Illitha.

"Besides," Rachel continued, breaking the silence, "You haven't seen her in action yet. This girl has all the potential of a Spectre. I'd follow her anywhere."

Illitha found herself blushing at the praise. She certainly disagreed, but the idea that her companion had so much faith in her was extremely flattering. Rachel smiled at her and nodded in a gesture of support, and Harper and McSween both regarded her speculatively. Illitha shrank from the accumulated attention, shifting uncomfortably.

"Ye're just infatuated wi' her," McSween suggested with a hint of a smile. "Asari 'ave that effect on people…"

"I don't swing that way, sir," Rachel grinned. "But I've seen her fight, heard her stand up to Tarrislav, and listened to her plans. She might not be a soldier, but she's the kind of person we _need _on our side."

"You're not Alliance," Harper finally said, addressing Illitha. "So I can't tell you what to do. If you really think this is the best course of action…"

"It is," Illitha said firmly.

"Well, the decision is yours. And you're right about one thing. We can't wait here until nightfall. We need to get back to Mivian Heights ASAP. As for you," he turned his gaze upon Rachel, whose posture stiffened. "You're still an Alliance soldier, so unless you want to be cited for disobeying orders-"

"Sir," Rachel began, cutting Harper off, "I-"

"-You will support and defend her with your life," Harper finished, raising his voice to drown out any further protest from the blonde.

"Aye aye," Rachel smiled at the engineer, saluting.

"Ye've got nerve, lass," McSween grinned at Illitha, who bowed her head. "Take care o' yerself. We expect t'see ye back at base."

"We will be there… eventually," Illitha assured him.

"Transfer the schematic on these devices to me," Harper suggested. "That way we have evidence to show our superiors about the true function of the things."

Illitha nodded and activated her omni-tool, transferring a copy of the file to Harper. In return, he uploaded a nav-point coordinate to her. She stared at the newly-received location on her map for a moment, and then glanced up at him curiously.

"What is this?"

"It's the location of the truck with our salvaged gear," Harper explained. "We'll be taking the equipment back to base, but we'll leave a functional suit of armor and some grenades and proximity mines there. When you get that far south, make sure to pick them up."

"Th-thank you," Illitha smiled at the men. "We will work our way s-south first. Then swing east and finally north through the city. Given the approximate range of the devices, there must be hundreds… o-or maybe thousands… in the city. It will take time to find and disable them all."

"Good luck, lass," McSween grinned at her.

"Thank you," Illitha said again. "You too."

"Thanks," Harper nodded. "We'd better get started. We've got a lot of civilians here. It'll take time to get them organized and moving."

Illitha watched the marines gather their gear and file from the room. Once they were gone, she sighed and sank into a chair. She didn't like arguing… even with friends. It wore her out. Rachel slumped into a seat opposite her, regarding her with an amused smile.

"What?" Illitha prompted, noting the girl's expression.

"You don't flinch at the thought of lobbing grenades at a Reaper hanar, but standing up to your friends stresses you out," the blonde laughed. "You're an odd one."

"I do not like confrontation," Illitha admitted, though she had to smile a little.

"You don't like _attention_," Rachel corrected her.

Illitha said nothing. After all, the girl wasn't wrong. Her eyes shifted to the ruined suit of armor that had been left on the desk in the corner for her. She stood up and walked over to it, trying to decide how best to cobble together a protective vest. Her limbs would be unprotected, and her head would only be defended by her tech armor, but at least she could protect most of her vital organs from enemy fire. There were still a handful of hours before nightfall. While Harper and the others had to leave immediately because the people in Mivian Heights were in imminent danger, herself and Rachel would be waiting until it was dark to start their mission. They had no specific knowledge of groups in the city who were in danger, so there was less need for haste on their part.

"So do you want to tell me the plan?" Rachel asked.

"I… I am not sure yet," Illitha confessed. "The salarian lied about the purpose of the devices, but he did say _something_ that I agree with."

"What was that?"

"He said that if the Reapers detected that the devices had been disabled, th-they would investigate."

"Makes sense."

"I agree," Illitha nodded. "So I do not want to disable them. I will study these schematics in detail before we leave. I want to determine how to take the signal emitters offline without fully disabling the devices and alerting the Reapers. If we can negate their ability to indoctrinate people without actually rendering them nonfunctional…" she trailed off. She hoped it was possible to do so.

"…We keep refugees safe, and the Reapers will be unaware of our work," Rachel finished for her.

"That is my hope," Illitha nodded. "Y-You should get some sleep. I will wake you when the sun has gone down."

"You should get some sleep too," Rachel urged.

"I need to figure out how to alter the function of the devices," Illitha told her. "If I can manage to come up with a solution for that… then I will take a nap."

"Okay," Rachel didn't argue with her, for which Illitha was grateful. "See you in a couple hours then."

Rachel walked out of the room, and once Illitha was alone, her head sank into her hands. She was sincere in her belief that they were doing the right thing by staying in the city to deal with the Reaper devices, but she was terrified. It might take days or weeks to find and disable all of the devices. As she had told Harper, there could have been thousands of them spread through the city. The chances of scouring the buildings for the objects and disabling them all without running into trouble were nonexistent, in her opinion. She just hoped that her plan didn't get them both killed.

_Goddess,_ she sighed inwardly. _What am I doing?_

* * *

**Mivian Heights…**

"…so there we were, running in circles on this series of goddamn floating platforms, with a giant bloody insect from hell floating around after us," Zaeed smirked at the awed expression on the young soldier's face. "It kept trying to cut us in half with beams from its damned eyes, and collectors were popping out of every corner in sight. We had no choice but to dive behind any little piece of cover nearby, pick off whatever targets we could, and then run some more."

"Wow," the young man breathed. "Sounds almost as bad as the Reapers."

"They called it a goddamn suicide mission, kid," Zaeed snorted. "I called it just another day in the trenches."

"What was it like? Doing something like that with Shepard at your side?"

"A pain in the arse," Zaeed muttered. Then, seeing the puzzled and slightly angry expression that clouded the boy's features, he shook his head. "Don't get me wrong. Shepard is an amazing soldier. N7 graduate, Spectre, marine… one of the most impressive people I ever met. She deserves the title 'hero'," he said sincerely. "But the thing you have to understand about fighting with a damned Infiltrator on your side is this: Half the bloody time, the enemy can't see _them_. Which leaves _you_ as a target."

"Oh," the young man nodded in comprehension.

"I've fought every enemy you can imagine and some you probably never heard of," Zaeed crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. "I've teamed up with turians, krogan, asari, quarians… even goddamn batarians, and I've tangled with all of them as well. There's a challenge in every fight, but no one's impossible to beat. Not even the Reapers."

Zaeed regarded the young soldier in silence for a moment while the kid talked about the Reaper attack on the F.O.B.. If he had to guess, the marine was about twenty. He seemed so young to the veteran soldier that Zaeed had to fight the urge to sneer while the lad talked about his heroics against the Reapers. He imagined that before the Reapers had landed on Terra Nova, the kid hadn't fired at a live target in his life. He was sure that there were thousands more just like him fighting in this war, and he hoped that even a fraction of them had the sort of potential that Shepard had realized. Most probably didn't.

He'd been given a small bowl of stew as his ration for the day, and had spent hours since just wandering around Mivian Heights, talking to some of the soldiers, trying to get an idea of the general state of mind of the men. If he was stuck on Terra Nova, the morale of the soldiers fighting against the Reapers would have a direct effect on his own fortunes. He wanted to know if he was surrounded by men and women who'd lost their spirit or not. Not everyone could handle being on the losing side of a war. Some of them would inevitably crack.

"…if that tank hadn't come barreling around the corner and ran right through the Reaper ranks, I think we might have been overrun," the young marine was saying. "I think-"

"Ground vehicle inbound!" a voice shouted from somewhere above them, cutting the young man off.

Zaeed straightened up and headed for the stairs that led up to the tramway platform above, wondering what sort of vehicle the lookouts were talking about. It was well after dark, so their guests had to be close. He slipped his helmet on as he took the stairs two at a time, engaging the night vision overlay in the visor. He found two young marines standing near the rail on the east side of the platform, and he walked over to stand beside them, following their gaze.

A ground-based cargo truck was rolling slowly toward them, and as it drew closer, he could see adults and children seated upon the top of the rear cargo area, clinging to straps that had been rigged up to serve as makeshift harnesses for the passengers. More followed on foot in a procession behind the vehicle. He snorted and shook his head. Refugees. There were already enough civilians in the town. The last thing the Alliance needed, in his view, was more untrained personnel to take care of.

He turned and retraced his steps, heading for the center of town, where the truck would undoubtedly end up. By the time he reached the library that served as Alliance command center in the town, the base's commanding officer had already been informed. Both the captain and his younger second-in-command, who Zaeed knew as Gradian, were waiting out in front of the building. Zaeed propped himself up against a building across the street, waiting to see what sort of news the refugees would bring.

The truck rolled around the corner and approached, and several soldiers walked out into the street and waved it to a stop. When the driver of the vehicle climbed out, Zaeed's brows rose slightly. The people riding atop the vehicle were definitely civilians, but the driver and the two men that followed him out of the cab were wearing Alliance armor. They marched directly up to the captain and saluted.

_What's all this about?_ Zaeed wondered.

"At ease," the Alliance captain returned their salute. "Report."

"Corporal Todd Harper, of the 122nd Engineering Corps," the spokesman for the group introduced himself. "Sir, we need to evacuate the town immediately."

"We have Reapers incoming?" Gradian demanded. "How far out?"

"Uh, no sir," Harper shook his head. "They wouldn't bother coming here. They'll have us beaten without firing a shot if we stay."

"Explain, Corporal," the captain demanded.

"Sir, we met an… informant in the city," Harper told him. "She passed along schematics for devices that she said were planted here in Mivian Heights."

Zaeed watched as the engineer activated his omni-tool, apparently to transfer the file to his superiors. He would have been curious to see the file in question, but he wasn't an engineer, so he doubted he would have made sense of much of it anyway. He continued to listen, curious how the Reapers had managed to booby-trap the town.

"According to the schematics, these devices are range-boosters for Indoctrination."

"Where did you get the file, Corporal?" the captain questioned as he examined the data on his omni-tool. "Who is this informant?"

"She said she was part of a recon team sent by Lieutenant Gradian," Harper told him, transferring his gaze to the younger man. "She sent us back to warn you and to deliver the supplies salvaged from the city on your orders, sir. She stayed in the city to find and disable similar devices that were planted throughout the ruins."

"Sir," Gradian spoke up, turning to the Captain, "We need to abandon the town and move elsewhere."

"Nonsense," Captain Tarrislav shook his head. "We had a Reaper expert examine the devices in this town. They're communications scramblers. We've quarantined the buildings around them to eliminate the risk of indoctrination. The representation in this file looks similar, but they're not the same devices."

"We can't take that chance, sir," Gradian insisted. "If my team is correct, we're at risk here. We lose nothing but time by shifting to a position in the wilderness somewhere."

"Wrong, Lieutenant. We also lose shelter, a fortified position, access to the makeshift clinic below, and possibly suffer a further erosion of morale. All on the basis of one file whose source we can't verify. Maybe, if your recon team hadn't decided to pursue a new mission without orders, we could have asked some questions and learned a bit more about the source of this file and how accurate the information is."

Zaeed shook his head and stood away from the wall, crossing the street to get closer to the group. He could already see where this was going, but his personal instincts told him that getting out of town was the best possible idea. He waited for the discussion to move away from the truck so that he could get a look inside and perhaps grab a few grenades and some medigel, if the team in the city had found either one.

"I will send a drone into the city to find them," Gradian offered. "It can zero in on Corporal Roland's omni-tool and-"

"Roland was KIA, sir," Harper cut in. "Only two members of your recon team were present when we found them. They said everyone else had been killed."

"Who were the survivors?" Gradian demanded.

"Private Sanders and… uh, the engineer," Harper answered, looking a little uncomfortable. "I don't remember her name."

Zaeed snorted. The man wasn't a very good liar.

"What engineer?" Tarrislav demanded, glaring at Gradian. "You didn't tell me you sent an engineer with your team, Lieutenant. And I didn't authorize it. I ordered all the engineers to work on clearing our communications signals."

"They needed someone with technical expertise, sir," Gradian explained. "But it wasn't an Alliance engineer. She's a civilian. I didn't see the need to mention her in my mission report."

"You mean that asari," Tarrislav growled. "You included that subversive bitch in an Alliance op? Without my knowledge or authorization? Of course she sent along these schematics… Any chance she gets to undermine my authority is one she'd jump at. She's proven that more than once."

"Sir, I-"

"You are hereby removed from command of recon and search and rescue operations," Tarrislav cut the Lieutenant off. "You will brief Thorrison on all your current operations and report to the hospital below as the officer in charge there."

"Sir…"

"Dismissed," the captain snapped.

"Sir, I really think-"

"I said '_Dismissed_'," Tarrislav growled. "Now do as you're told or I will have you confined to the brig for insubordination."

Zaeed saw the way the Lieutenant's posture stiffened and his expression became rigid and unreadable, like a mask. He saluted and turned, walking into the library. The captain turned his attention to the engineers, gesturing to the truck.

"Offload the supplies you found, and then report to Corporal Banks in the Engineering Corps. Any sentry can point you to the proper building. Top priority for engineers is to find a way to break through the signal distortion. Dismissed," the elder soldier turned and walked into the library.

"He's daft," a red-haired man next to Harper hissed in a heavy accent. "He's willing to stay 'ere an' risk indoctrination because the info came from Illitha?"

Zaeed strolled a little closer to the pair, but both men quieted at his approach. He regarded them silently for a moment, and then decided that he should just speak his mind, since they were apparently unwilling to continue their discussion in the presence of a stranger.

"Your captain is an idiot," he said bluntly. "I'm getting the hell out of this town, and I suggest you do the same."

"What business is it of yours?" Harper demanded.

"I was intending to stay here and lend a hand in the fight," Zaeed shrugged. "But I'm not getting indoctrinated for _any_ cause."

"Smart man," McSween nodded his approval.

"And you are?" Harper prompted.

"Zaeed Massani," the mercenary introduced himself.

"Todd Harper," the engineer extended a hand, which Zaeed shook. "This is Ian McSween," he gestured to the red-headed man, "And Martin Jonah," he introduced his other companion.

Zaeed nodded to each of the men, and then toward the truck. "You found some supplies. Any grenades you could spare?"

"They were recovered for use in the war effort," the man named Jonah spoke up. "Not to be given away to non-Alliance personnel."

"We're all in the same goddamn war, kid," Zaeed fixed him with a steely gaze. "And my years on the battlefield outnumber all three of yours combined, I'd wager. They'll see better use in my hands than any of yours."

"Just give him some grenades," Harper shook his head. "He's right. We're all in the same war. And he's also right about getting out of this town."

"Aye," McSween nodded. "I'll not stay 'ere an' let the Reapers drive me mad."

"Me either," Harper frowned, gesturing for his companions to follow him as he turned and headed for the truck.

The civilians had all climbed down from their spots atop the vehicle and were milling around nearby. Zaeed walked with the engineers to the rear of the truck, and when they opened the cargo area of the vehicle, his brows rose. He'd heard them say they hunted down supplies in the city, but he hadn't quite pictured the arsenal that was arrayed inside the container. Two more Alliance men climbed out now that the doors were open, so he took their place inside and searched through the crates until he found one that was filled with grenades. They weren't the incendiary grenades he favored, but he would take what he could get.

"We cannae just leave the devices running," McSween murmured. "We 'ave to disable the damned things before we get out o' town."

"If we disable them, there's no _need_ to get out of town," Jonah pointed out.

"True," Harper chuckled.

Zaeed, who was poking around inside of some of the other crates in the truck in search of anything else he could use, reached into one and pulled out a handful of small, circular mines with transmitters and sensors embedded in their centers. He recognized them immediately as recon mines. Once activated and placed, they adhered themselves to a surface and then used laser-mapping to scan the surrounding area, transmitting an image to a linked omni-tool. They could be remotely detonated at any time, so usually their owner would hide somewhere and watch the image until enemies appeared in range, at which point they were triggered. He counted six such mines in total.

"How many of these devices are in town?" he asked.

"What did Illitha say? Five?" Harper asked.

"Aye," McSween nodded.

"These mines pack more than enough punch to destroy a few small Reaper devices," Zaeed suggested, slipping one into the pouch at his side with the grenades and holding the rest out for the engineers to take. "Place one of these next to each device, sync them to your omni-tool, and detonate them all simultaneously. You can destroy all of the Reaper tech and stay well away from the site at the time."

"He's got a point," McSween nodded. "We could trigger the bloody things from the same room as Tarrislav, so that he cannae accuse us o' bein' responsible."

"Good idea," Harper smiled and took the stack of mines from Zaeed's outstretched hand. "We'll have to sneak them into the buildings and set them. You take two, and I'll get the other three. We'll meet in the command post when we're done."

"But where are the devices?" McSween looked around.

"Just ask someone," Harper suggested. "The captain said the buildings were quarantined, and we're new here. We just wanna know which buildings we're supposed to stay clear of."

"Aye," McSween chuckled. "Good thinking."

Zaeed hopped down from the truck, watching as the two men divided the recon mines and prepared to go disable the devices. His thoughts, however, were centered on something else entirely. They had mentioned a team in the city. He was eager to get into the action. He'd been lurking in this town for nine or ten hours since returning from the disaster with Salik's ship, and hadn't seen the Alliance do anything that looked like it would contribute to destroying the Reapers.

"Your friends in the city," he addressed Harper just as the man was turning to go, "Where were they headed?"

"Why?" the corporal regarded him with a hint of suspicion.

"Because they've got the right idea," Zaeed told him. "Pick a target that can hurt the Reapers or their plans and hit it. I'd rather be out there fighting than standing around here waiting."

Harper regarded him speculatively for a moment, and then sighed and shook his head, shrugging apologetically. "Sorry. They could sure use the help, but I honestly don't know where they are. They had some reference point in the city and were going to do a grid search from there. That was about seven hours ago. By now they could be anywhere in the city."

"Damn," Zaeed frowned. "Well, your captain said you were to report to the Engineering Corps. I take it that means you're engineers?"

"Aye," McSween nodded.

"Can you hack encryption on an omni-tool?" Zaeed asked.

"Maybe," Harper answered. "Why?"

"I picked up a few omnis from Cerberus troopers here, but they're rigged to fry themselves if accessed without some kind of code," Zaeed explained. "I need to know what's on them. Do you think you could have a look when you've got some time?"

"I dinnae see why not," McSween held out a hand. "I'll take a look later," he offered.

"Thanks," Zaeed retrieved the three omni-tools he had collected from the fallen Cerberus troopers, handing them over to the engineer. Then he turned and headed toward the library. He still wanted to find a way to get into the fight, but it seemed that joining the recon team in the city wasn't it. Perhaps the Cerberus omni-tools would give him a target.

For the moment, he needed to be somewhere in full view of witnesses when the explosions went off. As an outsider, he was sure he would be the first one the Alliance captain blamed if he didn't have plenty of witnesses to vouch for his whereabouts. He chose a seat in the main library room, where there were dozens of marines and civilians relaxing in their off-duty time. Then he put his rifle on the table and set about field stripping it.

He saw the two engineers enter the room about fifteen minutes later. They joined a group of soldiers at the opposite end of the chamber and engaged them in conversation. When explosions echoed through the town shortly after they sat down, the two engineers were on their feet immediately, running outside to join everyone else in "investigating" what had happened. Zaeed just snorted and continued his work.

* * *

**Resort Hospital, Mivian Heights…**

_Julisa Nisaria all but leapt from her seat as applause swelled from the crowd around her, proudly joining the others in honoring the musicians on stage. Beside her, her bondmate was clapping loudly, her cheeks wet with tears of joy. The former commando felt her heart swell. She had dreamt for so long of this moment, when she would be reunited with her bondmate and her daughter, together again as one happy family. Her gaze turned to the girl on stage, all grown up, and she saw the girl's eyes come to rest upon her. She melted inside when Eleira smiled at her._

_It took some time for the applause to die down, but eventually the crowd began to file from the theatre and head for the exits. Her hand found Lethia's, and the two of them headed for the stage door at the front of the room. It was only right to visit their daughter backstage and congratulate her on such an amazing performance. Julisa felt an uncomfortable tightness in her chest, no doubt a result of the intense pride she held for her daughter. She became aware that her head was throbbing… it must have been the heat of so many bodies packed into the theatre on the warm summer night. She was looking forward to getting outside into the comparatively cooler night air. Perhaps a cup of chilled fruit on the way home would be a nice treat to finish off the day…_

_They were halfway up the stairs when the pressure in her chest seemed to increase a hundredfold. It was suddenly hard to breathe. She reached out for Lethia, but her beloved bondmate dissolved into smoke at her touch and dissipated into the air. She toppled over, and felt a sharp pain in her leg as she hit the floor. The ache in her skull was growing more intense, and she looked around frantically for help, unable to figure out what was happening._

_"Eleira! Eleira, help!" she called._

_Her daughter ran out into the hallway, still dressed in the elegant silver and blue gown she'd worn on stage. Julisa reached for the girl, her hand shaking because of the growing pain she felt, but just when she was about to grab hold of her child's hand, Eleira pulled her arm back and slapped her resoundingly across the face. The blow magnified the pain in her skull to such an extent that she very nearly blacked out. She felt tears flood her eyes as she gazed helplessly at the cold expression on the girl's face._

_"You abandoned me, father," the girl spat. "How does it feel to be alone?"_

_"Eleira, please… I never meant to hurt you."_

_"Come on, Elle," a female voice urged, and a raven-haired human girl stepped into view, slipping an arm around Eleira's waist. "You don't need her. You have me."_

_"No…" Julisa whimpered. "Eleira, please… Do not leave me here. I love you. I always have."_

_"You have a funny way of showing it," her daughter muttered, her shoulders slumping._

_"Don't let her do this to you," the human girl urged, gently leading Eleira away._

_"You are my daughter. Please…" Julisa wheezed, barely able to breathe anymore. "Please…"_

_The two girls vanished through a door into another room, leaving the former commando alone in the cold, dark stairwell. She closed her eyes and sobbed. How had she managed to lose everything she cared about? All she wanted was to rebuild her family… Maybe… if the pain would just go away… she could run after her daughter and apologize. There was so much she wanted to say... But the pain in her chest and in her head just wouldn't fade..._

Julisa opened her eyes slowly, blinking at the blinding intensity of the light in the room. Just that brief glimpse of the light caused the ache in her head to blossom into an agonizing throbbing sensation, and she felt her stomach heave. She tried to roll over to vomit, but she was being restrained by straps of some kind. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be anything in her stomach to expel. She gagged on the taste of bile, but nothing else came up. She coughed. Every spasm sent shooting pains through her entire torso.

Almost instantly, someone was at her side. She opened her eyes just a little and tried to focus on the face, but she could only make out a hazy blue outline hovering nearby, and a soft voice, thick with tears, urging her to lie still. She closed her eyes and swallowed, trying to get her voice to make a sound. The best she could manage was a raspy whisper. The figure beside her bed gripped her hand in a vice-like grip, and she could hear someone sobbing loudly. She struggled to make sense of what she was hearing and feeling; she was disoriented and confused.

"Lethia?" she croaked. "Beloved, is that you?"

"I… No, Captain," the voice answered. "Try to be still. You were seriously injured. You have just undergone surgery," the speaker's voice cracked. "You will need time to recover. I… thought we had lost you," her companion's sobbing resumed.

She struggled to process this information. She was hurt? Had something happened before she collapsed on the stairs? Maybe Eleira had come back for her… had called an emergency response team. But… no. She hadn't seen her daughter in decades. And… Lethia was gone. She sighed. She had been dreaming. But it seemed so real. So if everything she had just experienced was false, what had happened?

"Where am I?" she asked, trying to bring her companion's face into focus. The light continued to hurt her eyes, so she closed them.

"Captain, you are on Terra Nova," the girl told her. "The _Sileya _was lost in orbit. We put you in stasis and brought you here when we evacuated the ship."

The _Sileya_… Of course. She was the captain of the ship. They had been going… somewhere. She couldn't remember where. But it had been urgent. They had to make one last stop. And then she was going to go to Thessia and rebuild her family. But there had been a problem… she struggled to remember what it was. Something had gone wrong…

The image flashed into her mind… An immense mechanical eye, glaring at her with a glowing red iris. She gasped and flinched at the memory. She'd made one last-ditch attempt to finish the oculus drone before it killed her. And then she remembered nothing else.

"Reapers…" she whispered, licking her lips in an attempt to moisten them, "Reapers attacked the ship."

"Yes, Captain," her companion sounded vaguely relieved. "You were gravely injured. But you will recover. It will just take time. You remember what happened?"

"Aida?" the captain asked. "The light hurts my eyes. Is that you?"

"Yes, Captain," the girl's voice broke, and she heard a soft sniffle. "Let me shut out the lights for you."

There was a click, and soothing darkness replaced the harsh glare of the lights. She opened her eyes and tried to focus her vision upon the hazy figure that was returning to her bedside. The room was now illuminated only by the glow of lights from the hallway beyond, it seemed. But she still couldn't bring the girl into focus.

"My eyes won't focus. My head is throbbing and my chest aches. I need another dose of pain suppressant," Julisa whispered. "And… I am thirsty."

"I can get you water, Captain," Aida offered, and she felt the girl's hand grip hers. "But we do not have any pain suppressants to give. I am sorry."

"What about my eyes?"

"It could be a side effect of the stasis, or just a result of being unconscious for days without food or water," Aida suggested. "I will run some scans after I get you a drink."

Julisa closed her eyes and nodded, trying to give the pain time to dissipate. The hand gripping hers released its hold and she heard footsteps recede into the distance, and then the room became silent. She had clearly missed something, and needed answers. But while she waited for her medic's return, she allowed herself a moment to grieve. The ship that had been her home was gone. And she was in a hospital on a human world, she assumed. But where was her crew? What had happened in her absence?

When she heard the footsteps return, she cleared her throat, trying to get her voice to work in a tone louder than a whisper. She felt a tube pressed to her lips, and she eagerly seized it, managing to swallow a few sips of water, courtesy of the straw. The cool liquid helped to ease the scratchiness in her throat somewhat, and she sighed.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"I am just glad you are all right," Aida confessed, her voice thick with emotion.

"How badly am I hurt?" she asked.

"You have multiple broken ribs, fractures in your arm and leg, and there were lacerated internal organs," Aida informed her. "You lost a lot of blood. We repaired the internal injuries, but supplies are strained. We do not have the medications necessary to speed healing, save for what limited improvement the medigel will allow. I am afraid recovery will take time."

"Where is the crew? Did everyone make it off of the ship?"

"We all made it to Terra Nova," Aida assured her. "But we were separated at first. Things have been hard since we landed."

"Tell me," Julisa urged. "I need to know what is happening."

"The Reapers have started their invasion," Aida explained. "And Cerberus was here too," she added. "We put you into a Prothean stasis pod to save your life when we evacuated, as I said, but we had no way to end the stasis until we found out that Cerberus was here, trying to access a Prothean archive buried in a mountain to the south."

Julisa nodded, a little confused by Aida's disjointed explanation of events. Cerberus's presence wasn't a good thing, but somehow she wasn't surprised. And they'd used one of Selura's prototypes to save her… But she wasn't sure how any of that led to the difficulties mentioned, save for trying to figure out how to get her out of stasis.

"You said things were hard," she whispered. "What happened? Where is the rest of the crew?"

"There is a lot to tell," Aida sighed. "But the short version is: We were betrayed by the salarian that told us about the Prothean ruin and Cerberus. He talked Selura, Prathus and Neela into helping him fight Cerberus, and then tried to kill them after they had control of the Prothean archive. Selura is recovering from surgery now, but has not regained consciousness. Prathus is comatose with a head wound and both of his legs are injured. And Neela's suit was disabled. She is suffering from the effects of environmental exposure."

Julisa ground her teeth in frustration. If she had been around… Perhaps her crew wouldn't be in such sorry shape. She forced herself to relax and tried to take a deep breath, but a sharp pain in her ribs told her that it was a poor idea. So she focused instead on breathing shallow and inquired after the one member of her crew that was still unaccounted for.

"What about Illitha?"

"She is in the city to the north," Aida informed her. "She is working with the Alliance, on some sort of covert mission."

"Illitha?" Julisa asked in disbelief. Perhaps she'd heard wrong.

"Yes," Aida replied.

It was a difficult idea to get a handle on. The shy engineer that had served aboard the _Sileya_ was now working on covert ops with the Alliance? She couldn't picture it. She frowned. At least two members of her crew were uninjured. As for the other two…

"Prathus and Neela… What is the prognosis for them?"

"I think Prathus will recover. He suffered a head wound, but it was not life threatening. There is some bruising in his brain, but he has only been here for the majority of one day. I expect him to regain consciousness before too long without lingering impairment. The wounds in his legs were all minor. As for Neela," the young asari trailed off, and her tone was filled with worry when she resumed speaking, "I cannot say. It does not look good so far. She is feverish, nauseous, having difficulty breathing, and delirious. We have done everything we can for her. All we can do now is wait and see if her system manages to adapt and recover."

Julisa sighed and tried to shift position in the bed, but the restraints made it impossible to move more than a little. She attempted to lift her head, but the effort was a little too much. She felt weak and was in pain. Clearly, more time was needed to rest and recover.

"Are the restraints really necessary?" she asked.

"I am sorry, Captain," Aida sighed audibly. "We had to make several incisions to repair the internal damage and realign your ribs. The doctor did not want you to move in your sleep and reopen any of the wounds. Maybe in a day or two…"

Julisa nodded slowly. She hated hospitals and didn't particularly like being confined to a bed, but given the situation, she had to defer to the expertise of whatever doctor had treated her. Without medications and stimulants to speed recovery, however, she imagined she had a month or more of recovery time ahead of her. It would be a trying time for her patience. She was eager to get back on her feet and help deal with the Reaper threat. But more importantly, she needed to get off of Terra Nova and reach Thessia. The Reapers would inevitably find their way there. She needed to get to her daughter and make sure the girl was safe.

"I can fill you in on all the details later, Captain, but I am one of only two physicians here. I have to check on other patients. I will be in frequently to check on you. Try to get some rest."

"Thank you, Aida. Keep me informed of any changes to Neela and Prathus's conditions."

"I will," Aida assured her.

Julisa closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on rest. There would be plenty of time to worry about her daughter and about her crew. But she also needed to worry about herself. No matter what else happened, she had to survive long enough to get Eleira to a safe place. Everything else was secondary. To that end, if she was going to be confined to a bed for weeks on end, she decided that when she woke, she would do what little she could to exercise her muscles and keep up her strength. She could not afford a long period of rehabilitation.

* * *

**Southern Scott…**

Illitha pressed close to the doorframe, peering through into the room beyond, where a pair of cannibals was wandering around aimlessly. Her gaze shifted to the shattered window on the right-hand side of the room, outside of which Rachel would be waiting, and then to the Reaper device in the center of the chamber. They had discovered quickly that there were more Reapers lurking through these buildings than anticipated, and so they couldn't afford to fire their weapons. They'd had to become creative in their methods of dispatching the beasts.

She saw Rachel's hand rise above the window frame just briefly, pushing a piece of the shattered glass inward, so that it fell to the floor with an audible crystalline ring. One of the cannibals jerked around at the sound, and it shuffled toward the opening, with the gun infused into its right arm at the ready. Illitha created an orb of biotic energy in her hand, preparing to hit the other creature. It was essential that they prevent the things from howling or firing their weapons.

The moment the first cannibal reached the window, she went into action, trusting Rachel to get her job done. She stepped out into the doorway and hurled the biotic orb low, curving it upward into the Reaper's midsection. The beast was just opening its mouth to screech at her as many of them tended to do when they spotted a target. The only sound it ever uttered was a squeak when her biotic throw slammed into its abdomen and sent it rocketing upward into the ceiling. She was already in motion, sprinting across the room toward her fallen foe, her fist wreathed in the telltale blue glow of gathered biotic energy. She slammed her fist into its bloated and distorted head just as it was turning over, and its skull collapsed with a sickening crunch. She turned away, feeling her stomach lurch, and frantically wiped her hand on the leg of her pants to clean the gore off of it.

Rachel climbed in through the window, deactivating her omni-blade in the process, grinning in satisfaction. She had clearly dealt with the second creature. They had to formulate a new plan for each new situation, but this was their seventh successful ambush in as many hours, and they were managing to avoid drawing undue attention so far. Illitha set to work on disabling the device's signal emitters, while Rachel kept watch on the surrounding doors and windows.

It was nerve-wracking work for the asari. She had discovered a vulnerability after examining the schematics of the devices in minute detail, but the Reapers were intelligent. There was an emergency subroutine that sent out a signal if the emitters failed. Unfortunately, the secondary transmitter and main processor were housed inside of a protective shell at the heart of the device, and exposed only in the event of primary emitter failure. This was why her scans on the device in Mivian Heights had yielded no results. The protective shell somehow deflected scanning pulses, making the devices seem to hold no processors or communications devices. Therefore, she had to disable the primary emitters, and then had only ten seconds while the secondary transmitter was shifted into transmission position to hack into the newly-exposed processing unit and override the emergency protocol. She'd come close to failing on several occasions, but was getting more proficient with altering the Reaper code each time they repeated the process.

They had been scouring the ruins for the devices and disabling them for almost eight hours now, and Illitha was nearing the limits of her endurance. They had discussed finding a place to rest for the night, but both knew it was dangerous to let their guard down long enough to sleep. They would have to sleep in shifts once they reached the warehouse for which Harper had given her the nav-point coordinates. Then she would be able to get rid of the ugly, patchwork armored vest she had created for herself and into a proper suit of armor. She planned to keep the makeshift helmet she had put together, however, since the Alliance ones weren't made to accommodate her scalp crests.

She sighed in relief when the device's emergency protocol shut down, deactivating her omni-tool and pulling the aforementioned helmet off of her head, turning it over in her hands. It was formed from small sections of the armoring that had once protected her thighs, cut apart with a plasma cutter and then welded together into a helm that extended out to a point in the back to accommodate the shape of her crests. In that area, at least, it reminded her of a turian helm. Sections of plating protected the sides of her face down to her jawline, and the front covered her nose to its tip, but her lips and chin were exposed. Since she hadn't had access to air filtration components or anything of the like, she saw no need to stifle herself by enclosing the mouth area. The night-vision visor the Alliance gave her was incorporated as the visor of her helm so that they could draw power from the armor's generator instead of their own internal power source. The flexible underweave of her ruined armor had been sheared apart and used to pad the inside of the helmet, and she had installed the tech armor's emitters into the headgear for the added defense the system provided.

She hated the vest she was wearing. The helm, on the other hand, she was rather proud of. It looked like something out of an asari action vid set in the time of Athame… something ancient warriors would have worn to a sword duel with their enemies. She sighed and set it on the floor, accessing her map to run her algorithm and determine the location of their next target. Upon returning to the site of the original device and then locating the next two, she had constructed a program to use the distances between them to predict the locations of others throughout the city. It was working quite well so far. They usually found the devices within a dozen meters of their predicted locations, though a few had been a floor above where they were expected.

"You look exhausted," Rachel pointed out. "How long have you been awake?"

"I do not know," Illitha murmured. "Days…"

Rachel crossed her arms over her midsection, frowning at the asari. Illitha recognized the expression, and almost caught herself smiling. The young blonde seemed to view her almost as an older sister, and worried over her welfare. Illitha might have said the girl had an interest in her romantically, given her thoughtfulness and general attentiveness. But that suspicion had ended when Rachel let slip during the argument with Harper and McSween that she wasn't interested in her in that way.

"We have only two more devices to reach before we can rest," Illitha assured her, bringing up a holographic projection of the city map for the blonde to see. "Once we deal with this device and this one," she highlighted the locations in question, "we will be only blocks away from the warehouse where Harper left my armor and our other supplies."

"If you can stay on your feet for that long," Rachel muttered. "You seriously look like you're about to pass out. Maybe we should scout out a position on the upper floor of this building and you should curl up for a while…"

"I will be fine until we reach the warehouse," Illitha insisted. "I do not really want to sleep in the ruins anyway. The warehouse is right on the border of the city. We could strike out into this ravine south of the city from there," she shifted the view on the map to the area to which she was referring, "and camp there. It should be a little safer."

"You're in command here," Rachel shrugged. "It's your call."

Illitha's eyes narrowed slightly, and her hands settled on her hips. They had gone over this a dozen times. She didn't want to be in charge, and was getting annoyed with the girl's insistence. Rachel stared at her for a moment, and then finally burst out laughing. Illitha's expression changed to one of almost comical confusion.

"You may have the heart of a Spectre, but you're about as intimidating as a space hamster," the blonde giggled.

Illitha blushed at the observation; she knew she was far from imposing, but she thought she could manage at least to convey her irritation in a serious manner. Apparently not. Yet another way in which she was completely unlike her father… the old krogan made most people tremble just by fixing them with a stern gaze. Or at least he'd always had that effect on _her_. She turned away with a sigh, leaving the blonde to finish laughing at her and regain control of herself.

"I'm sorry," Rachel finally said, though her voice still held traces of amusement. "Your idea is a good one. We'll almost definitely be safer resting outside the city. But you really need the sleep. So let's get these next two indoctrination devices disabled."

Illitha couldn't look at the girl. She knew that Rachel had no idea about her parentage or the issues stemming from it, but her comment had been something that could have come straight from her father's lips, and the laughter certainly hadn't helped. She just picked up her helmet and then focused on the map on her omni-tool, leading the way from the building. Rachel was absolutely right about one thing. She needed sleep. And she was eager to get some.

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: As always, I want to thank everyone who has read, commented, favorited/followed, or otherwise given any attention at all to my story. I really appreciate the interest, and never get tired of thanking you all. I can only hope I continue to keep you all engaged in the story. :)**

**Several people made guesses as to the nature of the devices, and most of you were right. I guess I'm predictable like that. But I actually thought that indoctrination range boosters would be a logical sort of device for the Reapers to use. After all, only indoctrinating prisoners is limiting. But indoctrinating people hiding throughout the ruins seems much more efficient and much more dangerous. I am also very glad to have _finally_ gotten to the part where the captain is out of stasis. Still needs time to recover, but it's nice to have her in the story again.**

**Not much else to say, aside from the fact that I noticed that my next update, if I stayed on schedule, would be on Christmas morning. Since I'll be very busy that day, I'll most likely be updating one day early, which would be Monday morning. It was either that or wait until the day after, and I don't feel like putting it off. So, barring disasters, Monday morning it will be! Have a great weekend everyone.**


	36. Chapter 36: Judgments

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Thirty-Six: Judgments

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**South Ravine, Just Outside Scott…**

Illitha crept forward slowly, her Avenger assault rifle trained on the dark and rocky landscape ahead of her, warily looking for any sign of Reaper activity. Her newly-claimed armor made her feel much less apprehensive about the possibility of engaging Reaper forces, but she still hoped to avoid confrontation. They were just entering the ravine south of the city, and she hoped that they would find it secure enough to get some rest. It was close enough to the city, however, that there was a very real possibility of Reaper stragglers wandering through it. Especially since it was such an obvious potential hiding place. The sun was rising, marking the end of a very long night spent disabling devices in the city, and Illitha really hoped to avoid conflict here and get some much-needed rest.

Rachel moved forward while Illitha covered her. The blonde moved quickly and quietly up to a large, jagged rock formation and stopped there, her rifle trained ahead of her while she motioned for Illitha to advance. Illitha left her spot and crossed the rocky ravine floor until she reached a large boulder adjacent to Rachel's cover, and then she crept forward, heading toward another bit of cover right at a bend in the ravine. The gulley was a twisting, winding path, so they were forced to advance one turn at a time, lest they fall into an ambush.

Illitha examined the new stretch in the rift that lay ahead of her, and noted small holes in the walls high-up in the faces of the rock wall on the left side. She frowned and engaged her night-vision visor, hoping that she might be able to see into the darkness of the spaces, but she couldn't make out anything more than she had been able to without it. The openings were small, but they still seemed like natural places for attackers to hide. She waved Rachel forward.

The blonde hurried to a spot against the ravine wall opposite her, pausing there to scan the stretch ahead of them. Illitha saw the suspicious look that entered the blonde's eyes, and knew that her companion was thinking the same thing she was. Rachel crept over to her and knelt behind the same rock she was using as cover.

"Those spaces are small, but husks could definitely have crawled into them," Rachel whispered.

"I was thinking the same thing," Illitha nodded. "B-but if we can clear them, we could… I… M-Maybe there's space enough to get some sleep. I would feel much better sleeping in s-some kind of shelter than in the open."

"On the other hand, if we're asleep and the Reapers move into this canyon, we'd be trapped."

"True," Illitha frowned.

"What do you think?" Rachel asked.

"Well… We cannot climb up to those," Illitha guessed. The sheer rock face below the holes looked fairly impassable without climbing gear to assist. "But they might connect to a more accessible entrance ahead. We should keep looking."

"Want me to cover the holes while you advance to that next bend? Or do you want me to move up while you cover them?"

"I will move up. Cover me," Illitha suggested.

"Aye aye," the marine nodded, training her weapon on the holes in the wall ahead.

Illitha rolled her eyes and sighed. She had given up on trying to convince Rachel that she wasn't the one in charge, but it still didn't mean she liked it when the girl answered her as if she had given an order. Up until now, she had kept her tech armor deactivated because the glowing orange panels made her easier to spot, but now that she felt like ambush might be likely, she decided to activate the system. She smiled when the defensive fields appeared across her chest, shoulders, arms and head.

With her rifle ready, she moved toward a jagged section of the canyon wall that jutted out near the bend, keeping low and trying to stay quiet. Her destination seemed like a good spot from which to survey the next area. Her gaze kept drifting upward to the holes in the canyon wall above, but she trusted Rachel to cover her if any threats emerged. To her vast relief, husks didn't leap from the holes as she passed beneath them. She darted behind the protrusion in the wall, and then peered out from behind it carefully, examining the next stretch of the gulch.

There was a small hole about five feet up almost immediately around the bend on her left, and ahead of her, she could see cavern entrances on both sides of the ravine. However, it was not the caves that made her quickly duck back behind cover and turn toward Rachel, giving their prearranged signal of danger. There was a lone figure seated on a rock at the next bend, with a rifle slung over his shoulder. He looked human, but Illitha didn't want to chance startling the man and having the human shoot at her. However, that was the least of her worries. There was the chance the man could be indoctrinated or otherwise pose a danger to them.

Rachel moved up slowly and cautiously, pressing her back to the wall of the ravine just at the bend, and she peered out to see what Illitha had spotted, quickly ducking back once she'd had a look. The man was about fifty meters away, so he was unlikely to overhear them if they whispered. Illitha decided to take that chance.

"Something seems off here," she voiced her suspicions. "I… I see… T-there are caves on both sides. Why would he sit out in the open with his back facing the path leading in from the city?"

"Agreed," Rachel hissed. "This reeks of an ambush."

"Could he be indoctrinated?" Illitha suggested.

"Could just be a group of assholes preying on people fleeing the city," Rachel countered.

"What?" Illitha stared at her. "W-Why would anyone do that?"

"Think about it," Rachel frowned. "Supplies are scarce, the Reapers are destroying the city, and people are trying to survive. A ruthless person might decide that taking whatever they can from others will increase their own chances of survival."

Illitha's brows came together as she considered the idea. It seemed so… heartless… to steal from frightened people leaving the city. The idea had never even entered her mind. But she supposed there might be some, even among her own kind, that would be willing to take from others to save themselves. Faced with the two possibilities – bandits or indoctrinated servants of the reapers – she found herself hoping the man ahead was indoctrinated. The former seemed even more reprehensible. At least if they were indoctrinated, such people would be harming fellow humans against their will.

"What is the plan?" Rachel interrupted her with the question.

"I…" Illitha was about to suggest they reverse course and find somewhere else to take shelter. But her conscience refused to allow her that option. If these men were ambushing people fleeing the city, leaving them be would allow them to keep hurting others. She sighed. "Do you think you could fit into the hole just around the bend from you?" she gestured.

Rachel briefly leaned out to get a look at the opening in question, and then drew back and nodded.

"Good," Illitha smiled. "I… I think you should slip inside and see if it connects to the other caves ahead. If this is an a-ambush, then there will be more people hiding in those caverns."

"Seems like a reasonable guess," Rachel nodded. "What about you?"

"If… If the caves connect and you spot anyone, c-come back and tell me. Then I w-will move up and fall into their trap. That will keep them focused on me. You can disable some of them and then come to my rescue."

"You want to make yourself bait… _again_," it was a statement, not a question. Rachel stared at her in amazement.

"Do not look at me like that," Illitha frowned. "It is making me nervous."

"Fine," Rachel averted her gaze, slinging her rifle over her shoulder. Then she quickly darted around the bend and grabbed the edge of the hole in the ravine wall, pulling herself up with remarkable speed and silence.

Illitha waited behind her cover while the marine looked around in the cave. The waiting was always hard, but she'd had to do so much hiding and waiting over the past few days that she was becoming used to it. She closed her eyes, silently praying to the Goddess that she would be wrong this time. She hoped it was just one weary man who was resting on a boulder. But deep down, she knew it wasn't.

"You were right," a whisper confirmed her fears after a short wait. "These caverns are all connected, I'm guessing. There are a couple guys lurking near an opening up ahead with rifles. Not sure if they're bandits or indoctrinated, but this is definitely an ambush."

Illitha put her head in her hands and sighed. Danger lurked around every corner on this planet, it seemed. After indulging in a moment to silently complain about the general course of her time on Terra Nova, she raised her head and nodded.

"Okay. Get behind the men there and be ready to disable them," Illitha suggested. "T-Try not to kill them if you can avoid it. I will give you a three-minute head start to incapacitate as many as possible, and then I will head up the path and fall into their trap. P-Please do not let them spot you. If they capture you…" she trailed off. If they captured Rachel, she would not be a distraction, she'd be volunteering to be captured or killed instead.

"I won't let you down," Rachel promised, and then vanished into the darkness of the hole.

Illitha engaged her armor's shield generator and waited. She could have manifested a barrier, but she wanted to save her strength in case this plan of hers went sour. The Alliance armor had the capability to generate a barrier for her, so she saw no need to tax herself unnecessarily. Once she was sure she'd given Rachel enough time to deal with one or two of the men, she readied her weapon and stepped out of cover, creeping up on the lone man sitting ahead of her as if she was unaware of the danger.

She was only about ten meters from the man on the boulder when a single shot struck her shield and was deflected. She whirled to face the direction from which the shot had come, and spotted a dark-haired man with a thick beard, who was pointing a rifle at her.

"Lower your weapon, bitch! We've got you surrounded," his voice rang out.

Illitha lowered her rifle just the slightest bit. The man on the boulder had quickly slipped off of his perch and taken cover behind the rock, aiming his weapon at her. She also spotted a few others, men and teenagers, in the caves on her right, all with weapons in hand. There were five all together, by her count.

"I-I am only trying to… find shelter," she told them, trying to stick to the truth since she knew she was a bad liar. "I am n-not here to make trouble."

"Maybe not," the man who had spoken stepped out of the cave entrance, still with his rifle trained upon her. "But that's some fancy gear you got there. The tech armor especially would be useful to us."

"I n-need it," Illitha protested. "I am working to d-disable Reaper devices in the city. Without the protection, they might kill me…"

"Probably," the man smirked. "But it doesn't change the fact that we'll be taking your weapon, your armor, and your omni-tool."

"Please," Illitha pleaded, and her desperation was genuine, but not due to fear. "I do n-not want to hurt you."

She glanced from man to man, and noted that one of the men and the two teens all looked uncomfortable, but resigned. She was guessing that some of them weren't happy to be part of this little group. It gave her some hope that it wouldn't have to come to bloodshed. Their spokesman and the man behind the boulder, however, were both watching her with barely-restrained glee as she begged them to stop what they were doing. She wasn't sure what they were thinking. She had three forms of protection, while none of them even had armor. If she wanted to, she could probably have killed all five of them by the time they managed to disable her tech armor and shielding. Especially since she knew that Rachel was waiting in the caves behind her to lend assistance.

"Hey, Mel," the man that had been perched on the boulder spoke up. "I've never seen a naked asari…"

"Strip," the spokesman, whose name was apparently Mel, ordered. "Everything. Clothes too."

Illitha found herself blushing at the idea, but was also filled with a horrified and sickened feeling of realization. Would these men truly force a stranger to strip naked for their own amusement? She'd thought them merely desperate and selfish, but now they seemed positively cruel. A good deal of her hesitance to hurt them evaporated in that instant.

"You… You are not wearing armor," Illitha pointed out, her voice edged in steel. "I have armor, a kinetic barrier, tech armor… and biotics. You may outnumber me, b-but if you force me to fight, you may have an unpleasant surprise coming."

"Mel," one of the others, a teenage boy with unruly brown hair, stepped forward. He put a hand on the elder man's arm. "Let her go. She's fighting the Reapers. We shouldn't be trying to take her stuff."

"Listen to your friend," Illitha urged, but she was already focusing on her biotics, preparing to unleash a singularity to snare him.

"Last chance, bitch," Mel growled, raising his rifle and pointing it at her head. "Strip. Or we'll wound you and then do it _for _you."

Illitha's response was immediate. She hurled a biotic orb that struck the man in the chest and blossomed into the whirling gravitational field of a singularity, hoisting both Mel and the teenager into the air and trapping them there. Almost immediately, a shot rang out, and the man behind the boulder pitched over backward. Illitha turned her attention on the two remaining figures… one man and one teenage boy, both standing in separate cavern entrances. However, both of them immediately cast aside their weapons and raised their hands. She glared at them.

"Come out of there," she ordered.

Both figures filed out into the open, and Rachel emerged from one of the caves behind her. As the blonde walked into the open, she laughed softly.

"Nice work, Spectre," Rachel joked.

"You're a Spectre?" Mel stared at her incredulously.

"I-" Illitha was about to deny it, but Rachel cut her off.

"You're damn right she is," the blonde stepped forward, training her weapon on the two that had surrendered. "She's here, working for days without sleep to defend our colony, and you try to rob her of her equipment? You try to make her strip?"

"It was Mel's idea," the teenage boy caught in the singularity protested. "I tried to convince him to stop."

"You did," Illitha nodded, and then turned toward Rachel. "What about the others?"

"There were three in the caves on this side," the blonde informed her. "All unconscious, but alive. As for the bastard that suggested seeing you naked," Rachel frowned. "He raised his rifle and was going to fire on you. So I shot him."

Illitha sighed, closing her eyes. The man might have been repugnant, but she still hadn't wished him dead. However, she was glad that Rachel had been willing to protect her. She stared at the four prisoners in front of her, at a loss as to what to do with them. Her singularity collapsed, dumping Mel and the teenager unceremoniously to the rocky ground, and she was quick to train her weapon upon the elder man.

"Toss that rifle away," she warned.

The human glared at her, but did as he was instructed, tossing the rifle to the ground near her feet. Rachel walked over and picked it up, and then collected the discarded weapons from the others as well. Once she was in possession of all of the group's weapons, the blonde turned toward Illitha.

"Well? What do we do with them?" she asked.

Illitha knew that Rachel was simply playing up the role of deferring to the Spectre, but it didn't make her any happier about being the one responsible for deciding the fate of the group. She regarded the four prisoners uncertainly.

"Would you please drag the others out here?" she asked.

"Aye aye," Rachel saluted and disappeared into the cave.

"You're awful polite for a Spectre," Mel sneered at her. "I think you're lying."

"Shut up, Mel," the teenager hissed.

Illitha smiled at the boy, and then turned her gaze upon the elder man. "Does it really matter now if I am lying? I have a weapon, and you do not. So whether I am a Spectre or a cook or an engineer, you have no choice but to do as I say."

"Or what? You'll kill me?" the human stared at her intently, as if trying to gauge her willingness to hurt him.

"Any man who would force a solitary female to strip for his enjoyment would be no great loss to the galaxy," she bluffed. She was glad she was wearing a helmet so that he couldn't see her eyes. She couldn't murder a prisoner in cold blood. Not even one who had been willing to put her in the position Mel had demanded.

The human stared at her for a moment longer, and then closed his eyes and let his head fall back to rest upon the rocky ground, releasing a sigh of frustration. Apparently, he believed her capable of killing him. She wasn't sure whether she was relieved or offended.

"You have been ambushing people fleeing from the city," she accused them. "How many?"

"Dozens," the teenage boy answered, bowing his head. He looked miserable.

"And how many were women who were humiliated for your amusement?" Illitha glared.

"None," the boy looked up at her earnestly. "I swear! We just took their food and weapons."

"What is your name?" she asked him.

"Elliot. But people call me El."

"You seem to have a conscience," she pointed out. "So why… How could steal from desperate people?"

"Me and my brother," the boy sighed, his eyes upon the man that Rachel was just dragging out of the cave. "We ran into this group when we were fleeing the city and got ambushed. Jay convinced Mel that we could be useful… He's a great shot with a rifle."

"And you had no problem taking from frightened people who were fleeing from the Reapers?" Illitha demanded.

"My brother hated it," Elliot insisted. "During ambushes, he used to put the crosshairs of his rifle on Mel's head instead of the targets…"

"What?" Mel exploded. "That son of a-"

"Shut up!" Illitha shouted in a rare display of fury, turning an icy glare toward the elder man. When he lapsed into silence, she returned her attention to the teenager. "Who else was unhappy here?"

"Jack and Danny," the boy gestured to the two seated next to him, the man and teenager that had surrendered. "We all talked about leaving, but we didn't think Mel would let us go."

"He will now," Illitha murmured.

"We can go?" the man that had surrendered stared at her suspiciously.

"If you wish, you can leave after I have asked a few more questions," Illitha nodded. "As for you," she turned her gaze upon Mel, her expression hardening. "You will be leaving this ravine immediately. You will not be taking any food or weapons with you. And you had better avoid any large concentrations of people. Because if I ever see you again…" she trailed off. She didn't want to threaten him, because she wasn't sure she could make it believable. It seemed safer to leave the threat to his imagination.

"Without a weapon or anything to eat, I'll die out there," Mel growled.

"You obviously didn't care when you were doing it to others," Rachel pointed out before Illitha could say a word. "But if you like, we could kill you right here," The marine trained her rifle upon his forehead.

"Alright, alright," he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I'm going."

"Move your ass," Rachel ordered.

Mel slowly got to his feet and then started running southward. Illitha watched him go, and then turned toward Rachel. She didn't really like giving orders – she didn't want to give in to Rachel's insistence that she was in charge – but in their current situation, she felt the need to keep up the fiction that she was a Spectre. When she spoke, resignation was clear in her voice.

"Follow him. Make sure he leaves this ravine behind and is well off into the fields."

"Aye aye," Rachel grinned at her, sprinting after the fleeing bandit.

"What about the rest of us?" Jack, the surrendered man, asked hesitantly. "If we leave, can we take some of the food with us?"

"How much food do you have?" Illitha asked, surprised that they would consider leaving _any_ of it behind.

"We have a stockpile of stuff taken from refugees," Elliot told her. "There is enough food to survive on for a while. I can show you."

"When Private Sanders returns," Illitha shook her head. "Given the situation, I will not trust you enough to follow you into these caves alone."

"I understand," Elliot nodded, as did the others. "We never wanted to hurt you, but I can't blame you for doubting us. Could I…?" the boy trailed off, and then shook his head. "Nevermind."

Illitha almost smiled. She couldn't count the number of times in her life she'd started to ask something and then decided against it like that. This was the first time she could recall someone doing it to her, and she started to understand why it had always irritated Aida when she did it.

"What?" she asked.

"I… I just wanna check on my brother," the boy admitted, her eyes upon one of the unconscious figures Rachel had dragged out of the cave.

Illitha examined the unconscious man, and noted that he shared the teenager's unruly brown hair and general features. "Go ahead," she stepped back so that she could keep both the teenager and the other captives in her field of view.

"Thanks," the boy scrambled over to his brother's side, pressing his fingers to the side of the man's neck. The look of relief that passed over Elliot's face a moment later was obvious. Illitha didn't know about human anatomy, but was guessing that the spot on the neck that the teen had touched was a place where one could feel an obvious pulse, similar to a spot in the folds at the back of the neck for her own species.

As a group, they waited for Rachel's return, and Illitha occupied herself by practicing expanding her barrier into a dome. It was something she continued to do whenever she had a few spare moments, and she was making great progress on the skill. After several attempts, she managed for the first time to extend her barrier and maintain it, and was hard-pressed to conceal her glee. She could feel the field fluctuating, and knew that it would never stop a bullet, but now that she could project her barrier and maintain it, she just needed to work on strengthening it. She noted with some discomfort that her prisoners – especially the teens – were watching her in fascination, and she wondered if she might be the first biotic they had ever actually seen in person.

She would have liked to continue practicing, but the unconscious members of the group were starting to wake. Elliot's brother was the first to regain consciousness. Illitha listened while the teenager explained to his brother what was happening, and she heard the word 'Spectre' mentioned during the hushed conversation. She saw the young man's gaze resting upon her speculatively, but he seemed content to remain quiet. The other two were likewise quiet when they awakened, but they regarded her with expressions that were decidedly hostile.

Awkward silence reigned until Rachel's return. When the blonde jogged into view, Illitha smiled, feeling much better once she was no longer alone. The young marine approached and saluted.

"He's gone. Never even looked back," she reported.

"Good," Illitha smiled.

"Can I ask a question?" Elliot's brother spoke up, regarding the two curiously.

Rachel looked to Illitha, who merely nodded. She was already growing tired of playing the role of fearless leader. She hoped she wouldn't have to keep it up much longer.

"El says you told us we could go if we wanted," the young man began. "What if we wanted to stick with you?"

Illitha's brows rose. She hadn't actually considered the idea of taking any of them with her. She had only been trying to make it clear that she didn't intend to keep them prisoner. But if they wanted to come with her… she paused to consider the idea.

_Could I even trust them?_ She wondered. _They have been ambushing and robbing desperate people. How do I know they will not shoot me in the back the first time I drop my guard? And I certainly cannot take them into the city without arming them, so denying them weapons is not an option. But it might help us to have a few more guns on our side when we go back into the city to finish disarming the devices. We'll be there for days… maybe weeks…_

She closed her eyes, torn by indecision. She just hoped that none of her emotions were too clearly visible on the small portion of her face left exposed by her helm. These men all believed she was a Spectre, or seemed to. She supposed it was natural that they might want to stick with her. If she ran into a Spectre on this planet, she would probably want to stick with them as well. If anyone would know what they were doing under pressure, it was a Spectre.

"How could we ever trust you?" Rachel demanded, saving Illitha from voicing her concerns. "You were all stealing from terrified refugees. If we give you weapons and take you into the city with us, how do we know you won't shoot us both the first time we need to sleep?"

"I know what we were doing was wrong," the young man confessed. "But I needed to protect my little brother, and we both had to eat. We didn't know where else to go. But I would much rather send El somewhere safe and go with you-"

"No way!" the teenager cut in. "I'm not running off somewhere and letting you go back into the city. We're staying together, Jay. You promised."

"I'd rather see you in a safe place," Jay sighed. "But you're right. I did promise we'd stick together." He turned his attention to Rachel and Illitha again, smiling apologetically. "_We_ would much rather go with you into the city. If you're fighting the Reapers, maybe we could help and actually do some good."

"Yeah," the other teenage boy, Danny, spoke up. "I'd rather fight Reapers than my own people."

"I agree," Jack nodded. "If you can find it in yourselves to trust us, I'd be willing to help you with your mission in the city. Anything to get rid of the Reapers."

"Not me," one of the other two men shook his head. "If you're serious about letting us go, I'm outta here."

"You can go," Illitha nodded. "But Rachel will follow you to the end of the ravine and beyond. Do not ever let us see you again."

The man nodded and got to his feet, walking south. The second man hesitated for a moment, then got to his feet and looked back and forth between Illitha and Rachel.

"Which one of you shot Joey?" he demanded.

"I did," Rachel volunteered. "He was about to shoot at the Spectre."

The man glared at her coldly, taking a step closer. Rachel just stared at him, not bothering to raise her weapon. After the two regarded each other for a moment in silence, the man finally spat in her face. The blonde winced reflexively, wiping the offending matter from her cheek, and then in one lightning-fast move, she slugged him in the gut, doubling him over.

"Next time I see you, you're dead," the man coughed, staggering away.

"You're welcome to try, Asshole," Rachel's tone was icy. "I'll be following you all the way to the ravine's end. Look back any time."

The blonde followed the two men to the south, and Illitha watched them until they walked out of sight around the next bend in the canyon. She turned her attention to the four that were left behind, trying to decide what to make of them. They all seemed sincere enough in their wish to help fight the Reapers, but given the manner in which she'd met them, she didn't feel like she could trust them.

"Where are the things your group stole?" she asked. "Where do you store them?"

"These caves stretch along the entire ravine, but they don't go very deep," Jay explained. "We stayed in this general area. The stuff Mel stole is all piled in the back of that tunnel there," he pointed. "About twenty meters in."

"So… I think… I-It would only take a minute to go in, grab something, and come back out," she guessed.

"At most," he nodded.

"I… You… If you are all serious about joining me on my mission in the city, perhaps you would demonstrate your willingness? I would like two of you to bring out all of the things you stole, so I can take stock."

"Of course, Spectre," Jay stood up, and Elliot was quick to join him.

Illitha watched the two disappear into the cave. She knew she was taking a risk… there might be weapons with the supplies that the two could use to attack her. But she wanted to believe they were sincere about helping. If they attacked her, she was sure she could overpower them again. After all, she was the only one with armor and kinetic shielding. In the meantime, if they had been truthful about the food, she might be able to get a proper meal. And then, when Rachel returned, she could get some much-needed sleep.

She just hoped she wasn't making a mistake by trusting these humans…

* * *

**Resort Hospital, Mivian Heights…**

Aida stood in the doorway of the captain's recovery room, watching the elder asari sleep. She was deeply relieved that not only would the captain live, but she had been conscious and aware, and there seemed to be no signs of mental damage beyond a little bit of initial confusion. It would take some time for her wounds to heal, but just knowing that she would recover did a world of good for Aida's morale. She did, however, find herself wondering frequently who Lethia might be. The captain had initially said that name upon waking. But it was a name she hadn't ever heard the elder asari mention before. She found herself wondering if the captain had a bondmate or a sister that she didn't know about…

Prathus had likewise been showing signs of recovery. While the turian had not yet regained consciousness, she expected him to do so at any moment. When she'd last visited his room, he had been moving in small ways… shifting the position of his legs and the like. She only wished she had similar good news in regards to Selura and Neela. The asari remained comatose, and Neela's delirium had worsened to the point that the quarian was no longer making any sense at all. Rebecca was currently in the isolation room with ice packs gathered from the bar downstairs, attempting to bring the pilot's fever down. Aida would have loved to help, but since she had no environmental gear, she couldn't enter the sterile environment without making things worse.

She was beginning to truly worry that Neela would die of the reaction to whatever contaminants she had been exposed. She cursed the salarian under her breath. His cruelty was beyond measure. He had shot Selura with armor-piercing rounds. Couldn't he have done the same to Neela? It seemed a terrible thing to wish for, but to disable a quarian's suit and let them die slowly of anaphylactic shock was such a horrible act…

"Dalinas?" a hoarse voice broke her from her thoughts.

Aida was shocked to see the turian standing in the doorway of his recovery room, staring at her with a bewildered expression. He shouldn't have been up and walking around. It must have been painful just to stand.

"Prathus, you should be in bed!" Aida hurried to the turian's side, putting an arm around him to support him.

"What happened?" Prathus was clearly confused. "The last thing I remember was trying to run from Salik's ship. Then…" he trailed off.

"That mercenary said the ship's engines detonated," Aida explained. "You were propelled into the forest. You had a nasty head wound when you arrived here. There was some bruising in your brain, and you have been unconscious for about a day."

"Galactic Standard or Terra Novan?"

"Galactic Standard," Aida laughed. "The days here are too long to use as a measure."

"So I'll be okay?"

"You will. Your legs are well on the way to healing already. The medigel alone has been enough to help speed the process. In another day, I think you will be fine. But you should rest while you can," Aida urged, assisting the turian back into his bed.

"What about the others? Any word?"

"Captain Nisaria was conscious for a little while and we spoke a bit. She has weeks of recovery time ahead of her, but she will make a full recovery," Aida's smile was bright as she delivered this news.

"Good," the turian nodded. "And Xara?"

"I wish the news was good. Her fever is so severe that Doctor Tillman is packing ice around her in an attempt to bring it down," Aida sighed. "Combined with the allergic reaction in her throat and lungs making it hard for her to breathe…" she bowed her head, "She may not survive. She is delirious."

"Damn it," Prathus growled. "We never should have agreed to go with Golash. We should have listened to T'Zari and backed out."

"We needed the information to save the captain," Aida said softly. "We had no choice."

"We had choices. We could have insisted the three of us remain together instead of splitting up. We could have chosen to wait outside and let Golash find the information himself, and then gone in to access the archive after the mercs left…" Prathus shook his head. "How is Leneur taking the news about Neela?"

"She has not yet regained consciousness. I expect her to recover without lasting damage, but she lost a lot of blood and reinjured her arm. Doctor Tillman repaired the injuries, but she will need time to heal."

"We got hit pretty hard by the last couple of days," Prathus muttered. "And most of the damage was done by what we hoped was an ally. At this rate, the Reapers won't have to kill us. We'll manage to do it ourselves…"

A soft sigh escaped Aida at the news. She hated to admit it, but she thought he was right. Very few things seemed to be going for them in the overall scheme of things. But at least most of them would recover.

"Any word from T'Zari?"

Aida shook her head. "The last report sent back was quite some time ago," she bowed her head. "I am worried about her. Who knows what happened to her?"

"T'Zari is stronger than anyone gives her credit for… even herself," the turian voiced his confidence. "She'll survive whatever the Reapers throw at her."

"I hope you are right," Aida sighed. If only the Alliance soldiers could get communications up and running…

"How are you holding up?" Prathus regarded her intently.

"Me? I am fine," Aida lied. "I am just glad you and the captain are recovering."

"Right," the turian's tone was skeptical. "What's on your mind, Dalinas?"

"Just… the course of things. Neela's condition is horrible, and most of the _Sileya's_ crew is hospitalized with some form of injury. Illitha is out of contact, supplies are scarce, and the Alliance hasn't been able to do much of anything. It is…" she groped for the right word, finally settling upon "…frustrating."

"Well, I'm glad we agree," Prathus chuckled. "They need to come up with a plan. Or we do."

"Can we at least give the captain time to recover? I would feel much better with her ready to help."

"You're not alone. The galaxy needs all the asari commandos it can get right now."

"Excuse me," a familiar voice interrupted from the doorway.

Aida turned to smile at Gradian, who stood just outside the door with a middle-aged man in an Alliance uniform. The lieutenant looked a little uncomfortable.

"Gradian," Aida greeted him with as much cheer as she could muster. "What are you doing down here? Is everything all right?"

"Depends on how you define 'all right'," the lieutenant said softly. "I'm down here because I've been placed in charge of security and operations down here."

"What about your normal duties?" Aida asked.

"I have been removed from special operations oversight. I just spent the night briefing my replacement," Gradian sighed. "But I didn't come here to talk about me," he shook his head, gesturing to the man standing with him. "This is Lieutenant Alexander Mullins. He's been placed in charge of the investigation into the bombings."

"Bombings?" Aida blinked. "What bombings?"

"You haven't heard?" the other man stepped forward, cutting off any reply Gradian might have been about to make. "I will explain everything in a moment, but first I have a few questions to ask you. Would you please accompany me to a private area somewhere?"

"You can use this room," Prathus spoke up from his bed. "I was the Executive Officer of the _Sileya_, and Dalinas was under my command. I want to be present if she is to be questioned in connection with a bombing."

"I'll be setting up an office somewhere," Gradian informed them, excusing himself from the room.

Aida regarded the remaining human curiously. He was tall and thin, and his features were extremely sharp and angular, while his facial shape was very thin and almost skeletal. In combination with the pale, pock-marked skin of his cheeks and a sparse two-day growth of beard, he had a very ill-favored look. He stepped forward and picked up the datapad from the basket on the dresser next to Prathus's bed, activating the display and scanning the notations there.

"According to this, you're comatose," the human pointed out. "You seem very talkative for a comatose turian."

"He regained consciousness not fifteen minutes ago," Aida explained. "I was just filling him in on his condition and the conditions of the other members of our crew. I have not even had time to run any scans or examine him yet."

"Ah yes, your crew," the human deactivated the device and returned it to the basket. "You've all had a bit of bad luck. I spoke to the other doctor and got her reports on the patients here. One quarian dying of exposure, two asari recently given life-saving surgery at the cost of all of our remaining medigel, and a turian with severe head trauma who is comatose… or was," he amended with a nod toward Prathus.

"What is your point?" Aida asked, crossing her arms and glaring at the human. She didn't like his apparent lack of sympathy for all of the hardship her friends were enduring.

"Well, my point is, they all have pretty solid alibis for their whereabouts at the time of the explosions. You, however…" he regarded her with an intensity that she found unnerving, "no one remembers seeing you for about a half hour just prior to the incidents in town."

"Are you suggesting Dalinas was responsible?" Prathus glared at the human. "She is a medic and a cook, not a terrorist."

"I am not suggesting anything," the human said mildly. "I am pointing out a simple fact. I have spoken to every man, woman, and child in the town above over the course of the night and this morning, and have just spoken to the sentries down here and to Doctor Tillman. None of them can account for your whereabouts, and you are the only one whose movements I have not yet verified."

"I would never blow anything up," Aida protested, a little shocked that she was even being considered a suspect. "I was down here all night, at my captain's bedside while she slept."

"So Private Mills mentioned. But he also said you left the room at approximately 31:20 local time and he didn't see you in the room when he passed by until about 31:50, which was seven minutes before the explosions," the human continued to regard her with his penetrating gaze, his attention unwavering. "Where were you at that time?"

"The only time I left the captain's side was to… to shower," Aida recounted. She'd felt guilty even for indulging in that much time away from Captain Nisaria, but as one of the only two physicians, she needed to keep herself clean… and she'd needed to unwind a bit. Concern for her friends had been keeping her very tense.

"And of course, as Doctor Tillman was asleep at that time and all of the guards assigned to the hospital are male, no one can verify that…" the human pointed out. "Correct?"

"Well… that is true," Aida nodded slowly. "But how could I have set any kind of explosions in a half hour? Where would I even get the explosives? I have been working down here the entire time."

"I was wondering the same thing," the human's expression turned pensive. "But a truck filled with salvage from the city came in last night. It included a number of types of explosive ordinance. Anyone could have managed to steal some while it was being transferred to the armory."

"But I doubt anyone remembers seeing an asari wandering around up there," Prathus cut in, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "It's not like there are dozens of asari roaming around that she could have blended in with. Blue faces tend to stand out in a town full of humans…"

"No, no one mentioned an asari," the lieutenant conceded, seemingly unfazed by the sarcasm. "I am merely trying to get to the bottom of this little mystery. The facts are, there were five explosions in the town last night… all five Reaper artifacts were destroyed. No one saw anyone entering or leaving those buildings, and apparently everyone has an alibi… except for you," his gaze returned to Aida. "Captain Tarrislav is concerned that the destruction of the devices will have alerted Reaper forces. He is of the opinion that you and your fellow asari have been undermining our security."

"He said that?" Aida was surprised. The last time she'd spoken with the human captain, he had been surprisingly polite and reasonable. She wondered what had changed.

"He spoke at length about another asari, and her recent attempt to convince us that the Reaper devices were dangerous-"

"There has been word from Illitha?" Aida's heart leapt. "What did she say?"

"Nothing of relevance," the human shrugged. "To get back to the matter at hand-"

"You're talking about a member of my crew," Prathus interrupted. "I'd like to know what her message said."

"There was no message. Just a schematic of the Reaper devices sent back with a warning that they were range boosters for indoctrination," the lieutenant explained. "And word that she'd convinced one of our people to commit mutiny and stay in the city against orders…"

"Illitha would never advocate mutiny," Aida glared at the human. "She is the most loyal and good-hearted soul in the galaxy."

"I can only relate what I was told," the human muttered. "I wasn't myself present for the report. Five of our men returned with the supplies and the data file last night. If you want more information, you can talk to them," he addressed this last statement to Prathus, and then turned his gaze upon Aida once again. "You, however, will not be able to talk to them just yet. Since your whereabouts cannot be determined at this time, you will have to accompany me to the security office in town. Until I can account for your movements to my satisfaction, you will have to be held under guard. I apologize for the inconvenience."

"Wait… you are arresting me?" Aida was shocked. "I am one of the only two trained medical personnel in this hospital!"

"And possibly involved in a bombing," the human added. "You do not strike me as the type to commit such a blatant act of sabotage, but I must follow this investigation to its conclusion. I know it is unpleasant and perhaps unfair, but I would appreciate your cooperation."

"How long do you plan to detain her?" Prathus demanded.

"We do not have the proper equipment here for interrogation with biometric scanners and voice stress analyzers. I have the engineers working to program some, but in the meantime, I cannot allow you to roam freely through the town and hospital. I hope to be able to find some answers in twenty-four hours or less."

Aida felt sick. The last time she'd been imprisoned anywhere, she had been a captive of pirates, on her way to be sold to slavers. She didn't particularly relish the idea of being confined to a cell, even if her captors were a bit more trustworthy this time around. She sighed and gestured toward the datapad with Prathus's medical notes on it.

"Can I enter the notes for Prathus's status before we leave?"

"Of course," the human nodded and stepped back, gesturing for her to proceed. "I trust you won't mind if I read them when you're done."

"Of course not," Aida sighed. "I have nothing to hide."

Aida quickly entered her notes into Prathus's chart so that Rebecca could follow up when she had the time. Then she offered a nervous smile to the turian before allowing the human to escort her from the room. As they were leaving, it occurred to her to warn him.

"Stay off your feet for another twelve hours minimum. Give the wounds time to close completely. I will be fine."

She already knew that her XO wouldn't listen, but she had to give him the proper medical advice. She would have liked to speak to the captain before leaving as well, but she didn't feel she would be allowed to visit all of her friends before being escorted to her cell. She frowned as she was marched out to a waiting skycab. She knew she wasn't guilty of bombing anything, but she hoped that this human could be convinced of the fact. She wasn't sure what to make of him yet.

* * *

**Isolation Room, Resort Hospital, Mivian Heights…**

Neela shivered, but there was no escape from the cold. It was agonizing, but she couldn't make sense of the sensation and her surroundings. She was lost, prey to fevered hallucinations and fragments of memories. She kept trying to rise, but hands always forced her down when she attempted to move. She could feel the hands, but she didn't know whose they were. She closed her eyes, gasping for air… it was so hard to breathe… and she was so very cold. Couldn't the captain reengage the environmental controls?

Where was she? The _Ganaza_… It had to be. Perhaps the hands were her mother's? But why was it so cold? Were the environmental systems offline? Perhaps the engineers were working on it. Jaliya? Dorn? Surely they would get it working soon. Or… perhaps they were under attack. But why wasn't she in her suit? Had she been injured? Who were they fighting? The Geth? Yes… Her people were attacking the Geth… it must have gone bad somehow.

"Mother?" she wheezed. The simple word sent her into a coughing spasm.

Gentle hands helped her to sit up. A voice was speaking to her, but she couldn't make sense of the words. It was a little easier to breathe in this position, but not much. Where was she?

Ah… she smiled wearily… she was being fitted for her first suit. The cybernetic interfaces had already been grafted into her skin in preparation for the fitting. Her father must have been somewhere nearby. He was the best suit technician on the ship. He would surely have crafted every inch of the suit for her. She looked around for him, but there was only a strange alien that hovered over her. Where was her suit?

No, she couldn't be getting a suit. Her implants had malfunctioned. Perhaps surgeons were preparing to replace them with new ones. That was why it was so cold. She was on a sterile table in a surgical room. But she was coughing. It was hard to breathe. They wouldn't risk performing surgery if she was sick. She didn't understand. It was so hard to concentrate. She felt like she was dying…

Dying…

_Oh Keelah, I'm dying…_

The thought passed through her head, and she struggled to slip from the grasp of the hands that held her. She couldn't die here. Not now. She needed to see Selura. She couldn't go without saying goodbye. But where was Selura? Was she hiding in her sleeping niche again? Everyone had been so mean to her because she made a mistake.

"Selura," she whispered the name urgently. "Please… I need her here…"

She wasn't even really sure what she was saying. She only knew that she couldn't die without telling the asari how she felt. She knew she was asking her mother to put her life at risk by requesting this… To put the asari in the same room with her while she didn't have a suit. But she didn't want to die alone.

"Mother please…" she begged, "I need her."

The voice said something, but she didn't understand it. Why couldn't she understand? Was she truly so sick that her mind couldn't make sense of the words? The voice didn't sound like her mother's. And the blurry figure didn't look like her mother. It was a strange alien. The alien looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where she'd seen it…

"Please," she begged again, "I… I just want… to hold her hand… before I die…" she coughed violently.

She hoped her mother would do this one thing for her. Just one chance to touch Selura's hand… to feel her skin… if she was going to die, surely her mother would give her this one last gift…

.

* * *

.

**Author's Note: Happy Holidays! And as always, thank you to everyone who has taken time out of their day to read, review, favorite/follow or otherwise pay any attention to the story. Your continued interest is awesome, and I hope I am continuing to entertain.**

**I'm sorry that the holiday edition of the story isn't a little more upbeat, but this was written several weeks ago, and I have just been posting on my normal schedule (until today). I never looked ahead to see which Chapter would end up where. So, you all have my apologies for the tone of the Chapter, but hopefully you all still enjoy it. And since I don't have much else to say about the content of this Chapter, I'll just finish by saying I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday!**

**The next update, barring any disasters, will be on my usual schedule, which would put it on Saturday morning. Take care of yourselves!**


	37. Chapter 37: Risk

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Risk

.

**South Ravine, Just outside Scott…**

"Illitha?"

The young engineer closed her eyes more firmly when the voice addressed her, pressing her face into the layers of blankets beneath her. She didn't immediately place the voice, and she waved a hand dismissively without looking in the direction of the speaker.

"Jus' five more minutes," she mumbled.

Muffled laugher answered her request, and a hand gently shook her. She groaned in protest, pulling the blankets up over her head, but someone yanked them away from her. She turned over, opening her eyes and glaring sleepily at her visitor. Rachel grinned down at her, shaking her head in amusement. She could barely see the girl in the gloom of the cavern. She sighed.

"Your mother must have loved waking you for school," the blonde joked.

Illitha rubbed her eyes, yawning as she tried to shake off her residual sleepiness. She'd had disturbing dreams throughout the night… she couldn't remember many of the details now, but a lingering sense of disquiet filled her. If it weren't for the fact that they were outside the city and well away from the Reaper devices, she might have been afraid that she was being indoctrinated. She silently cursed the Reapers for that. She'd never be able to have nightmares again without imagining that she was being brainwashed.

"How long was I sleeping?" she finally asked, struggling to rise from the pile of blankets that served as her bed.

"About twelve hours."

"What?" Illitha's eyes widened. "Why did you let me sleep for so long?"

"You were exhausted," Rachel smiled at her. "You said it had been days since you slept. You needed the rest."

Illitha frowned. Obviously, if she'd been asleep for that long, she _had_ needed the rest. But she didn't like the idea that their mission had been delayed for half a day while she was asleep. She couldn't deny the fact, however, that after the meal she'd had before lying down and then a decent amount of sleep, she felt significantly better. She got up and stared around at the gloomy cavern she'd chosen as her room. It seemed darker than she would have expected given the time she'd been sleeping. With the length of the Terra Nova days, it should have been the planet's version of mid-afternoon. The air was humid, and she guessed that it was either raining or was about to start.

"D-Did any of our new companions give you any trouble?" she asked as she started dressing in her armor.

"No," Rachel shook her head. "I was skeptical at first, but I think we can trust them. They've been really curious about you though. I had to get inventive about your Spectre training and activities."

Illitha's shoulders slumped. _What sort of lies has she been telling them? I really hoped to drop this charade. Me? A Spectre? That is just ridiculous._

"Don't worry," Rachel grinned at her. "I tried not to make you sound too godlike."

"Gee, thanks," Illitha muttered. "W-Would you mind turning around?" she asked. She had slept in the Alliance uniform she'd been wearing, but she still felt self-conscious with the human watching her put on her armor.

"Uh… Sure, I guess," the girl seemed a little baffled, but did as she was told. "I think some of the boys will be useful. That guy Jay is a hell of a shot with a rifle. I gave him the sniper rifle we took from Parker and had him do a little target shooting. He never misses. It's amazing."

Illitha listened as she secured the clasps on the armor and straightened it a bit. She felt immeasurably better in the protective gear, even if it was a little loose around the chest. She found herself wishing she could get a set made to fit her rather petite frame. But she would take what she could get and was glad Harper left the set behind for her.

"The teenagers are a little more questionable," Rachel continued. "They're eager, but I suggest we leave them in supporting roles. Have them watch our backs."

"Agreed," Illitha said as she slipped her helmet on. "I did not want to put them in harm's way anyway. I d-do not like the idea of placing children in danger…"

"They're not kids," Rachel pointed out. "They're teenagers. Elliot is fifteen, and Danny is fourteen. In three or four years, they'd be old enough to join the Alliance."

Illitha didn't want to argue, but the numbers alone sounded staggeringly young. Asari were a long-lived species, and matured somewhat more slowly than most races. At fifteen, she had been a child. Most asari didn't begin puberty until at least twenty. She sighed and headed for the exit, and Rachel fell into step behind her when she walked by.

The subtle hiss of raindrops striking the ground reached her ears before they were within sight of the entrance, and sure enough, when she glanced outside, it was raining heavily. The other four humans were gathered in the area just inside the cavern's confines, huddled around a portable cooking unit, upon which they were frying some kind of meat in a pan. She shook her head. After days with little to no food, it was odd to be in a situation where there was fresh meat and other supplies in ample enough quantities for multiple meals in a day.

She had been shocked that morning when she took stock of the supplies the little group of bandits had stockpiled. There had been blankets, clothing, a couple of rifles and pistols, data pads, portable burners for food preparation, and a surprising assortment of foodstuffs. It made her angry to think of all the people that had been robbed of the food upon which they had expected to survive. But there was enough to feed this group for weeks, easily. Even if they ate twice a day. If they rationed it, it would last a month or more.

As she glanced at the large pile of containers that held their food, her thoughts turned to her companions, and especially Neela. The poor quarian had only enough food for another couple of days, and here she was in possession of enough food to last for weeks. She sighed. She still felt guilty for remaining in the city while her friends were in danger, but she couldn't turn away from this. If she ran off to find and warn her friends, she might save the three of them, but it was unlikely. Her work here, on the other hand, could save dozens… maybe more.

_Besides,_ she thought sullenly, _by now they could very well be dead. Their job must have been finished by now. I doubt he would leave them alive once they were done… I hope they listened to my warning._

"Hey Spectre," Elliot interrupted her thoughts, smiling at her cheerfully. "Miss Sanders says you single-handedly fought and killed two Krogan Battlemasters at the same time, and that you ripped off a Reaper hanar's tentacles and used them to beat it to death…"

Illitha turned to glare at Rachel, who at least had the grace to look a little uncomfortable. Fortunately, with her helmet on, it was unlikely that the other four could see the upset look in her eyes. The asari resisted the urge to sigh… Apparently, she had huge expectations to meet. She only hoped when these poor humans actually saw her in action, they wouldn't be too disappointed.

"Rachel… exaggerates," was all she said.

"Still, I'm sure glad you're on our side!" Elliot added with a smile.

"Have a seat, Spectre," Jay gestured to the spot next to him. "We have plenty of meat for dinner, and once this pan is clear, we'll heat up some beans. Maybe you could fill us in on the plan while we eat? You didn't really say anything about your mission this morning. But Sanders says you'd been awake for a couple days, so we understand."

"We really do appreciate a Spectre fighting to defend us," the other adult, Jack, added. "I know you'd probably rather be with your own people, getting ready to defend Thessia."

"I… I am here," Illitha said softly. "S-So I am doing what I must."

"We appreciate it," Jay reiterated. "But I'd really like to know what we're going to be doing."

"The R-Reapers have devices spread throughout the city," Illitha told them. "They are range-boosters for the Reaper ability to brainwash living beings. We… We cannot leave them functional. Anyone hiding in the city would be slowly turned into a t-traitor."

"Seriously? The Reapers can _do _that?" Elliot seemed shocked.

Illitha sighed, exchanging glances with Rachel. Judging from the blonde's expression, she was thinking the same thing that Illitha was. Why hadn't their various governments acknowledged the dangers the Reapers posed and educated the public about them? Maybe the civilian population would have been more prepared to keep themselves safe…

"So you're disabling the devices," Jay guessed, bringing her thoughts back to the matter at hand.

"Yes we are," Rachel answered for her.

"Well, it sounds important to me," Jack nodded. "So I'm in. Will we spread out in teams and destroy them? Or do you want-"

"We cannot destroy them," Illitha cut him off.

"What? Why not?" Elliot asked.

"T-The devices have a… a failsafe. If they are damaged, they send a signal to alert the Reapers. The Reapers would just replace them."

"Then if we can't destroy them…" Jay prompted.

"I have studied the devices and learned how to… to disengage the transmitters without destroying them. Doing so neutralizes the danger they pose… but… It… They cannot alert the Reapers to the malfunction if they are properly overridden," Illitha explained.

"Right," Rachel nodded. "So the first and only rule of this mission is: Keep the Spectre safe. We don't want anyone doing anything stupid, but Illitha has to be kept alive at all costs so that she can disable the devices."

"I know a little about electronics," Jack announced. "Could you teach me what to do?"

"I… I would like to," Illitha began hesitantly. "But once the emitters are disengaged, there is only a ten-second window in which to hack the main processor and disable the emergency protocol. It is… not something we can leave to chance. C-Could you hack a processor in that time?"

"No," the human shook his head. "I thought it was a matter of dismantling part of a device. I'm not much good with data security and hacking. I'm more of a tinkerer."

"Well, I appreciate the offer," Illitha smiled at him.

"Okay, then we're security," Jay nodded. "We fight to keep the Reapers at bay while you deal with the devices."

"W-We want to avoid fighting if we can," Illitha corrected. "I… I know you probably think a Spectre does a lot of fighting," she felt a little nauseous at even hinting that she might be such an important person, but continued anyway, "but believe me, if you fire shots in the city, the commotion will draw more and more Reapers u-until there are too many to escape."

"Believe me, she would know," Rachel told them. "But we have a plan that's been working so far. It's important to be discreet. No shooting unless there is _no_ other option."

"No shooting," Danny, the younger teen, nodded.

"Right," Illitha smiled at the teen. "I have a p-program that predicts where the devices will be located. We quietly move f-from place to place, ambush and kill the guards, and then I deal with the devices. W-With more people, we have a better chance of keeping any lingering Reapers from alerting others."

"But if we can't shoot…" Elliot frowned.

"Any of you have omni-tools with an omni-blade function installed?" Rachel asked.

"I do," Jack raised a hand.

"I didn't have time to grab my omni when the Reapers busted into our home," Jay sighed. "And El is too young to have tech that expensive."

"I don't have one either," Danny sighed.

"Then we'll have to improvise some weapons," Rachel suggested. "Pieces of pipe, sharp bits of metal… whatever we can find. Of course, everyone will have a rifle for emergencies, but we can't stress enough how important it is that we don't start shooting."

"Understood," Jay nodded. "Right guys?"

There was a chorus of mumbled agreements from the others. Illitha could tell none of them was happy about the idea of going into the city and having to fight Reapers hand-to-hand, but there really wasn't another option. She hoped that she wasn't going to be responsible for their deaths by bringing them alone. None of them had armor or kinetic shielding. If her own armor wasn't sized for a female, she might have offered it to one of them. At the thought, an idea occurred to her.

"If we find any impact-resistant polymers in the city, tell me at once."

"Why? What are you thinking?" Rachel asked.

"I m-may be able to create a… a vest," she explained. "You know… l-like the one I made for myself. Something to provide a little protection…"

"You made a vest? What kind of vest?" Elliot asked.

"Her first set of armor was ruined by a harvester she killed," Rachel answered, drawing an irritated glare from Illitha. "She cut apart pieces of it and turned it into an armored vest to protect herself. She made the helmet too."

"You made that?" Elliot turned his gaze upon Illitha, who had to suppress the urge to shrink away from the combined attention of the five humans. "That thing looks awesome!"

"Uh… Th-Thank you," Illitha stammered. "It… It was important to p-protect myself. It will be important to acquire some protection for all of you too."

"Until we do, we'll only ask you guys to put yourselves in danger if it's absolutely necessary," Rachel promised. "If there are only one or two Reapers in any given place, we can deal with them ourselves. But you will all be backup and support."

"N-No one will try to be a hero, okay?" Illitha looked around at the humans. "We w-work as a team. You might not be asked to fight, but if w-we ask you to guard an entrance or… or whatever, it will still be important work."

"We understand, Spectre," Jay answered on behalf of the group. "We won't get in the way, and we won't let you down."

"Good," Illitha nodded. "Then… let us eat s-so we can get moving."

Rachel grinned at Illitha. The asari frowned, reminding herself to talk to Rachel later about the lies and stories she had told. She fought two krogan Battlemasters? Preposterous. She'd been too frightened of her own father to even stand up to him. She was pretty sure if an angry krogan ever attacked her, she would have passed out from sheer terror. And apparently she'd also torn off a hanar's limbs and beat it to death with them. She wondered what other stories the blonde had told these poor people about her.

Worse, they'd apparently believed them. Somehow, she had the feeling they were going to be sorely disappointed in the days to come…

* * *

**Mivian Heights…**

Zaeed reclined on the bench he'd chosen as his spot, gazing down into the gorge at the foliage below. The lack of activity was beginning to wear upon him, and he had spent most of the day wishing that the Reapers would come and invade the town or something, just to give him something to do. The Alliance forces in the town, as near as he could tell, had no intention whatsoever of fighting the Reapers. And he was starting to get suspicions as to why.

It had been almost a full Terra Nova day since he had advised the engineers to blow up the Reaper devices. The destruction of the Reaper tech had thrown the entire town into chaos for a time. The Alliance captain had insisted that everyone in the town be questioned, and several of the soldiers were detained briefly over the course of that first night. But all were eventually released. Zaeed had been questioned as well, but since a dozen soldiers had seen him field stripping his rifle at the time of the explosions, he was quickly given leave to go on about his business.

Still, Zaeed was beginning to wonder if it wasn't too late already for some of the soldiers in the town. Perhaps some were already indoctrinated… including the captain. Either that or the man was naturally paranoid. The former seemed the more likely option. It would explain a great deal… including the fact that the Alliance hadn't made any attempt to organize an offensive in the past couple days.

"Hey Massani," a voice called to him.

He turned at the sound of the voice. Turian voices tended to have distinct qualities that were impossible to mistake, so he already knew it would be Prathus before he actually spotted the turian shambling toward him. It was surprising to see him up and around so quickly, though he still wasn't walking very well. As the former soldier drew closer, Zaeed could tell from the look in his eyes and the way his mandibles were twitching that he wasn't happy.

"You're a resilient bastard, I'll give you that," Zaeed muttered when the turian was within earshot. "They let you get up and walk around already?"

"I didn't give them a choice," the turian commented. "You've been up here for the last day or so, right?"

"Yeah," Zaeed nodded, wondering what had prompted this line of questioning.

"Did you happen to see a group of Alliance soldiers come into town last night?"

"Yeah," the mercenary nodded again. "Brought a truck full of supplies in with them. Seems like their mission in the city was a success."

"Could you point them out to me? I heard they brought a message from a member of my crew with them. I'd like to find out more, if I can."

Zaeed turned his gaze upon the foliage in the gorge below once again, giving it a moment of thought. He didn't really feel like playing the part of tour guide, but at least it was _something_ to do. Finally he slipped from his seat and gestured for the turian to follow him.

"What's so urgent about talking to them?" Zaeed asked.

"Well, I'd like to know that my engineer is safe," Prathus muttered. "But I'd also like to find out from someone in the Alliance what happened with these bombings. I figure these new people had been working with T'Zari, so they might be more inclined to help out her friends."

"What about the bombings?"

"I need to know what the hell happened," the turian seemed a little upset. "My friend Dalinas has been confined to a cell because she was apparently the only person in the entire town without an alibi for the time of the bombings…"

"Ah," was all Zaeed said.

The two of them checked a few different buildings that had been set aside for various Alliance uses, before they finally headed for a building on the west end of town designated for the Engineering Corps. Zaeed supposed it probably should have been their first stop, but he'd thought to find the two men either in the library, which had become the unofficial off-duty hangout for the men, or in an old restaurant, which had naturally been converted to the mess hall.

It was McSween that he spotted first. The red-haired man stood out from the rest of his comrades as the only one with that particular hair color. He led the way to where the young engineer was seated. When McSween looked up, Zaeed inclined his head in a subtle greeting.

"Zaeed," the engineer greeted him. "What brings ye 'ere?"

"This is Prathus," Zaeed introduced the turian. "He is friends with that engineer you mentioned from the city. He had some questions."

"If you have a minute," Prathus nodded. "I can see you're busy."

"No, not at all," McSween shook his head. "For a friend o' Illitha's, I've got time. She's a good lass."

"I heard you brought a message from her to the Alliance," the turian got straight to the point. "What was it about?"

"Reaper devices," McSween explained. "She got copies o' these analysis files, an' found out that the bloody things were range boosters for indoctrination. We got back 'ere as quickly as we could to warn our superiors."

"Someone blew up the devices," Prathus nodded. "But it obviously wasn't your superiors, since they confined my friend to a cell for it. So I take it they didn't believe the reports?"

"No," the engineer frowned. "The captain does'na like Illitha much. He immediately dismissed the files as some kind o' conspiracy to undermine 'is authority."

"Who else did you tell about the devices? Someone must have decided that they were dangerous…"

"I overheard the conversation," Zaeed admitted. "I was ready to leave town, but someone else took initiative and did the right thing." He wasn't going to implicate the engineers. In his opinion, they'd done the only thing that made sense… destroyed the devices. And of course, it had been his idea.

"Aye," McSween nodded. "It was the right thing to do. But the captain apparently had some Reaper expert examine the bloody things and tell 'im it was safer to leave them intact. Now he's got men wasting time tryin' to find out who destroyed the devices when we should be concentrating on more important things… Like Reapers."

"Well, I think your captain has lost his mind," Prathus muttered. "But I need to figure out how to clear Dalinas so she can return to the hospital. She didn't do this."

"No, she did'na do it," McSween sighed. "I did. She should'na be punished for my actions."

"You blew them up?" the turian lowered his voice, looking around warily.

"Aye."

"Then give me something. Some way I can prove Dalinas wasn't involved without implicating you," the turian glanced at Zaeed. "Zaeed is right. It was the right thing to do. But Dalinas can't be sitting in a cell because of it. She's a medic, and we need her."

"I dinnae know what to tell ye," McSween was obviously torn. Zaeed could tell that he felt guilty, not only because someone else was being blamed for what he did, but for some personal reason as well. "We used recon mines from our salvage to coordinate the blasts. That way we could be surrounded by people when the explosions occurred."

"Recon mines," the turian nodded thoughtfully. "Well, there wouldn't be much evidence of them left. But perhaps… if there was a list of the inventory you recovered somewhere?"

"Sorry," the engineer shook his head. "We did'na take stock o' the supplies until after we'd removed the mines. Part o' our team unloaded while we slipped off to deal wi' the threats."

"How would you even bring this evidence to the Alliance?" Zaeed asked. "They'd be more likely to accuse you of creating the evidence than they would to believe it."

"I don't know," the turian was clearly frustrated. "I just can't let my companion sit in a cell while they try to prove her guilty of sabotage."

"If you ask me, those Reaper devices already indoctrinated half of the soldiers here," Zaeed muttered. "I've seen a fair bit of paranoia, focus on all the wrong things, and a lot of inaction over the last day or so. I'm not sure the captain or half of his buddies are even still on the right side."

"Would indoctrination occur that fast?" Prathus wondered.

"No idea," Zaeed admitted. "I wasn't with Shepard at the beginning. But I always got the impression it was dangerous to spend _any_ amount of time near Reaper tech. And most of these soldiers have been here for a solid three Terra Nova days," he regarded the turian steadily. "You were here when they arrived, just like I was. You know."

"Yeah," Prathus nodded. "That's what… a hundred and twelve hours? If indoctrination can happen inside of a week, there's a good chance you may be right."

"If that's true, what do we do?" McSween asked. "How could we even tell who's still playin' wi' a full deck?"

"You've got me," Zaeed snorted.

"First thing first," Prathus frowned. "I need to figure out how to get Dalinas out of her cell."

"I hesitate to suggest it, but… What about another explosion?" McSween suggested. "If something blows up now, they cannae blame the lass for it, can they?"

A ghost of a smile touched Zaeed's lips. He rather liked the way the engineer thought. It seemed that to clear the asari of sabotage, they needed to sabotage something else. He wasn't sure it would help to stem the tide of paranoia that seemed to have gripped the commanding officer of the Alliance forces here, but perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing. If the man started acting irrationally enough, they might have the excuse to remove him from command and put someone a bit more stable in charge. He still had one recon mine left. So there was only one question remaining.

"What do we blow up?" he asked.

"How about a bloody hideous transport truck?" McSween suggested. "We got the old girl runnin', but she should be put out o' her misery."

"Just make sure you and everyone you know has an alibi for hours prior to detonation," Prathus suggested. "Apparently, if you don't have witnesses to everything you do leading up to the explosion, that makes you guilty."

"Aye," McSween nodded.

"Then maybe it's time to get a goddamn card game going," Zaeed suggested. "I sincerely doubt when the people evacuated, they bothered to take their cards with them. There's gotta be a deck around somewhere."

"I'm sure we could hunt one down," Prathus nodded. "Plant the device, and then we'll play. But I think our game will be interrupted an hour or two in," the turian chuckled.

Zaeed snorted. This was just the sort of thing he needed to make his day a bit more interesting. And he hoped it might get the ball rolling on putting the Alliance back into the fight. If this group of soldiers didn't start hitting the Reapers soon, he was going to have to go searching for another pocket of resistance somewhere that was a bit more active. He was tired of sitting around with nothing to do.

* * *

**Resort Hospital, Mivian Heights…**

When awareness returned to Selura, at first she couldn't figure out where she was. It took her eyes a little time to focus, and once they did, she found herself in a cozy little room that looked remarkably like it was intended to be a bedroom. The fact that she was lying in a comfortable bed was therefore not all that surprising. But she had no idea how she'd come to be there. The last thing she remembered was getting shot… and then Neela had been with her. She told her about the Prothean stasis pods, and then… she didn't remember anything after that. She could only assume Neela had rescued her.

What was puzzling and slightly disappointing was that she saw no sign of the quarian. She knew it was selfish and unreasonable, but she'd expected Neela to be hovering near her bedside. Neela had obviously saved her, so she had to be okay, but… where was she?

The young scientist knew better than to try to sit up. She could feel the sharp, throbbing pain that permeated her abdomen, and she was very aware that she must have been recently out of surgery. She was just glad that the Prothean stasis pods had kept her alive long enough to be taken to safety… or at least so she assumed.

"Hello?" she called out, but her voice cracked. Her throat was terribly dry and scratchy. "Someone?"

A young man in armor appeared in the doorway, and he regarded her for a moment before raising a hand as if to warn her to stay where she was. She checked the urge to sigh. She certainly wasn't going anywhere.

"Wait here," he said. "I'll get the doc."

"I'll try not to run any marathons," she muttered sarcastically, and watched as he stepped out of her field of view. With nothing to do but wait, she allowed herself the indulgence of a smile. She wasn't happy about having been betrayed by the salarian, but she was alive, and she assumed that meant the captain had been saved from stasis as well. She hoped the others were all okay. Given her location, it seemed likely that they were.

"Hello," the human doctor smiled at her when she entered the room. "You're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Sore… and confused," Selura whispered. "And my throat is dry."

"I'll get you some water," the doctor promised. "But first, do you know where you are?"

"Not a clue," Selura grinned ruefully. "In a bed somewhere," she added.

The doctor laughed softly, shaking her head. "I guess that was a bad question," she admitted. "You were in stasis when you arrived. Let's try a different one. What's your name?"

"Selura Leneur. How long was I out?"

"We took you out of stasis and performed the surgery to repair the damage about a day ago," the woman informed her. "You've been unconscious since. Do you know what planet you're on?"

"I assume I am still on Terra Nova," the corner of Selura's lips curled upward. "Unless my friends somehow got us off world. How bad was I hurt?"

"Sorry, you're still here," the doctor smiled. "As for your injuries, I know it sounds odd to say it when you've been shot, but you were lucky."

"How so?" Selura was confused. She certainly didn't _feel_ lucky, except perhaps to be alive.

"According to your companions, you were shot with armor-piercing ammo. It punched through the armor you were wearing. But the upside is that the mods that generate that sort of ammo are made to pierce objects. The rounds went right through you instead of transmitting their force across a wider area the way unmodded rounds would have. So the damage was less extensive."

"I do not understand why he left me alive," Selura admitted. "I remember seeing him crouching over me. He could certainly have fired one last bullet into my head. But he passed up on the opportunity."

"I'm afraid I can't answer that one. Maybe he thought he'd done enough to kill you. But never mind him now. I need you to answer a few more questions for me. How many fingers am I holding up?" she raised her hand with two fingers extended.

"Two," Selura answered. "Where is Neela? I thought she would be here when I woke."

The doctor looked suddenly uncomfortable, but stepped closer to the bed, holding up a finger. "Follow my finger with your eyes."

"Where is she?" Selura repeated, concerned over the human's unwillingness to answer. "Is she okay?" she asked, feeling panic well up inside of her.

"She is alive," the doctor assured her. "Please, let me finish my exam."

"No," Selura shook her head, growing increasingly concerned over the doctor's evasiveness. "I have to see her. Where is she?"

"She is quarantined in an isolation chamber," the woman finally admitted. "Her suit was severely damaged and disabled. She is suffering from reactions to multiple types of exposure…"

"Goddess," Selura breathed. She'd spoken with Neela about her suit and the reasons her people wore them. If her suit had been disabled... she felt her panic increase. She tried to get up, but the doctor seemed to anticipate the reaction and firmly held her down. "Where is she? I have to talk to her. How did this happen?"

"I don't know the details," the doctor sighed. "But you can't see her right now. She is isolated in a sterile room. And she is delirious. I've managed to reduce her fever somewhat, but… the prognosis is… uncertain."

"She is dying?" Selura was horrified. She could read between the lines. The doctor didn't think Neela would live.

"I don't know."

"I have to see her. Please," Selura begged. "Just through a window… if I could talk to her…"

"She asked for you," the doctor seemed hesitant to say it, but pressed on. "She was rambling senselessly, and she started begging her mother if she could see you and hold your hand…"

Selura felt tears slide down her cheeks. The girl was dying and delirious, and still wanted to see her? Neela's mother was a physician, so perhaps she had thought in her fevered state that she was in a med bay on her birth ship. The asari covered her face with her hands and started sobbing. Every sob sent a little wave of pain through her, but she barely noticed because a much more agonizing pain was assaulting her: She felt like her heart was breaking. She couldn't believe this was happening. If Neela died… her heart almost stopped at the thought.

"I gathered that the two of you are… close. So I… I guess the decision is yours," the doctor finally murmured. "There is no intercom to the isolation room, and we have no protective gear that would fit you. If we put you in the room with her, her system's reaction to your presence on top of everything else… it might be too much. But… she may not survive even if she remains isolated. So if you want to be with her…"

Selura sobbed, torn with indecision. She wanted nothing more than to be with Neela… to hold her hand and stay with her until either she recovered, or… or… She couldn't give voice to the other outcome even in her mind. But it was a selfish thought. She wanted to be with Neela to comfort her, of course, but part of her was terrified that the girl might die, and she would never have had the chance to hold her hand again. If she joined her in the isolation room, however, she would be adding yet another source of contamination to what apparently had been too many exposures already. If she went in there and then Neela died… it could well be her fault.

"I cannot," she finally whispered. "I cannot risk exposing her to anything else." It broke her heart to say it, but she couldn't risk that her presence would be the thing that was finally the breaking point for Neela's ability to recover. She would just have to pray that Neela would survive. It was all she could do.

The doctor sat on the edge of her bed, placing a hand on her shoulder while she sobbed. She barely even noticed the sympathetic attempt to comfort her. She never even asked about Prathus or Aida or Captain Nisaria. Her thoughts were centered solely upon the woman she loved… and might soon lose.

* * *

**Library, Mivian heights…**

Prathus did his best to hide his frustration as he stared at the cards in his hand. He hadn't been familiar with the human game of poker prior to the quick tutorial the red-haired human had given him, but he was doing quite well at it. He suspected the sole reason he was holding his own was because the humans didn't know how to read his expression. And for the few humans that could, his frustration might have been throwing them, because his thoughts were not on the game, but on his companion, who was stuck in a cell somewhere.

He had expected their card game to be interrupted after an hour… perhaps two. The recon mine was presumably set and waiting the trigger for detonation, and McSween was supposed to blow it up once they'd had adequate time to claim as an alibi. And yet they had been playing cards for almost five hours. Off-duty soldiers and a few civilians had quickly joined in; most were eager for something to take their mind off of the invasion. Prathus, as he stared at the grinning red-haired engineer on the opposite side of the table, was beginning to wonder if the man had forgotten the plan.

Zaeed was likewise seemingly engrossed in the game, the turian noted. Although with Zaeed, it was difficult to say for sure. The man's stone-faced expression was serving him well in terms of outplaying the others at the table, but for all Prathus knew, the mercenary might have been as impatient as he was himself. The only good that could possibly come of the protracted length of the game, in his view, was that they would have plenty of witnesses to account for their whereabouts during a period of multiple uninterrupted hours.

Still, the turian was seriously beginning to consider pulling McSween aside to demand an explanation for the delay when a sound from outside caught his attention. It was not, however, the explosive sound he had been expecting. Instead, the harsh, reptilian cry of a harvester echoed through the town. Everyone at the table froze, and many of the men exchanged glances when the cry was repeated. And then again… in ever-increasing numbers.

All at once, the echoing sound of assault rifles and the resounding discharge of harvester fire filled the silence of the afternoon. The men all scrambled for the exits, and Prathus quickly reached out and grabbed McSween's arm as the engineer was passing. He pulled the human to a stop.

"Where is your armory?" he demanded. He had no idea where the weapons he'd been carrying prior to his hospitalization would be found now. And he didn't have time to look.

"I'll show ye the way," the engineer nodded toward the door.

Prathus limped along behind the human, trying to ignore the pain in his legs. The injuries had been mere flesh wounds, and so the medigel alone had been speeding the healing process tremendously, but they were not yet fully healed, and when he walked, the movement of the muscles sent minor but irritating jolts of pain through both legs.

When they got out into the street, Prathus's eyes widened in shock. Apparently, the destruction of the Reaper devices had indeed drawn attention. The sky was filled with harvesters, endlessly circling and strafing the streets of the small town. He couldn't get an accurate count with the creatures swooping in and out of sight over the buildings, but he guessed there was a dozen at least. And if there were harvesters over the town, they were undoubtedly dropping off troops. All around him, Alliance soldiers were firing at the creatures whenever they flew into view, but the Reaper creatures were large and heavily armored; they could withstand a lot of punishment.

He followed McSween along through the streets, the two of them sticking close to the buildings to keep out of the line of harvester fire as they moved. As they traveled, he noted that the engineer had activated his omni-tool and was looking at the holographic display of the recon mine's laser scanning system.

"Why didn't you detonate that thing hours ago?" Prathus demanded.

The human paused in his stride, turning around and holding up his omni-tool to show off the holographic display. "Because it was a bloody stupid plan," McSween growled. "How was I supposed to activate this bloody thing without everyone at the damned table seein' it?"

Prathus suddenly understood. The human had been trying to figure out how to detonate the mine without giving himself away. Even if he had activated his omni under the table, the glow would have been obvious, and a detonation at that same moment might have been a bit too much to pass off as coincidence.

"How'd you pull it off the first time?" Prathus asked as they ducked around a corner onto a new street.

"The first time, me an' Harper were talkin' wi' some o' the marines. I told Harper I would transfer a file to 'im, and we both activated our 'tools to cover it. But… In a poker game, I had no reason to use an omni. Unless I was cheatin'… or activatin' a bomb. Wait a sec…" he paused in his stride, crouching in the shadows of a building and looking at the display.

Prathus could see the holographic image clearly, and understood what the engineer was waiting for. The recon mine's mapping system was outlining the figures of several reapers, using the truck as cover. A few more were visible as faint images on the edge of the display's range. As he watched, the few stragglers moved closer.

"Goodbye, ye bastards…" the engineer growled, triggering the mine.

The sound of the explosion drowned out even the sounds of gunfire in the area. Prathus could see the flash of the detonation from over the buildings to the east. And the recon mine's scanner had confirmed his other suspicion… that if there were harvesters, there would be ground forces too.

"C'mon," McSween gestured. "The armory is right at the end o' the street."

Prathus nodded, following as quickly as he could toward the building. Even as they approached, he could see cannibals fanning out in front of the structure, and spotted Alliance troops in the windows, firing back. He staggered to a stop next to one of the buildings flanking the street and sighed in frustration. They were going to have a hard time reaching the building without getting shot. Why couldn't his weapons have been stored in his recovery room with his armor?

"We need to make a run for it," Prathus muttered to the human. "I have an electromagnetic pulse generator with a neural shock element installed on my omni. You have a pistol," he nodded toward the engineer's sidearm. "If we strike them from behind and run for the armory doors, we should be able to get through before they drop our shields."

"Aye," McSween nodded. "If ye think ye can make that run… I was'na sure ye were up to it."

"Don't have much choice, do I?" Prathus shook his head, readying his omni-tool.

The two of them made a break for the building as soon as Prathus was ready. The human covered the distance with incredible speed… he was quite a sprinter. Prathus, on the other hand, did his best, but his legs just weren't up to a true run. The human fired at the Reapers as he ran through, and as soon as Prathus was in range, he stunned one of the Reapers with his omni-tool, but the cannibals were quick to adapt and return fire. If it wasn't for the men in the armory providing covering fire, the two might not have made it. As it was, Prathus's shields were on the verge of collapse by the time he stumbled to the door and ducked out of the line of fire.

"I need a rifle," he announced, sagging against one of the walls and rubbing his bad leg. The pain was much worse in the one he'd injured during the Relay 314 incident. The other one just stung a bit from the healing bullet wounds.

McSween passed him an Alliance-issue Avenger rifle and a handful of thermal clips, and appropriated one for himself. Then he tossed the turian a number of grenades in succession, a few proximity mines and a mine launcher for his rifle, and then a pistol as well. Prathus caught each item thrown to him, quite happily accepting all the firepower he could get.

"We're dug in pretty solid," one of the marines at the window assured them. "Mod those weapons while you have the chance. We have to get this shit loaded into a skycab or something… we can't abandon the supplies."

Prathus nodded and set to work. Fortunately, for a trained soldier, it was a simple matter to quickly install a few mods into a rifle and stow some extra gear. In less than a minute, he had two mods and the proximity mine launcher properly incorporated into his rifle. He quickly armed the weapon and slid the proximity mines into the loader on the underside of the barrel. With that accomplished, he immediately turned and fired a proximity mine at the floor in the doorway. The mine locked to the plating and armed with an audible beep.

"Door's trapped," he announced.

"What's the plan? How do we get the gear out o' 'ere?" McSween asked.

"_Attention all Alliance per-"_ a radio transmission began, but faded into indistinct static after a moment.

Prathus was surprised when he received the signal. He'd forgotten that radio communications weren't entirely cut. Short range communications were still possible, if a little unreliable.

"Hold your fire," one of the marines called out.

"_-peat, do _not_ fall back to the gorge… all forces-" _the signal faded momentarily, "_-out into the grasslands. Draw them away from-" _the signal cut out once more.

"That was Captain Tarrislav's voice," a marine pointed out.

"Fall back into the grasslands?" Another man repeated. "Did I hear that right? We'll be out in the open. Why not fall back to the gorge, where there's cover?"

"Think about it," Prathus snapped. "If you fall back to the gorge, you'd be leading the Reapers to the hospital down there. Injured soldiers, doctors, medical supplies… they'd all be trapped in a big hole in the ground with no way out but to fly through the harvesters."

"Aye," McSween nodded. "Tarrislav is making sense for once. We draw the Reapers away from the hospital, so that they might not find the bloody place."

"Still leaves us with the problem of getting these weapons out," one of the marines pointed out.

An explosion from the doorway interrupted any further conversation between them, and the smoldering remains of a husk tumbled across the floor to land against the far wall of the room. Several of the marines resumed their positions at the windows, firing on the Reapers outside while McSween, Prathus, and a dark-skinned marine with a sparse beard huddled together to discuss the situation.

"There's a shuttle somewhere in town," Prathus told them. "But I have no idea where Massani would have landed the damned thing."

"The transport truck is gone," McSween frowned.

"Wait… what about the civilian cargo truck I came in on? What happened to that thing? It used to be parked near the library."

"It was moved over to the buildings near the tram rail where the civilians were housed," the marine answered. "But I've seen it. It's definitely big enough to carry all of this stuff," he gestured to the crates of armor and explosives, and the weapons arrayed on the tables.

"Then we need it," McSween nodded. "I'm a fast runner. I can get it and bring it 'ere."

"The second it starts moving, the harvesters will be all over it," Prathus warned. "It's a civilian transport. I doubt it can absorb much punishment."

"Take that and go with him," the marine suggested, pointing to a missile launcher leaning in a corner. "There are three missiles left."

"Aye," McSween grinned. "I've seen firsthand the damage those buggers do to the harvesters. And when we start rollin', I'll radio for air support. There are two Trident fighters out there somewhere."

"You hope," Prathus added.

"Aye. I hope."

* * *

**Security Office, Mivian Heights…**

Aida hurled another biotic throw at the makeshift gate that served as the door of her cell, watching the bars jerk violently outward. The entire door was bending from the force of the repeated biotic strikes, but she was having no luck breaking out of the cell. The Alliance had cobbled together makeshift cell doors since the security office in the town was without power for the regular doors that would have sealed the cells. Unfortunately, they had done their work quite well. The sounds of gunfire and explosions were drawing closer and closer, and Aida was afraid that when the Reapers reached the building, they would find her still caged. She would be an easy kill.

She summoned another biotic orb, and was just about to hurl it at the door when an armored figure dashed into the room, the air around him shimmering faintly as bullets ricocheted off of his barrier. He stumbled and fell to the ground, but even as he rolled over, he was already reaching into a pouch at his hip and activating a grenade, which he promptly tossed through the door and out into the street. There was a flash and a thunderous explosion that shook the building, and the stranger rolled to a crouched position, his rifle aimed through the door, scanning the street outside.

Apparently he was satisfied that the area was clear for the moment, because he soon rose to his feet and turned toward the cell, activating his omni-tool's welding function to cut through the lock that kept her door closed. Aida couldn't see his face because he was wearing a helmet with a dark visor, but she was grateful to the stranger just the same. The moment the cell door swung open, Aida eagerly stepped outside, immensely relieved to be out of confinement.

"Thank you," she murmured. "I thought I would be left in there to die."

"I would never leave anyone to the Reapers," a vaguely familiar voice answered her.

"Lieutenant Mullins?" she asked. "Is that you?"

"Of course," the Lieutenant nodded. "I was the one that opted to detain you. Your safety is my responsibility. Now I have to get you out of town."

"I have to get back to the hospital," Aida insisted. "My friends-"

"Will have to survive without you," Mullins interrupted. "We are under orders to flee into the grasslands, _not_ toward the gorge."

"What?" Aida was confused. "You are being ordered to flee into the open? Instead of toward shelter?"

"If we flee to the gorge, we draw the Reapers right to the hospital," the Lieutenant pointed out. "Captain Tarrislav ordered all personnel to flee in the opposite direction, and to draw the Reapers after us and away from the town and gorge."

Aida was surprised. Her first thought had been that Tarrislav was once again foolishly ordering his men into the open to be slaughtered, like he had at the F.O.B.. But now she could see the wisdom of the plan. The hospital was at the bottom of the gorge, hidden by surrounding foliage and steam from geothermal vents. If no one ran that way, the Reapers might have no reason to investigate the area. She hoped the plan would work. Captain Nisaria was in no condition to be moved, Neela would definitely die if removed from isolation, and Selura, as far as she knew, was still unconscious. Her friends needed more time to recover.

"Then let us draw the Reapers away," Aida decided, filled with resolve.

"Can you fire a weapon?" Mullins demanded, holding a pistol out to her.

"I am no marksman, but I can use a pistol," she nodded, taking the proffered weapon. She also concentrated and formed a barrier to protect herself.

"Okay," the human moved to the door, quickly scanning the street outside. He fired a few shots, and then turned back to Aida. "Stay on my ass. Where I go, you go. I'll do my best to keep you out of the line of fire."

"I have a barrier," Aida assured him.

"I saw the shimmer when you created it," he nodded. "Must be nice to be a biotic. But still, you're not armored, so keep low and let them concentrate on shooting me."

Aida smiled faintly and nodded her head. She hadn't been sure what to make of the human at first, but she was beginning to see him as a fair-minded and honorable individual. He'd come back to release her, after all, and even though he'd never cleared her of the suspicions about her involvement in the bombings, he was trying to keep her safe and trusting her with a weapon. She was glad that they'd placed a man like him in charge of the investigation. She had a feeling if Tarrislav had been overseeing it, she would have been left in her cell to rot.

"Ready?" the human took a place next to the door, peering outside.

"Yes," Aida nodded.

"We're clear for the moment. Let's go," he prompted, and darted outside without waiting for her response.

Aida followed him into the streets, staring up in awe at the veritable swarm of harvesters crisscrossing overhead. She did spot an Alliance fighter streaking by, but it seemed to her that the Reapers had come in force. Apparently, like the F.O.B. before it, Mivian Heights was lost…

.

* * *

.

**Author's Note: I hope everyone had a happy holiday. And as always, thank you to everyone who has read, commented, favorited/followed, or otherwise given any attention to my story. You're all fantastic, and your continued interest is the driving force behind my continued dedication to this story. I'd finish it one way or the other, don't get me wrong, but you all are a huge factor in my remaining motivated. :)**

**Just a little note about this Chapter. Nothing was ever said specifically in the game regarding how quickly asari mature, so the reference to asari maturity in the first section is just my guesswork based on Liara's history and comments. She was just over 100 in the first game and had been studying the Protheans for 50 years. She doesn't strike me as the type to spend a few years after graduation from college just hanging out, so I figured graduation was around age 50. Since a doctorate can be attained around 25 for us (give or take a few years), I just doubled all the numbers for humans and used that as a reference. Puberty around 18-26, graduation from high school around 36, college graduation at 50, etc. Seems to work. But this is just my take it. I'm sure others may have other ideas. But hopefully I'm not too far off the mark from anyone's headcannon.**

**Barring any mishaps, the next installment of the story won't be until next year... On Thursday, specifically. I hope everyone has a fantastic New Year's Eve, and I wish you all the very best in 2013!**


	38. Chapter 38: Hordes

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Hordes

.

**Mivian Heights…**

Husks poured into the building in a veritable swarm, screeching in anticipation of the kill. All at once the sounds of a half-dozen rifles firing drowned out the voices of the Reapers, echoing off the surrounding walls in a deafening cacophony. The sound of one rifle stood out from the others, because while most of them shared a distinct tone and measured rhythm, the standout fired each round with a resounding bang and the shots were irregular in pattern. One husk after another pitched over, riddled with bullets, and within moments the room was deathly quiet and still.

"Clear," someone called out.

"Maybe for the moment, but it won't last," Zaeed muttered under his breath. He lowered his Mattock, surveying his work with satisfaction.

The Alliance's Avenger rifles were fine weapons and capable of putting enemies down, but he vastly preferred the precision and power of his favorite rifle. It was nice to have one in his hands. By his count, the kill shots that had taken down exactly half of the husks had come from his weapon, while the other half had gone to the five Alliance soldiers combined.

The harsh roars of harvesters, the shouts of humans and the sounds of gunfire and explosions echoed from the streets outside, but Zaeed and the men with him paid little attention. Without heavy weapons or a few more guns on their side, most of the men in the streets had been forced to retreat indoors to get out of the harvesters' sights. Almost every one of the men in the room was injured in some way, though most, like Zaeed, had minor cuts from shrapnel or broken glass, rather than any form of significant impairment.

"We have to keep moving," one of the Alliance soldiers urged. "Tarrislav's transmission said to get out of town and head into the plains."

There were murmurs of agreement from the others, but Zaeed shook his head, stepping up to the doorway. He shoved the remains of a husk out of the entryway, letting it slide down the ramp into the street before surveying the scene outside. They might be able to hide from the harvesters amidst the tall grass in the fields, but he didn't much care for the odds. Plus, no matter how obvious it was that Tarrislav's order was intended to keep the Reapers from finding the hospital, Zaeed still didn't trust the man. He seemed unbalanced, and so the veteran mercenary had no intention of following his orders.

_I guess it's lucky I'm not Alliance… I'm not actually under anyone's command here_.

"You coming?" one of the Alliance soldiers asked as they headed for the rear door of the building.

"No," Zaeed shook his head. "Get out. I'll cover your arses."

Apparently the young man had no intention of arguing. His footsteps immediately receded from the room. Zaeed crouched beside the doorframe, aiming his rifle into the street, calmly scanning for a target. After spending such a long period doing nothing, he'd finally gotten his wish. The Reapers had decided to invade the town, and he intended to take as many of them down as possible before withdrawing from Mivian Heights. He figured every one of the creatures he finished off was one less that could pursue the Alliance forces into the grasslands.

Two cannibals shambled out of a doorway across the street, and Zaeed set his weapon's sights upon them immediately. Both of the creatures had haphazard, almost scabby-looking plating across their bodies, so he picked his shots carefully, aiming for the most vital areas that were not protected by the armoring. The sharp crack of each shot echoed through the street, and the first of the creatures fell within seconds. The second one managed to bring its weapon to bear and fire a few shots in return before it too suffered several precise and debilitating bullet wounds. The mercenary snorted.

"If this is the best the Reapers can do, they're not conquering shit," he muttered.

The question that now plagued the mercenary was how to proceed. The Alliance was slowly withdrawing toward the grasslands that surrounded the town, and while Zaeed didn't trust Tarrislav, he did recognize the necessity of not drawing the Reapers to the hospital. To that end, he didn't want to be the one jackass that headed into the gorge and drew the Reapers in after him. He could head along the tram line toward the city, but he had no information about the location of defenders or Reapers in Scott, so he'd be heading out blind in the hopes of finding something useful to do with his time.

"So what do I do?" he muttered his thoughts aloud.

His musings were interrupted when a rocket streaked into view over the buildings, leaving a trail of smoke in its wake. The projectile struck a harvester in the flank and exploded, rolling the creature over in the air. The beast plummeted into the street on the next block somewhere. An instant later, there was a bright flash over the buildings, and an even more resounding explosion shook the ground beneath Zaeed's feet.

Two trident fighters soared overhead, one trailing a little behind the other, and they concentrated their fire upon the other harvesters over the next street, obviously making an effort to clear the airspace. Watching the display, and the appearance of another rocket moments later, Zaeed quickly realized that they were trying to cover a priority target. Thoughts of his plans for the coming days fled, and the mercenary seized the opportunity to do something useful in the here and now. He ran for the gap between two buildings, cutting over to the next street to help protect whatever the Alliance was making such an effort to guard.

He stepped from between the buildings and into the next street just as a large transport truck rolled by, with smoke pouring from its back end. The turian was braced between the cab of the truck and the rear cargo area, and was struggling to reload a missile launcher while the truck ran over bits of debris and the corpses of cannibals and husks. The rough road was obviously making his job difficult. Zaeed wasn't sure where the truck was headed or what was aboard, but he found himself questioning the wisdom of using it. A mobile vehicle was bound to become a hell of a target out in the fields, and it was too big to be concealed by the brush.

A trio of husks ran by, trying to catch up to the truck. Zaeed snorted at the sight and took aim, firing three shots in rapid succession. The husks pitched over one by one, each hit squarely in the backs of their heads. The mercenary hurried down the street, keeping close to the walls, firing whenever a target presented itself. He couldn't keep up with the vehicle, but lagging behind was actually proving a benefit. More than one cannibal or husk stepped out of cover as the truck passed to fire at it or to chase it, only to be gunned down by Zaeed's Mattock.

One of the trident fighters skimmed low over the buildings, the wake of its passing causing the mercenary to stumble when it rocketed by. Two harvesters were hot on its tail, firing on the vessel with rapid-fire bursts that quickly pulverized the ship. The second fighter was behind the flying Reapers, but it couldn't kill them fast enough to save the imperiled fighter. Zaeed shielded his eyes when the lead trident exploded, the remains raining over the southern end of the town.

He quickened his pace, rushing to the end of the street, where the truck had rolled to a stop outside of a small building that might once have been a shop of some kind. When he stumbled up next to the vehicle, Prathus and McSween were headed up the steps, the engineer supporting the turian. He headed in behind them.

A handful of Alliance marines were gathered inside, along with the arsenal of weapons that had been brought into the town just the day before. Now that it was clear what the truck was intended to carry, however, Zaeed found his misgivings about its use magnified greatly.

"You're not planning to load all this on the goddamn truck, are you?" he demanded.

"We were," Prathus shook his head. "Until the damned Reapers demolished the back half of the cargo section four seconds after we started moving."

"Aye," McSween slumped to a seat against the wall. "It was'na a great plan, but it was a plan…"

"Got a backup?" Zaeed asked.

"No," Prathus's mandibles twitched in agitation. "We can't just leave the equipment for the Reapers."

"Load up on weapons," Zaeed suggested. "Your armor has two maglocks on the upper back, one at the waist, one on each hip. So everyone takes two pistols and three rifles, and as many grenades as you can carry."

"Well, that'll let us take about a twentieth o' this stuff, but what about the rest?" McSween asked.

"No, he's right," Prathus quickly cut in. "Each of us takes five spare weapons and carries one for use. We load up on grenades and thermal clips. Then you get on the radio and tell those two tridents-"

"One," Zaeed interrupted. "One of the fighters went down."

"Damn," the turian shook his head. "Then tell the surviving trident to draw as much enemy fire as it can toward the far end of the town. Someone can take the truck that way too. While the Reapers are busy that way, we call in any soldiers nearby to load up with weapons the same way. If we distribute all these guns and grenades among as many soldiers as possible, we can carry most of it out."

"Right," Zaeed walked to the nearest table and started grabbing rifles, securing them to the magnetic holsters on his armor. "As far as the armor and the other spare equipment is concerned, you throw it all in those crates. Then you get your team together and toss them all into the goddamn gorge."

"You want us to throw all the armor and non-combat tech into the gorge?" one of the marines repeated.

"Yeah," Zaeed regarded the young man steadily. "The crates are impact resistant and shock-proof, right? So anything that can't be used to actively kill reapers gets tossed into the gorge. You can go get it later, when there aren't any Reapers flying around overhead."

"Captain Tarrislav said to stay away from the gorge," another young marine pointed out.

"Then leave it all behind," Zaeed shrugged. "The most important stuff to salvage is the stuff that can be used to kill Reapers."

"He's right," Prathus supported him. "The Reapers aren't going to use the armor. At worst, they'll destroy it. They might even leave it alone. They don't seem all that bright. But we'll need all the weapons and thermal clips we can get."

"Aye," McSween nodded. "I'll take the truck an' provide the bloody diversion. So grab all ye can carry."

Prathus was quick to claim all the weapons he could secure to his armor, and helped himself to a healthy number of grenades and thermal clips. The other men soon followed suit. All except for McSween, who watched them with a pensive expression.

"Aren't you going to take some weapons?" Prathus asked.

Zaeed knew what the engineer was thinking even before the red-haired man shook his head. If he was going to be a diversion, giving him five weapons and a bunch of grenades could very well be a waste of supplies.

"They'd just be destroyed if this diversion gets me killed," the engineer confirmed Zaeed's suspicions. "I 'ave one to use in case I _dinnae_ die. That's enough."

Zaeed nodded his approval. He liked the man's realistic and sensible attitude. However, just as the mercenary was starting to walk toward the door, a series of crimson blasts struck the truck where it waited outside, ravaging the vehicle from the cab to the back end in a line. Smoke poured from the twisted metal of the frame. Everyone present simply stared at the ruined vehicle in silence. Zaeed grabbed a rifle from one of the tables and tossed it to the engineer. The toss startled McSween, but he managed to catch the weapon.

"Might as well take some now," Zaeed suggested. "You won't be driving that pile of scrap anywhere."

* * *

**Resort Hospital, Mivian Heights…**

Julisa listened to the distant sounds of explosions and gunfire with barely-restrained fury. Being bound to a bed in the current situation was extremely difficult for the former commando. Since regaining consciousness, she'd been unable to visit the injured members of her crew, had been told that her medic was arrested and had been unable to intervene, and now was lying in a bed and listening while the town above was apparently being demolished by Reapers. Every fiber of her being was screaming at her to block out the pain, climb out of bed, and go protect her crew. Of course, she knew intellectually that she was in no condition to walk, let alone fight, but it didn't diminish the urge any.

The lights throughout the building had been shut down when the fighting started, and the only current illumination came from an emergency light sitting on the bedside table. It cast only a faint glow through the room, but it was sufficient to see by. She hadn't been told what was going on outside or within the building, but she assumed that the power had been shut down to prevent the Reapers from spotting the structure. Aida had told her they were located in a secluded gorge. It seemed sensible to try to avoid drawing attention.

The human doctor walked into her room, gazing at her with some amount of concern, but also with sympathy. She regarded the woman in silence for a moment, and then finally let out her breath in a sigh.

"I hate being confined to this bed. I should be fighting."

"I understand," the doctor nodded. "But you need to rest and recover. The men up there are risking their lives to keep us and this hospital safe."

"I figured as much," Julisa nodded. "They are keeping the enemy occupied while the injured hide, correct?"

"Exactly."

"Do you know how bad the situation is?"

"Original reports sent to us said there were dozens of harvesters, and that they were dropping off a sizeable ground force. After that, the only transmission we got was orders from the base commander that all personnel in town were to flee in the _opposite_ direction from us."

"Harvesters?" Julisa repeated. "The flying reptiles found on Tuchanka?" They were found on several different worlds, but she had first seen one on Tuchanka, and would always view them as native to that planet.

"I believe so," the doctor nodded. "The Reapers have corrupted them. Turned them into armored air support and makeshift shuttles."

"I have a great deal to learn about the situation," Julisa admitted, and then shifted subjects. Since there was nothing she could do to contribute to the fight, she figured she might as well learn what she could. "Has there been any word in regards to my medic?"

"Aida? No," the doctor shook her head, frowning.

"What do you know of the man that arrested her?"

"Lieutenant Mullins?" the doctor paused thoughtfully, her gaze far away. "I don't know him well, but his reputation suggests he is level-headed, logical, and a bit of a perfectionist, if a little cold."

Julisa considered that description for a moment, and decided that if a member of her crew was going to be detained as part of an investigation, that wasn't a bad sort of investigator to have on the job. Someone patient, logical, and thorough would be best-suited to figuring out Aida's innocence if the investigation continued, and unlikely to leave her to die if the situation demanded that the detention area be evacuated.

"Can we get a signal out?" she asked. "Can I contact my crew?"

"Not right now," the doctor smiled apologetically. "We're under orders to maintain radio silence, so that the Reapers can't trace any signals to our location."

"I thought you said your only orders came from the transmission about the town above."

"Not exactly. Lieutenant Gradian was assigned to this hospital as commanding officer. It is _his_ order that we maintain radio silence," the human explained. "While we are out of contact with Captain Tarrislav, Gradian is the ranking officer here."

"I see," Julisa fell silent, considering the situation.

"I need to check on the other patients," the human woman smiled. "If you need anything, just call. There is a guard stationed in the corridor. He'll hear you."

Julisa only nodded, and the doctor walked out of the room. In the silence left behind by the woman's passing, the asari considered the situation.

_My recovery will take weeks. As I understand it, Selura will need a similar period of time for recovery. Do these humans really think that the Reapers will remain ignorant of our presence for that long? Somehow, I think it unlikely._

She took a deep breath, wincing at the sharp pain from her ribs as her chest expanded. She let that breath out slowly, and she tensed the muscles in her legs, slowly allowing them to relax. She repeated the process over and over, doing her best to keep her muscles from weakening too much. She wouldn't have the luxury of rehabilitation. As soon as she was healed well enough to move around without reinjuring herself, she would have to get into the fighting.

As she performed these small exercises, her thoughts turned to Thessia. Her daughter would inevitably be in danger. The Reapers had hit Earth and Palavan, and had obviously sent forces to Terra Nova, which meant they were probably attacking planets and colonies all over the galaxy. She could only hope that it would take them time to beat the turians and humans far enough into submission to spare forces for Thessia.

_I should be there with her,_ she thought angrily. _If she dies, it will be a result of my stupidity. Had I not abandoned her, she would be with me. Safe…_

* * *

**Grasslands Outside Mivian Heights…**

Aida rose from her spot amidst the tall grass, quickly picking out a target. Wispy tendrils of blue rose from her body, and an orb of biotic energy formed in her hand. She hurled the glowing orb in an arc over the weeds to strike a cannibal, lifting it and suspending it helplessly in the air. Beside her, Mullins immediately fired upon the exposed creature, riddling its bloated body with bullets. The asari ducked below the level of the grass quickly, creeping a bit farther away from the town.

Throughout the fields all around her, she could hear assault rifles firing, and when a dark shadow passed overhead, she quickly dove to the ground and covered her head. The harvesters were pursuing the soldiers into the fields, and the Reaper ground forces had drifted after them. She'd almost been killed by several passing harvesters; the creatures were crisscrossing the grasslands, strafing the ground in hopes of hitting targets. The soldiers, like her, were mostly keeping below the level of the grass to conceal their movements, standing up only for long enough to fire a few shots at a time. The majority of the fighting now seemed – at least to her – to be taking place outside of the town.

Aida watched as an Alliance fighter soared past. Black smoke trailed from one of the vehicle's engines, and as she watched it fly, it seemed to be having trouble staying on course. She shook her head, both in admiration for the pilot's courage for staying in the fight, and in sorrow for the inevitable loss of their last piece of air support.

"Keep moving," Mullins barked. "And take this," he added, thrusting a cylindrical container into her hands.

Aida noted the liquid sloshing around in the container and nodded, glad to have something to drink if she needed it. She stuffed the bottle into a pocket as she turned and weaved her way through the tall grass, with the Alliance lieutenant right on her heels. The man refused to let her out of his sight, and had told her more than once not to move in a straight line. Aida wasn't sure what the point of weaving back and forth was if they weren't in an enemy's sights, but she supposed it might make their path harder to predict.

A husk suddenly sprinted out of the grass just in front of her and leapt for her, drawing a startled shriek from the asari. She hadn't expected any enemies ahead of them. She reflexively raised her weapon, but before she could even pull the trigger, the creature was on top of her, driving her into the ground. It raised its arm as if to strike her, but at that instant, its head exploded, showering her with a disgusting grayish sludge. She shoved the body off of her and rolled over, coughing. She felt as though she might throw up.

"Be sick later," the human growled, seizing the collar of her shirt and jerking her to her feet.

"Where are we going?" Aida asked, coughing at the taste of bile that rose into her throat.

"Away from the town," Mullins answered. "We'll regroup after we've lost the Reapers."

"How are we ever going to lose them?"

"We-"

"…_evere engine instability…_" a transmission interrupted the human, and then almost immediately faded into static for several seconds before returning. "_...can continue to provide air support for a few more minutes but…_" Aida listened to the feminine voice, frowning when the message cut out again. "_…be shot down for sure if I don't retreat now_," the message returned. "_I need orders!_"

"Is she asking whether your captain wants her to stay and be shot down?" Aida asked in amazement. "She would actually _do _that?"

"To save the rest of us? Absolutely," the lieutenant nodded.

"_Fall back_," the voice of Captain Tarrislav answered. "_Rendezvous at grid reference T-188718._"

Aida was amazed that someone managed to get a whole message through the interference without the transmission breaking up. Overhead, she watched as the damaged fighter wheeled around and soared off to the west, no doubt to circle around to whatever point was designated as the rendezvous. Mullins gave her a light shove, and she took the hint, heading off through the grass.

The sounds of gunfire grew more and more distant as they moved, and the frequency with which harvesters passed over their heads decreased dramatically. Looking back, she could still see the creatures swarming over the area behind them, but they didn't seem to be attacking anything specific. Dark storm clouds were rolling in from the north, and Aida smiled at the sight. Surely once the area was shrouded with dark clouds and the haze of rain, it would be much easier for the surviving soldiers to lose pursuit. Still, she was confused about one thing…

"Why do the remaining soldiers not simply scatter? Quit shooting and lose themselves in the grass?" she asked.

"Because we need to draw the Reapers away from the town," the lieutenant was quick to answer. "As far away as possible," he added.

"This is not far enough?"

"Not yet," Mullins shook his head. "We're still close enough to the town that if they lose track of all of us, they might double back to search. The farther out we draw them, the less likely it is that they'll double back as far as the gorge."

"It seems like so much sacrifice to save some injured people," Aida mused. She didn't want to sound ungrateful, especially since the majority of the injured were her friends, but she couldn't help voicing her feelings.

"The injured are only part of it," a voice interrupted her. She turned to see Captain Tarrislav emerging from the growth to her left. "The gorge is a death trap anyway. If we withdrew to it, we'd all be cornered with no viable escape route. What we're doing now, we're doing to save anything we might be able to go back and salvage later."

Aida turned to glare at the human, who was regarding her with a decidedly unfriendly expression. "Salvage? That seems like a small gain for the cost. Order your men to retreat!"

"Our strategy is none of your business," the captain stated flatly. "I won't discuss tactics in front of a traitor." He glanced toward the lieutenant. "You should have left her to rot with her Reaper pals," he muttered.

"What? I am not allied with the Reapers! They are repulsive!" Aida shouted at him.

Almost immediately, the captain was aiming a pistol at her head, and Aida felt her heart skip a beat.

"Keep your voice down!" Tarrislav growled. "You'll draw them to us! But maybe that's what you want…"

"Put up your weapon, sir," Mullins warned, pushing the other man's hand upward, so that the pistol was no longer trained upon the asari. "I haven't cleared her, but I haven't found any evidence that she colluded with the Reapers either. This is just the response you expected. The Reaper devices were destroyed, and they sent a force to investigate."

"Because _she_ destroyed the devices," the captain insisted, though he did disengage his weapon and return it to the holder at his hip. "Keep her quiet, or she'll draw the Reapers to us."

"Whether she did it or someone else did is irrelevant now," Mullins shrugged. "We've had to give up Mivian Heights. Site T-188718 is a hell of a hike from here. Is that really the designated rendezvous sir?"

"Not anymore," the elder man muttered with his eyes upon Aida, who continued to glare at him. "The results of your investigation aside, I don't trust her or her friends. See that she heads in a direction _away_ from the rest of us. Neither she nor any of her companions are welcome on Alliance bases anymore. We need to ensure our security."

"What?" Aida's eyes widened, and then narrowed dangerously. "First you exile my best friend, and now the rest of us? You… you…" she was so furious she almost lost the ability to speak. Before she thought about what she was doing, an orb of biotic energy formed in her hand, and she hurled it into the captain's midsection. The force of the biotic throw sent the older human rocketing backward, and he disappeared into the grass.

The butt of a rifle slammed into the side of Aida's head before she could even recover from the motion of the throw. She collapsed in the grass, struggling to rise, but she was seeing double as she stared up at the blurry figure of Lieutenant Mullins, who was standing over her.

"Apologies, asari," he said softly, "but you can't assault my superiors while I'm around." He slammed the end of his rifle into her head one more time.

Everything went dark.

* * *

**Mivian Heights…**

A cylindrical object sailed directly at Prathus's head, prompting the turian to duck to the side. The movement had been reflex, but the brief look he'd gotten at the object was enough to tell him that he needed to put space between the spot where it landed and himself. He dove forward just as the grenade detonated, and the force of the blast collapsed his shield. He rolled to the side, sure that the Reapers would target him while he was down, but he needn't have worried. There was a brief burst of fire, and the cannibal standing at the corner of the building ahead pitched over, twitching upon the ground.

"Thanks," Prathus muttered. He wasn't sure who had killed the creature – he was traveling with a sizeable group – and he doubted anyone could hear him over the sounds of rifle fire anyway.

Zaeed dashed ahead to the corner of the building and put his back to the wall, quickly leaning out to get a look at what waited around the turn. Prathus struggled to his feet, moving closer to the building and resting against it while he waited for his shield generator to recharge. The turian's legs were aching, and the pain was mounting as the fighting dragged on.

They had been fighting their way to the edge of the town, but it hadn't been easy. Husks and cannibals were all over the streets, even though the majority of the harvesters had moved out into the grasslands. The Alliance plan to draw the Reapers out away from the town only seemed to be working on the airborne enemies and a small portion of the ground forces. The remaining Reaper troops were swarming through the buildings, looking for any signs of life among them.

"We've gotta get out of here," an Alliance soldier complained. Prathus could hear traces of panic in the man's voice. "We're gonna get killed if we don't run."

"Easier said than done," Prathus muttered. "We can't just drop everything and sprint into the fields. The Reapers are all over the place. We'd just get shot in the back."

"But this is taking too long!" the man shrieked.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Prathus growled, grabbing the soldier by the plating that covered his shoulder and shaking him. "If you panic, you'll get yourself killed. And probably someone else too. We've got plenty of men here to fight our way free."

The remainder of their group was gathering in a line at the side of the building, each man loaded down with weapons and explosives. They'd drafted several more to help them carry the supplies, and now had almost twenty men. It was an impressive and extremely well-armed fighting unit. The only problem was that they didn't want to create so much commotion that they would draw more Reapers back into the city. They were trying to keep their skirmishes small and very brief despite their numbers.

"No good," McSween announced breathlessly as he staggered up to the group. "Back to the armory is'na gonna work," he reported. "There must be twenty o' the buggers by the wreckage o' the truck."

"Then we're surrounded," the demoralized young soldier bowed his head.

"Only until we punch a hole through whatever enemy lines are ahead of us," Prathus said grimly.

"Incoming," Zaeed hissed, dropping to a crouch and aiming his weapon around the corner of the building.

"How many?" Prathus demanded.

"Twelve. Equal split, cannibals and husks."

The turian nodded and pulled a grenade from a compartment in the thigh of his armor. Zaeed glanced at it and nodded, apparently understanding exactly what Prathus intended to do. McSween likewise nodded his head and readied his weapon. Several other soldiers followed suit.

Prathus clicked the activation trigger and stepped out into the street with McSween at his side. The engineer and the mercenary opened fire, providing cover while Prathus hurled the explosive into the midst of the Reaper forces. The moment the grenade left his hand, the former soldier ducked back behind the building, waiting for the sound of the detonation.

The flash and the thunderous echo of the explosion served as a signal for the assembled group. Zaeed, McSween, Prathus and half a dozen others quickly moved out into the intersection, firing on the handful of Reapers that hadn't been killed by the blast. Within seconds, the street ahead of them was clear and quiet. The turian waved the remaining men out, and the group filed around the corner, keeping close to the buildings as they moved on.

"_…tention all Alliance personnel: This is Captain Tarrislav…_" an incoming transmission broadcast to the entire group, except for Zaeed and Prathus, brought their progress to a halt. "_Alliance personnel are hereby advised that…_" the transmission faded to static briefly, "_repeat: part ways with non-Alliance personnel at the first opportunity… security concerns necessitate this unfortunate deci…_" the transmission broke off.

Prathus and Zaeed exchanged glances, as did many of the men among their Alliance allies. McSween, however, was the first to say anything.

"That man's lost 'is bloody mind," the engineer shook his head in disgust. "He's got to be indoctrinated. Or he believes that ye are," he added, with a glance toward Prathus.

"Show some loyalty," one of the marines growled. "We have our orders. And we don't disregard orders from our superiors. Take the gear from them and let's go."

"That's bullshit," another marine spat. "We don't abandon our allies either. It's a questionable order at best. If these guys are indoctrinated, I'm a hanar dancer."

Several other men spoke up, arguing for or against the captain's orders. Prathus listened quietly for a moment, and then finally stepped closer to Zaeed. Since the human mercenary was in the same position as 'non-Alliance personnel,' it seemed that they needed to decide what to do.

"Whether he's indoctrinated or not, clearly we can't fall back to wherever the Alliance is going," Prathus pointed out. "So what do we do?"

"We figure out where to find Salik. And then we start looking for a way off this planet," Zaeed suggested.

"Maybe he's looking for the same thing," Prathus muttered. "If we can figure out where to find a ship, we might find him by default. I'm sure he had a plan. Especially since he blew up his own ship."

Before Zaeed could respond, a raised voice caught both of their attention. Clearly the Alliance soldiers were divided over their new orders.

"You're talking about desertion! We should detain you here and now!" one of the men roared.

"Are ye daft?" McSween growled at the man that had spoken. "If ye cannae see that Tarrislav is'na firing on all thrusters, maybe ye need to 'ave yer own head examined. I'll not abandon allies on the say-so o' that bloody idiot!"

Several other men voiced their agreement. Others were muttering angry comments. Prathus only sighed. Clearly the Reapers were getting exactly what they wanted. Defending forces were divided, arguing, unable to trust their leadership and each other… the turian wouldn't have been surprised if half the men around him were at least partially indoctrinated… if it were actually possible to be _half_ brainwashed.

"The way I see it," Zaeed spoke up, capturing the attention of everyone present, "Tarrislav may be indoctrinated, or he might be concerned that we are. Either way, it means the same for me. I'm not fighting with men I can't trust. So I'm leaving."

Prathus was about to agree, but they'd spent too long standing in one place, arguing. The rhythmic metallic clink of cannibals' arm-grafted weapons interrupted any further conversation, peppering several men in the group with fire. The danger briefly brought the two disparate groups together, and everyone scrambled to take cover and return fire. Prathus, McSween, Zaeed and a few others ducked into the nearest building and took up positions at the windows.

Grenades sailed into the midst of the Alliance men outside, and one was hurled through the window that Prathus was using for cover. The turian scrambled to get out of range of the explosive, as did the other men in the room, but when the detonation occurred, everyone in the small chamber was staggered by the blast. Fortunately, Prathus's shield kept him from being injured, and he assumed the same could be said for the Alliance soldiers. He braced himself against a wall, shaking his head in an attempt to clear the momentary disorientation caused by the force of the blast.

A stream of dark figures dashed through the door from the adjacent room in the building. One emaciated form leapt upon Prathus, while others charged at his allies. The turian pitched over under the weight of the husk, and he struggled to shield himself from the creature's blows while he activated his omni-blade. As soon as the weapon snapped into position, he thrust the blade into the husk's ribs, giving it a quick and vicious twist. It wasn't enough to kill the creature, but the thing paused its attack long enough for the turian to hurl it aside. He deactivated the omni-blade and rolled over to grab his rifle, but the swarm of husks seemed endless. They were still pouring into the room.

The turian was surrounded by screeching human corpses, and was being pummeled from all sides. The husk he had injured was already on its feet and closing again, and because of the press of enemies around him, Prathus couldn't bring his weapon to bear. When he tried, one of the husks grabbed his arm and slammed a fist into his jaw. He was forced to fight hand-to-hand, punching, kicking, and shoving the desiccated monsters until he managed to buy enough breathing room to bring his rifle into play. Even then, he could only use the weapon as a club; with allies spread throughout the room and struggling in close quarters with enemies, he couldn't risk gunfire.

The husks were relentless, but once he had his rifle to use as a bludgeon, he quickly took down several of his enemies, collapsing the knee of one to put it on the ground and then following up by swinging the end of his rifle into the temple of another. He brought the weapon down again and again upon the head of each husk to fall, pausing only when he was forced to drive a new opponent back. By the time he finished beating the fifth one to death, his arms were shaking from the exertion.

He looked around for another target, but there seemed to be no more husks standing. There were several smoldering husk corpses near McSween, a headless one and a number of mangled others near Zaeed, who was just putting away a combat knife, and a few dozen other bludgeoned bodies strewn about. One Alliance soldier was lying on the floor, being tended to by his friends, and all of the others had bruises or cuts. Prathus could feel blood trickling down the side of his face from a cut on his brow, and he was tender in several other spots. Outside, the weapons fire had gone silent, so he limped to the window and surveyed the scene.

The street was littered with Reaper corpses and a few Alliance ones. There was no sign of the rest of their Alliance allies. Or perhaps _former_ allies would have been a more appropriate descriptor, the turian caught himself thinking. He shook his head and turned to face the other men in the room. Aside from Zaeed and McSween, there were five other Alliance soldiers left.

"What now?" he asked. "It seems the rest of the men have moved on. They were ordered to abandon us, after all."

"It's bullshit," one young man muttered. "Part ways with non-Alliance personnel? Does that mean we abandon the civilians too? You guys aren't a security risk."

"Right. If anything, I think our security suffers without you," another soldier said, his expression troubled. "If Tarrislav is willing to turn his back on our allies, he's not fit for command. We need to get into the city and find our people there."

"Alliance command in the city is dead," McSween frowned. "Illitha said the men in charge at the Walters Center were killed."

"We should still head into the city," Prathus suggested. "We can find Illitha and help her with whatever she's doing there."

"What about your friends in the hospital?" Zaeed asked.

"We can't go down there without risking drawing the Reapers after us. We'd be better off leading them toward the city if they happen to spot us and follow us."

"Aye," McSween nodded. "Illitha could use our help, I'm sure. She was worried that there were indoctrination devices spread throughout the ruins."

"Fine," Zaeed nodded. "If this friend of yours has a plan that'll hurt the Reapers, I'm in."

"Then I guess we need to get out of this town and head north," Prathus suggested.

"Out o' the fryin' pan an' into the fire," McSween chuckled. "It sure is'na any safer in the city."

"The planet is under siege by Reapers," Prathus reminded him. "I don't think anyplace on this planet could really be called 'safe' anymore."

"Let's get moving," Zaeed interrupted their banter. "I'd like to get to the city sooner rather than later."

Prathus nodded and headed for the door, warily scanning the street for signs of activity. They still had to fight their way to the edge of town. And then there was a long walk to reach the city, after which they'd have to search for Illitha amidst a whole lot of ruined buildings, he imagined. They'd be lucky if they found her in under a week.

In thinking about the long walk to the city, Prathus found his thoughts turning to the Cerberus shuttle. He glanced at Zaeed.

"What happened to the shuttle? It would make it a lot easier to get to the city…"

"Yeah," the mercenary muttered. "The first place I went when the Reapers hit was the shuttle. The harvesters blew it to hell."

Prathus sighed. _So much for sparing myself the walk…_

* * *

**Scott, Capital City of Terra Nova…**

Illitha glanced across the rubble-filled street toward the shell of a building on the opposite side, where Jay and his younger brother were stationed in the windows. Jay had a sniper rifle trained upon the two-story ruin outside of which Illitha and Rachel were currently crouched, and was scanning the gaping holes in the walls, looking for signs of Reaper activity. She could see the young man's lips moving, and Elliot nodded and started signaling with his hands, using the prearranged signs they had developed over the course of their day of work.

"Three cannibals on the second floor," Rachel whispered, confirming the signals that Illitha had just seen.

The asari nodded slowly and glanced over at the other human, Jack. He looked extremely nervous, but he nodded his head just the same. Illitha led the way into the building, quickly surveying the scene and finding no signs of Reapers on the ground floor. She was very pleased so far with how well their new recruits were working. Together, their team had managed to disable twenty-five of the Reaper devices over the course of the day, and had been responsible for killing dozens of Reapers, all without raising an alarm. Jay and his younger brother were being used as spotters, while Jack joined Rachel and Illitha in entering the buildings since he had an omni-blade to use for close-quarters combat. The other teen, Danny, was tasked with watching Jay and Elliot's back, so that Reapers couldn't sneak up on the pair.

They had also collected a fair bit of material that could be used to construct protective gear for the group. None of it was quite military-grade… it would be of questionable use against any serious firepower, but if she could cobble it together into some vests, it might save their lives in a firefight long enough to find better cover.

She headed for the stairs to the upper floor, glad to see that they were still in one piece. The last time they'd found Reapers on the upper floor of a structure, the stairs had been collapsed, and they'd been forced to boost Jack up through a hole in the ceiling so that he could hoist them up. She crept up the stairs slowly, testing each step before putting her weight upon it fully, waiting patiently until she could see over the edge of the stairwell to get a view of the upper floor.

The whole second floor of the structure, she soon found, was an uneven, broken landscape filled with rubble. The ceiling was almost entirely missing, save for a small section directly above the stairwell that had remained intact. Three quarters of the height of the walls were still partially intact, but the rest had fallen inward when the roof collapsed, leaving a bunch of jagged barriers spread throughout the rubble. She quickly spotted the cannibals Jay had seen. They were crouched, motionless among the rubble, waiting patiently for some unknown signal or instruction.

Illitha turned and signaled to Rachel and Jack, holding up two fingers and gesturing toward the back wall, where she'd seen the first two creatures, and then holding up one and motioning to the left, where the third had been crouched. Only one of the Reapers was facing directly toward the stairwell, so she knew that she would have to deal with that one first. Then they would rush the others and try to finish them before they could raise an alarm. When Rachel and Jack both nodded to signal their readiness, she slowly crept up a few more steps, focusing upon her biotics. A glowing bluish-purple orb formed in her hand.

She dashed up the last few steps and hurled the biotic orb toward the Reaper facing the stairwell. The creature rose and opened its mouth to make a sound, but the orb struck it in the face and sent it sailing over the remains of the wall and into open air with a squeal. Rachel rushed past her while she prepared to use another throw, sprinting toward one of their remaining enemies.

Illitha concentrated on the other cannibal. Since Jack didn't have any armor to protect him, she always insisted that he stay out of the line of fire until she could knock a target down. She arced her throw high into the air, so that the force came down upon the top of the creature, slamming it into the ground. Jack ran by her as soon as the biotic orb left her fingers. Rachel's cannibal got off a few shots before she leapt upon it and jammed her omni-blade into its skull; the other creature was just rising when Jack impaled it upon his blade.

"Clear," Rachel announced, warily surveying their surroundings.

Illitha looked around a little to locate the Reaper device, and when she found it, she gestured to the other two.

"Y-you two cover the ground floor," she murmured. "And signal the others… tell them w-we're clear."

"Aye aye," Rachel saluted with a grin, and the two humans headed for the stairs.

Illitha activated her omni-tool and went to work, accessing the Reaper device and deftly disabling both the emitters, and the emergency protocol when it came online. After having dealt with so many of these devices, it was becoming increasingly simple to do her work. She never would have imagined that dealing with Reaper tech would become 'easy', but then she had never pictured herself in her current position, either.

With the device rendered harmless, she climbed a nearby pile of rubble so that she could get a clear view of the surrounding ruins, accessing her search algorithm to locate the next device. While the program was running, her eyes roamed across the shattered and burned-out buildings all around them, studying the devastation by the light of the setting sun. Her gaze then drifted north, toward the Reapers in the distance. When she saw the huge machines, however, she felt her heart skip a beat, and she quickly crouched.

The larger of the two Reapers had stopped moving and was facing directly toward the building in which she was standing. A series of lights that looked suspiciously like eyes were glowing with a bright yellow radiance and the machine stood absolutely motionless. Though she didn't think the Reapers could spot her from all the way across the city, for an instant she had still been certain it was staring right at her. She remained crouched, just able to see the thing's glowing eyes over the shattered wall on the north side of the building.

An immense shadow fell across her, and she turned to watch in awe as a massive Reaper floated slowly down into the city to the west of her position. Forgetting all about the Reaper in the distance, she rose to her feet and watched this new arrival settle amongst the buildings, crushing several beneath its feet. The new Reaper looked subtly different from the others. While it had the same basic shape, its body was oriented more horizontally, and its legs were distributed more evenly along its length. Once it was on the ground, it lowered itself slowly to rest upon the ruined cityscape, crushing a multitude of buildings beneath its bulk. Once it was settled, it remained absolutely motionless. It looked as though the Reapers had simply landed a building in the midst of the city.

"Are you seeing this?" Rachel's voice startled her. The human climbed the pile of rubble to join her in staring at the new Reaper structure. Illitha hadn't even heard her approach.

"What is it?" Illitha wondered aloud.

Before Rachel could offer any theories, a large door opened at the rear of the new Reaper building, and an army of figures swarmed out. Illitha blinked, activating her night vision visor and engaging the optical zoom, because these new figures were unlike anything she'd ever seen. With the zoom engaged, she felt her heart sink.

Reaper versions of turians were pouring from the interior of the structure in droves. Amongst them were dozens of massive, hulking monsters with huge metal claw arms, spines along their backs, heavy armored plating on their chests and shoulders, and the heads of turians attached to their brutish bodies. The new arrivals started to spread out through the city.

"Goddess," Illitha whispered, feeling a deep sense of despair wash over her. If the Reapers were bringing new troops to the fight… _turian_ troops… the battle on Palavan must have been going very badly indeed.

"That thing is some kind of troop transport?" Rachel guessed.

"I… I do not know… but the indoctrination devices can wait. I want to keep an eye on this new Reaper for a little while. Y-You should bring the others up," her eyes drifted northward, toward the larger Reaper in the distance.

"A third Reaper in the town," Rachel said softly. "This doesn't bode well."

"I… I do not think this new thing is a real Reaper," Illitha whispered.

"What makes you say that?"

"I… I thought it was, but… That big Reaper in the distance… When… I… I noticed that while this new one was coming down, that big one was standing still, and there was this yellow glow in its eyes. Now that the new one is settled, the big Reaper has returned to moving through the city, and I don't see the yellow eyes anymore. Maybe… Maybe it was bringing this new thing down on remote control…"

"Maybe," Rachel said softly. "The new one sure isn't doing anything. It looks more like a portable building than a Reaper at the moment."

"Please gather the others," Illitha asked. "I would like to pick out a building with a clear view of the new Reaper structure… we should… We… We _need_ to watch it through the night. I w-would like to know what it is used for."

"Okay, Spectre," Rachel nodded. "Maybe we can use what's left of the building over there?" she pointed to the northeast.

Illitha followed her gaze, and saw the shattered remains of what had once been a towering skyscraper. She estimated that there were still a good twenty floors mostly intact. It would offer an excellent vantage of the city and the new Reaper building, but something told her that there would be Reapers all over it. Still, it was the best option. Their current position was only a handful of blocks from the new Reaper, and with turian Reapers and those strange brutes swarming through the area, they needed to get out of the vicinity. Fast.

* * *

**Unknown Location…**

Aida's head was throbbing when awareness returned to her. She was lying on a hard surface, and she could hear the sounds of people crying or muttering softly all around her, and over those sounds, a repeated 'whoosh'. When she opened her eyes, she could barely see anything. Wherever she was, the place was illuminated only by a faint red light. The chamber that held her was irregularly-shaped, and only about half again the size of a shuttle's passenger compartment. The floor was flat, as was the wall on her right, but the left-hand side of the room was concave, from the center of the ceiling around to the center of the floor. She rolled over, shaking her head in an attempt to clear it, and came almost face-to-face with a cannibal.

She shrieked and scrambled backward, her biotics immediately flaring around her, but before she could summon or hurl a biotic orb, a hand grabbed her wrist and an arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her to the floor and holding her still. A voice hissed into her ear.

"Believe me, you don't wanna do that."

Aida could feel herself shaking, and struggled to get free of her captor. Around her, the sounds of people crying and whimpering had only grown louder. The man who was restraining her held her fast. The cannibal hadn't moved when she reacted to its presence, but she noted that there were three or four husks that had closed in around her, and all were now standing motionless, glaring at her with their strange, glowing eyes. Since none of them were attacking, she ceased her struggles for the moment, trying to make sense of what was going on. She looked around in confusion, taking in the sight of the rest of the room for the first time.

A bunch of humans… Alliance soldiers, civilian men and women, even a couple of children… were spread throughout the room. Most of them looked absolutely terrified. Mothers held frightened sons and daughters, men were curled up, shaking their heads and muttering, and a few were even unconscious. But far more numerous than the prisoners were the Reapers. Cannibals and Husks were packed into the room, leaving very little floor space unoccupied. The cannibals mostly squatted in place, motionless as statues, while the husks milled around aimlessly. There was very little space for the humans to keep their distance from their captors. Aida's trembling only increased when the horrifying reality of the situation finally sank in.

She had been captured by the Reapers. From the subtle motion of their prison and the continued whooshing sounds, she was guessing they had been stuffed into a compartment of some kind inside of a harvester. The noises had to be the result of its wings beating.

Her captor slowly relaxed his grip, leaving her once again free to move. She eyed the husks warily, but they continued to stare without moving or making a sound, so she assumed that for the moment, she wasn't going to be attacked. She turned her gaze upon the man that had held her, unsure whether she should thank him or curse him for preventing her from attacking while surrounded by Reaper troops.

The man was clean shaven and dressed in an Alliance uniform, but his face was badly bruised and covered in dried blood. His left eye was so swollen that it was sealed shut. His hair was styled in the cut that seemed popular for Alliance soldiers, and he wore an Alliance uniform. She glanced down at his hands, and saw the faint gray stains that she was so used to seeing on her best friend's skin… the discoloration of engine lubricants.

"You are an engineer," she whispered. She couldn't think of anything else to say. She was still struggling to adjust to the situation.

"Todd Harper," the man introduced himself. "Sorry for grabbing you like that, but… When I first came to, I attacked the first Reaper I saw. The rest of them beat me bloody."

Aida nodded, reaching toward the human's face. He flinched when she raised her hand, but it seemed only a reflex. He was quick to relax and nod. She probed the area around his swollen eye gingerly, feeling for signs of bone displacement that might suggest a break in his brow bone. She couldn't do anything to help him in their current situation, but she had become so accustomed to dealing with injured humans since arriving on Terra Nova, it was habit.

"You're Illitha's friend," the human muttered.

"What?" Aida's eyes widened. "You know Lith?"

"She was briefly assigned to my engineering team when we were on F.O.B. Alpha-5," the human explained. "Then we ran into her again in the city. She sent us back to the Alliance base to warn them about the Reaper devices… But… When Captain Tarrislav wouldn't listen, we…" the man trailed off and bowed his head. "This is my fault…"

Aida's expression darkened when the man mentioned Tarrislav. Because she had attacked the human captain, Lieutenant Mullins had struck her with his rifle. It was the last thing she remembered. Apparently, the Reapers had simply scooped her unconscious body out of the grass and taken her to wherever she was now. She noted that the pistol she had been carrying was gone, but the Reapers had left her with the water container she'd been given by Mullins.

"I do not see how you can blame yourself for the Reapers," Aida tried to reassure him.

"We destroyed the Reaper devices," he muttered. "If we'd left them alone…"

"You?" Aida was surprised. "You were responsible for the bombings?"

"Yeah," the man's shoulders hunched. "Me and my buddy Ian."

Aida nodded. She'd been imprisoned because she was suspected of participating in those explosions. And now she was a prisoner again, but she suspected that this time, it would be a lot less pleasant. She felt like she might be sick at the thought, so she tried to distract herself by focusing on other things.

"How is Lith?" she asked. "Is she… safe?"

"Safety doesn't exist in the city," Harper shook his head. "But she's one of the strongest people I've ever met. The things she's accomplished in the city…" he trailed off, and then finally shrugged. "She'll manage to survive. I'm sure of it. I'm more worried about us…"

Aida sighed and looked around one more time, trying to make out the faces of some of the other prisoners in the dim red light, wondering if she might recognize any. When she spotted a young blonde girl sitting against the wall, however, she stopped. The poor child looked absolutely terrified, and seemed to be the only child in the room without anyone looking after her. Aida eyed the husks warily, but slowly made her way toward the girl. The husks turned as she moved, always keeping their eyes upon her, but they made no move to stop her. When she reached the child, the poor girl immediately threw her arms around her, clinging to her desperately. She could feel the girl shaking violently.

"Shhhh… It will be all right," she murmured soothingly. "I am here."

The girl started sobbing, pressing her face into Aida's shirt. Aida held her tightly, hoping that having someone to cling to might help the poor girl in some way. She only wished that she actually believed what she was telling the child. Somehow, she couldn't make herself believe that it could _possibly_ be all right.

.

* * *

.

**Author's Note: My heartfelt gratitude goes out, as always, to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited/followed, or otherwise given any attention whatsoever to my story. The continued interest is awesome, and I'm glad I'm entertaining a few people out there. The next Chapter, barring any unforeseen complications, will be up on Tuesday.**

**As far as this Chapter goes, there is a lot going on, but I don't have a lot to say about it, save that the use of a Harvester as a miniature transport is a leap of logic on my part that I know not everyone may agree with. It's just that almost every time they show up in the game, there are also crimson balls of energy hitting the ground and spewing out Reaper troops, so my mind connected the two prior to my even starting to write this story. Additionally, the non-Reaper versions of Harvesters also carried around other creatures and dropped them off. I've mentioned them dropping off troops in past Chapters, and I just wanted to take it one step further with this last scene. If they are used for transporting smaller units, then perhaps they could carry prisoners as well. Anyway, that's just my thought process on the matter.**

**There are several Chapters upcoming that I'm _really_ excited to share, so I will do my best to keep on schedule as promised. I hope everyone has a great weekend. And thanks again for reading!**


	39. Chapter 39: Memories

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Memories

.

**Scott, Capital City of Terra Nova…**

Zaeed's gaze was abstracted as he surveyed the scene below him. The last time he had seen the city of Scott, he had just arrived on Terra Nova, and the Reapers were only beginning their assault. He could scarcely believe that the sprawling, decimated ruin before him was the same city that he had been overlooking from the hills such a short time before. There was scarcely a building left intact. Most of the remaining structures had holes blasted in their sides, collapsed sections, or had fallen in on themselves entirely, leaving piles of twisted girders and shattered concrete. Smoke rose in plumes throughout the city, lingering in a visible haze over the entire area. The hills to the west of the city were glowing with the remains of burnt foliage that further added to the veil of smoke covering the scene.

It had taken their team over a day to cover the distance between Mivian Heights and Scott. This was largely due to the injuries to Prathus's legs, the need to bunker down frequently to hide from passing harvesters, and the general mental weariness and physical fatigue that plagued them all. He imagined their first order of business would be to find a place in the city to dig in and get some rest. They could all use it.

He glanced at the others in his group, taking in the variety of expressions on the faces that weren't hidden beneath helmets. He saw sadness, anger, stunned disbelief, and fear. His eyes drifted to the turian last, and the only expression he could see on the features of the former soldier was the one he knew he must have been wearing himself: Frustration. They'd come to the city to find Prathus's companion or some sign of human resistance. But given the condition of the city, they could spend weeks looking for either one without success.

The two Reapers that had been stomping their way through the city when Zaeed arrived were still present, but were in the farthest northern reaches of the ruins, apparently almost finished with their rampage. He found himself wondering if they would move on to other settlements on the planet or if they would eventually just bunker down and wait for their ground forces to mop up remaining resistance. There were certainly other cities on the planet that would have to be pacified… But there were undoubtedly other Reapers working to deal with them already.

His thoughts turned to his former employer, and he wondered where Salik had gone and what he was doing. Without his ship, the salarian must have turned his attention to securing another means of leaving the planet, or of contacting whatever superiors he had in the STG to transmit the data. Zaeed didn't have any personal stake in seeing Salik punished for turning on the others, but he had promised to help find and deal with him, and he intended to honor that promise… if he could manage to do it before he found a way off of the planet.

"We should get movin'," McSween suggested, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group.

"Right," Zaeed nodded, raising his rifle and advancing down the ash-covered hillside toward the town.

Barring the occasional moment when a distant Reaper fired its main weapon, the streets of the city were utterly silent. Broken walls and the gaping windows of ruined buildings lent a palpable sense of menace to their surroundings, and Zaeed noted when he looked back that several members of the team appeared to be a bit jumpy, turning their weapons quickly toward any shift in the shadows or scuff of an ally's boots upon the broken pavement. He shook his head. While it was beneficial to have backup now that they were so much closer to the Reapers themselves, he would have preferred that his backup be a bit less nervous.

"This is creepy," one of the marines muttered. "I feel like we're being watched."

"It's just nerves," Prathus hissed. "The Reapers wouldn't watch us. They'd attack. Focus on your job and keep quiet."

Zaeed snorted, continuing to lead the way until he reached the first intersection in the town. Once there, he paused at the corner, quickly leaning out to get a look at what lay around the corner, and then ahead and to the other side. He saw no signs of activity at all. He would have expected the Reapers to leave husks spread throughout the whole city, scouring it for survivors.

"Any idea where we should start looking?" he asked, turning to regard Prathus. "She's _your_ friend. You have the best idea how she thinks. Where would she be?"

"I don't know," Prathus admitted readily. "The T'Zari I know is a shy, self-conscious girl. She was always too busy doubting herself to live up to the potential I saw in her. It's hard to reconcile the girl I knew with the sort of girl who would volunteer to stay in a Reaper-infested city, defusing indoctrination boosters."

Zaeed's expression hardened with frustration. "So… what do we plan to do then? Just wander through the ruins, shouting her name? I would have brought this up sooner if I'd realized you didn't have a goddamn clue where she'd go."

"I 'ave a suggestion," McSween interrupted. "She was planning to swing through the south o' the city, then turn an' head north. But 'er first stop was goin' t'be a warehouse on the southern edge o' Scott. We left some supplies there for 'er."

"Okay," Prathus nodded. "So we follow the path she would have taken. Can you get us to this warehouse?"

"Aye," McSween nodded. "Me, Harper an' a few others were wanderin' through the southern reaches o' the city for days, pickin' off Reapers. I know my way around."

"Then you're on point," Zaeed muttered. "How secure is this warehouse?"

"It was right on the edge o' the city. We left a truck there for a while an' no one bothered it. I think it'll be safe enough. Why?"

"We can all use some rest. Get us there, and we can secure the place and set up a rotation to get some sleep. Since we have no clue where the asari is, there's no rush to get anywhere in particular."

"I hate to admit it, but you're right," Prathus sighed. "Our first priority _should_ be shelter and rest."

"Aye," McSween nodded his agreement. "Then follow me."

Zaeed fell back to let the engineer take the lead, but he kept close behind their guide, warily keeping watch on their surroundings. Without any sign of a clear battleground in the city, it was hard to predict where the Reaper forces would be concentrated. For all he knew, they might be spreading out through areas they'd already taken, scouring the ruins for survivors. As they passed through ruined buildings and rubble-strewn streets without spotting any sign of enemies, his concern only grew.

They were several blocks into their trek and passing through the crumbling shell of a building when they came upon a Reaper device, tucked into a corner of the structure. One of the marines immediately called out "Reaper tech," and aimed his weapon at it. Before he could fire, however, McSween spoke up.

"No! Dinnae shoot the bloody thing," he warned.

When the marine lowered his weapon, the engineer activated his omni-tool and scanned the device. Zaeed watched and waited while the man ran his scans and studied the results, uncertain what McSween was thinking. They had destroyed the devices in Mivian Heights against the orders of their superiors. Why save one now?

"Illitha 'as been 'ere," he finally announced. "I'm not detecting any signal anomalies, energy fields or transmissions. The device seems t'be stuck in a diagnostic loop."

"So T'Zari is hacking the devices and using their built-in systems to render them inert," Prathus nodded. "Smart plan."

"Aye," McSween chuckled. "She's a smart lass. It's hard t'be sure, but it looks like she disables the emitters, an' when the devices try to shunt to some kind o' emergency backup, she hacks them to initiate the loop instead."

"That's all fascinating," Zaeed muttered. "But what I'm getting from this is that we can track her trail by finding these devices until we come across one she hasn't tampered with…"

"Aye," the engineer grinned. "But first we get some rest, I hope."

"Yeah. First we rest."

"Does anyone else hear that?" one of the marines interrupted.

The entire group fell silent, and Zaeed listened intently for whatever sound the marine had picked up. After a moment he heard something… a strange and subtle sound that reminded him of the tone of a turian's voice, though it certainly wasn't speaking words. His mind immediately flashed back to the turian Reaper he'd run across when they were fleeing the city the first time.

"Shit," he swore. "It's Reapers."

No sooner had he spoken the warning than a trio of husks leapt through a hole in the wall nearby. However, these husks were covered in haphazard bands of armoring that shielded portions of their heads and torsos. As soon as Zaeed saw the armoring, he knew he'd been correct. The turian Reaper he'd seen before had been able to deploy armoring on allied units.

Zaeed raised his rifle and took aim, firing two quick shots. The first ricocheted off of the armoring covering the lead husk's head with an audible snap, but the second round went right through its eye. The rest of the group opened fire an instant later, and the howls of husks filled the air. Zaeed picked his targets carefully. Precision was the reason he loved the Mattock rifle so much. The alliance-issue Avengers were automatic, meaning one just pulled the trigger and then tried to keep the sights on the target, firing in short bursts to keep recoil down. The Mattock was semi-automatic, so he was able to fire only when he had a solid shot lined up, and didn't build up any wasted heat in the weapon's heat sink with missed shots or extra rounds fired at an already mortally-wounded target.

"Cannibals!" Prathus shouted a warning.

Zaeed quickly spotted the cannibals, crouching behind the partially-collapsed wall on his right, rising into view to fire a few shots now and then. He took aim at one and waited for it to show itself again, but just as the creature rose into view, he was pelted with incoming fire from behind. The force of the impacts staggered him, and he whirled around to face his new attacker.

He spotted the shoulder of a turian protruding from behind the doorframe of a nearby exit, and he immediately drew down and fired. He saw the shimmer when the bullets were deflected by the creature's barrier, and he quickly rolled to the side when the enemy leaned out and returned fire.

"Grenade!" someone shouted just as Zaeed took cover behind the remains of a crushed metal desk in the corner of the room. The sound of the detonation echoed off of the remains of the walls around them, and there was a cry of "Man down!" immediately afterward.

Zaeed risked a quick look over his cover to take stock of the situation. One of the marines was motionless on the ground in the middle of the room, and looked to be seriously wounded, but no one dared to try to get to him because of the danger of stepping into the open at the moment. The cannibals and husks he could see were all armored, and the armoring made them a significantly more credible threat simply because of the added protection. He saw another Reaper turian lurking just outside of a hole in the wall on the far side of the room, and the one that had been firing on him quickly darted from cover and disappeared behind a column a bit closer to where he was hiding. Obviously the turian Reapers had just a little more tactical intelligence than the cannibals… they were using cover well, and had the ability to assist their fellow Reapers.

Zaeed spotted Prathus crouched behind a fallen section of the wall, and he gestured to get the turian's attention. Once he had it, he pointed to the column behind which the Reaper turian had taken cover. "Cover me!" he shouted.

Prathus nodded and rose from behind his cover, firing upon the column to keep the enemy pinned down. Zaeed quickly vaulted the remains of the desk and circled the column, immediately firing a blast from his concussive burst emitter at the target when he spotted it. The force of the blast was largely dissipated by the Reaper's kinetic shielding, but it still caused him to stagger out into the open. Once he was exposed, Prathus fired upon him directly, and Zaeed joined in the assault. The two of them quickly overloaded their enemy's shields, and within moments the Reaper was dead.

An explosion from outside the hole where the other turian Reaper had been crouched caught Zaeed's attention, and he saw the second enemy turian stagger into view. He had no idea which of the marines had thrown that very well-placed grenade, but he immediately put two rounds into the Reaper's head and watched with satisfaction as it collapsed. The other marines had done their jobs well, quickly mopping up the cannibals and remaining husks while Zaeed was occupied. When silence descended over the area, he turned his attention to their fallen comrade. Unfortunately, when he felt for a pulse, he discovered that the young man was dead. Given the number of punctures in his armor from shrapnel, he doubted the marine had been alive when he hit the floor.

Prathus, he noted, was standing over one of the fallen turian Reapers, staring at it with his hands clenched into fists. He supposed he could understand how the turian felt. He remembered the first time he saw a husk, and the strange sense of disquiet it had driven into him. It was hard to see one's own people turned into a weapon to be used against them. Even for veteran soldiers like himself and the turian.

"We should get movin'," McSween pointed out. "Everything within blocks o' 'ere would've heard all that shooting."

"You're right," Zaeed commented as he worked to relieve the fallen soldier of his weapons and equipment. He noted that a few of the marines looked uncomfortable, but he was a practical man. It made no sense to leave usable weapons and heat sinks behind out of some sort of misplaced need to let the dead rest. The fallen marine no longer needed any of it.

"Part of me knew that the Reapers would use my people somehow," Prathus muttered, almost as if speaking to himself. "Doesn't make me any less angry to see it."

"How many turians could really 'ave been livin' in the city?" McSween asked optimistically. "I doubt ye'll see many more."

Zaeed shook his head. He didn't have a solid reason for it, but his instincts told him that they'd be seeing more and more of the creatures in the days to come. And he always trusted his instincts.

* * *

**Resort Hospital, Mivian Heights…**

Selura sighed and shook her head, trying to focus once more on the datapad in her hands. She frequently found herself drifting off, consumed with worries about the crew of the _Sileya_, people that she considered among her best friends. Of course, central among those worries was her girlfriend, whose probability of survival had seemed so remote for so long. Lying in a bed with nothing to do but worry had been driving the young scientist mad, so she had spoken to the doctor about something to do. The woman had arranged to have her look over some information that some engineers in the hospital were working on. But Selura couldn't focus enough to make much sense of it.

It had been days since the attack on Mivian Heights. The first couple of days following the attack had been filled with fear and uncertainty. Everyone in the hospital was afraid that the Reapers would venture down into the gorge and discover them. The guards that had been stationed in the hospital when the attack occurred had been ordered to go out and watch the trails leading down into the ravine, to ambush and kill any Reapers that happened to wander in. She'd overheard talk of a few stragglers being found in the area on those first days.

Since then, there had been no word regarding the Reapers. The man in charge of the hospital, Lieutenant Gradian, was of the mindset that everyone should be fully informed of the situation, and so he had been by once a day to keep her updated on what was going on, as he did with everyone in the building. He had dispatched a team to the town above to look around, and they reported that the town was in bad shape, but there was no sign of anyone in the buildings… Reaper _or_ human. The Alliance had apparently evacuated as their radio transmission on the day of the attack had suggested, and the Reapers had withdrawn once the town was vacant. Gradian seemed confident that there were a few Reaper stragglers wandering the town, but that there were no significant forces remaining. He was planning to organize a more thorough search of the place in the days to come, to see if there were any salvageable weapons or tech.

But this left Selura with a lot of questions and concerns, none of which had any easy answers. Prathus and Aida were missing. Everyone was assuming that they had withdrawn with the Alliance forces, but no one could say for sure. No one knew where the Alliance had set up their new base of operations, and Gradian had informed her that her and her friends had been declared unwelcome in Alliance centers. The lieutenant had been kind enough to inform her that he had no intention of turning them away, but it was still cause for concern. Without Alliance support to turn to once they were all back on their feet, she wasn't sure what they would do or where they would go.

Added to these worries were thoughts of the salarian. Salik had the information that he had been after, so the question now was: what did he intend to do with it? The Prothean VI had told her about the indoctrination signal that Cerberus was searching for, and Selura could certainly see why that kind of information would be valuable to people fighting against the Reapers. She could even understand why Cerberus might want it if they were looking for ways to prevent the Reapers from controlling them. But Salik was apparently an indoctrinated servant of the Reapers. What could the Reapers want with an indoctrination signal analysis? If anyone knew everything there was to know about indoctrination, it had to be the Reapers…

The only sensible conclusion she could come up with was that Salik was trying to determine why Cerberus wanted the information. The Prothean VI said that the signal in the Cerberus troops had been 'anomalous'. Maybe the Reapers were having difficulty taking control of Cerberus, and were trying to determine why. Or perhaps they already had control, they were aware that Cerberus was trying to defend itself against that control, and they wanted to determine how they planned to do it. It was all speculation on her part, but she felt that both possibilities were reasonable.

Selura sighed and put the datapad down, rubbing her temples in an attempt to dispel the headache that all of the stress had caused. She hadn't slept well since she found out about Neela's condition. She was frustrated, angry and lost. The doctor had been kind enough to keep her updated on Neela's status, but over the past two days, she had only been saying that she would let Selura know when there was a significant change. The asari just wanted to be able to see the girl she loved… it was agonizing to be denied any contact with her.

She was still wrestling every day with guilt and regret over her decision not to be with Neela. The fact that Neela had been asking for her and she had opted not to join her was tearing her apart. If she had gone into the room and Neela died because of exposure to whatever contaminants she brought in with her, it would have destroyed her. But if Neela died and she never even got the chance to speak with her again, it would be just as devastating. It was a no-win situation.

A knock at the door startled Selura out of her thoughts. She glanced up to see the doctor standing in the doorway. It seemed it was time for the daily announcement that there was 'no significant change' in Neela's condition. Selura put on her best smile and nodded in greeting to the human woman.

"How are we feeling today?" the doctor asked her.

"As well as can be expected, considering I have holes in my abdomen," Selura sighed. "How is Neela?"

"Well, I actually came to speak to you about that," the doctor entered the room, her expression unreadable.

Selura watched the woman anxiously, trying to figure out whether the news would be good or bad. The woman was doing a frustratingly excellent job of concealing her thoughts.

"Is she okay?" Selura finally asked, feeling her throat tighten with anxiety.

"I think you should see her," the doctor said softly.

Selura's heart skipped a beat. If the doctor was suggesting that she see the quarian, it must have meant that there was no longer any doubt that Neela would die. She was giving her the chance to say goodbye. She felt tears sting her eyes.

"Her fever broke yesterday," the doctor continued. "I was waiting until I could be sure of the prognosis before I told you. Her respiratory problems are clearing nicely, and there are no signs of lasting damage."

"You mean…" Selura felt tears slide down her cheeks, but now for an entirely different reason.

"She is going to be fine," the doctor smiled at her. "She has been showing signs of waking. I thought you should be there when she does."

The asari felt like she was about to burst with excitement. After days of worrying that the quarian was going to die, to receive this kind of news… she couldn't even be angry that the doctor had withheld the changes from her. She was too eager to see Neela up and around. However, one thing still worried her.

"But… she has only just recovered from exposure to the environment…" Selura said softly. "Would it not be dangerous to expose her to contact with me?"

"I have given her a new round of antihistamines and immuno-boosters," Doctor Tillman assured her. "We will be putting a mask over your mouth and nose, and you will go through decontamination in the airlock. She may experience a mild relapse due to contact with you, but I am confident she will be alright."

Selura was torn. She wanted more than anything to go and see Neela, but the idea of exposing her to more contaminants when she was just recovering from nearly-fatal exposure seemed too risky.

"I promise you. I wouldn't suggest this if I thought it would endanger my patient," the doctor assured her, apparently picking up on her apprehension. "She asked for you when she was at her worst. I thought that it would be good for her to see you there when she wakes."

Selura thought back to when she had first regained consciousness after being shot, and the selfish disappointment she'd felt when Neela wasn't there by her side. She smiled and nodded. She would not subject Neela to that feeling. If the doctor was sure she wouldn't be endangering Neela's life, then she would definitely be there at the quarian's side when she woke.

"When do I get to see her?" Selura asked, grinning excitedly.

"I will have my assistants bring one of our makeshift gurneys in now and transfer you over. Then we'll get you prepared and wheel you into the airlock for decontamination. You'll be with her in ten minutes," the doctor was smiling brightly. "But we will be removing you from the room at the end of the day," she warned. "She will have to have time to recover from exposure to you."

"I can accept that," Selura grinned. "As long as she will recover."

"She will," the doctor nodded. "And once her system has adapted to you, she won't suffer an adverse reaction to your presence again, as I understand it."

Selura closed her eyes and rested her head upon her pillow, silently thanking the Goddess for her favors. This was exactly the kind of news that she had needed. Now that she knew Neela was recovering and would survive, she felt a tremendous portion of her anxieties from the past week melt away.

The doctor left the room, returning after a short time with two other men, who were wheeling a massage table inside. They carefully transferred her over to her temporary bed, doing a remarkable job in avoiding causing her discomfort, and the doctor placed a makeshift surgeon's mask over her face. It looked like something that had been cobbled together, but given the scarcity of supplies, she wasn't surprised. When they wheeled her out of the room, it was all the asari could do not to squeal with excitement.

The doctor dressed in full armor and a helmet outside of the airlock, and once her suit was sealed, she took over in guiding the gurney, wheeling it into the chamber. The antechamber's decontamination cycle seemed to take forever, especially since it was cobbled together out of systems cannibalized from a shuttle, as Selura understood it. When the cycle was complete, she held her breath, waiting to enter the isolation room.

The door opened, and Doctor Tillman wheeled her into the small room. Selura, however, was barely aware that she was moving. She had been told that Neela's suit had been disabled, and knew that Neela was being treated for exposure… but for some reason it had never even occurred to her that when she saw the quarian, it would be without her suit…

She could only stare at Neela's face as the doctor pushed her bed up next to the quarian's, side-by-side. She had imagined countless images of the quarian's face to go with the personality she had fallen in love with, but in all her imaginings, she had never conjured a sight as beautiful as that of the woman beside her. She was awed. The thick, dark mane of hair, the lovely, delicate features, the shade of her complexion… Neela was simply gorgeous. The majority of her body was covered with a sheet, but the smooth flesh of her shoulders was visible above the covers, and her slender arms were exposed. Selura stared in fascination at the small, barely visible patches on the girl's arms where the color of her complexion was subtly different, and she knew she must have been grinning like a child that had just seen her most cherished wish come true.

She raised her hand as if to touch her girlfriend's arm, but stopped short, glancing at the doctor. "Can… Can I touch her?" she almost pleaded.

The doctor only nodded, settling herself on the bench that lined the wall of the sauna-turned-isolation room. Selura promptly forgot about the human woman's presence. She reached out hesitantly and touched the back of Neela's hand, tracing her fingertip across the smooth surface of her flesh, and down over each of the girl's three finger. The texture of Neela's skin was different than her own… a little more silken, she decided. She gently squeezed that hand, closing her eyes and soaking up the warmth of Neela's fingers between her own. Tears of relief flooded her eyes. This was a moment she would remember forever.

* * *

**Isolation Chamber, Resort Hospital, Mivian Heights, a few hours later…**

Neela stirred groggily and opened her eyes, only to snap them shut again when the light invaded her senses, making her head throb. She felt horribly disoriented at first. She had been plagued by horrible nightmares for what seemed like an eternity. Nothing had made any sense, and she couldn't even tell when she was awake and when she was asleep. It had been torturous. Now, as she lay on her back and let the world around her seep back into her awareness, she was thinking more clearly than she had in some time.

She took a deep breath, and was happy to feel that the tightness and congestion in her chest was mostly gone. It had been replaced by a faint tickle that made her want to cough, but was much less unpleasant. Her head ached, but she no longer felt nauseous and dizzy. She was about to raise a hand to feel her forehead, but when she considered it, she became aware for the first time that she could feel the warmth of someone's hand resting atop her own. Her brow furrowed and she raised her head, opening her eyes and blinking them in an attempt to adjust to the light. Nothing could have prepared her for the shock that awaited her.

Selura was stretched out on a bed next to her, and the asari's hand was the one that rested upon hers. The girl's mouth and nose were covered by a thick fabric mask, and her eyes were closed. She could see the gentle rise and fall of her girlfriend's chest beneath the sheets that covered her, and she felt her heart melt. The asari was not only alive and well, but had come to be by her side while she was recovering. She wondered how long Selura had been there.

The doctor suddenly stepped up to the bed on the opposite side of her, startling the quarian. She hadn't realized the human woman was in the room. But then, her attention had been focused upon the beautiful face of the asari in the bed next to hers.

"Lie back," the doctor urged, activating her omni-tool and running a scan.

"What happened? I feel… better," Neela whispered. She didn't want to wake Selura.

"Your condition got pretty bad," the doctor told her. "I used up most of the dextro-based meds you were carrying in helping your system to adjust. Even so, we nearly lost you to fever."

Neela nodded, feeling a little queasy at the news. It was a bit scary to know she'd been _that _close to dying. But she didn't remember much beyond the strange nightmares that had been plaguing her. She supposed, given the severity of her fever, that hallucinations and confusion would have been expected. But she still had no idea how Selura had come to be in the room with her… not that she was about to complain.

"Is Selura going to recover?" she asked, shifting her gaze to the slumbering asari.

"The surgery went as well as could be expected," the doctor assured her. "The damage could have been much worse. The bullets passed through her digestive tract, but didn't do any significant damage to other internal organs. She just needs time to recover."

"I dreamed that my mother was going to bring her to be with me," Neela murmured, smiling at the girl beside her. She carefully turned her hand over beneath Selura's, her fingers lacing with those of the asari. "How long has she been here?"

"You were delirious, but you were begging to see her," Doctor Tillman informed her. "Once your condition started to stabilize, I decided to risk bringing her in. She was so worried about making your condition worse that I was sure she was going to refuse. I brought her in a couple hours ago."

Neela felt a rush of warmth run through her. To know that Selura had been so afraid for her welfare both saddened her and made her feel giddy. The meaning behind it was clear. If the positions had been reversed, she wasn't sure she would have reacted much differently.

"I expected her presence to cause some adverse effects in you," the doctor admitted, sounding puzzled. "But I'm not detecting any signs of respiratory distress or renewed fever. I don't understand…"

Neela was a little puzzled at first as well. Her system _should_ have been reacting to Selura's presence. The only way it wouldn't was if…

"My system has already adjusted to her," she spoke the sudden realization aloud. "Aboard the _Sileya_, her arm was crushed. To stop the bleeding, I had to apply medigel, but I had to remove my mask to tear open the packets with my teeth so I could keep pressure on the wound… I was running a fever afterward…"

"I understand," the doctor nodded. "So your body has already adapted to her presence."

"I guess so."

Neela was practically beaming. While she had imagined the two of them being together in an open-air environment on several occasions, she'd never expected it could happen so soon. At the memory of her imaginings and their context, she glanced at the sheets that covered the asari's body, and noted that Selura's shoulders were bare above the covers… no doubt her clothing had been removed for the surgery. She glanced down at herself, likewise covered only by a sheet thanks to the removal of her suit… and she felt such a sudden rush of warmth and embarrassment that she could feel her cheeks burning.

"I was going to remove her from the room at the end of the day to give your system time to recover from being exposed to her," the doctor told her. "But as it seems there is nothing to recover _from_, she can stay in here with you if you both would like…" She moved around to Selura's side of the bed, carefully removing the mask that covered her mouth and nose. There was no longer any need for it. Amazingly, the asari never stirred. Neela stared at the doctor for a moment, and then turned her gaze to the slumbering asari once again.

_The two of us… in a sterile environment… alone…_ her imagination immediately plagued her with tantalizing images of the things she had expected to do the first time she and Selura were able to be together in those circumstances. She felt her pulse race. She struggled to wrench her mind away from that train of thought, shifting position uncomfortably beneath the sheet.

"For now, I will leave the two of you to rest," Doctor Tillman headed toward the door, triggering the decontamination protocols for the airlock outside. The door never opened unless the airlock was contaminant free. "I'll check in on you both in an hour or so, and bring you something to eat."

Neela swallowed heavily and nodded. When the doctor left the room, the quarian's eyes turned to her companion, and she chewed on her lower lip, desperately trying to dismiss the lustful imaginings from her head.

_Even if I really thought I was ready for… that_, she mused, _she is in no condition to… to… Oh Keelah, just stop!_ she scolded herself. She was all too aware of the texture of the asari's skin against her own as she held her hand, and her eyes kept drifting involuntarily to the asari's lips…

She closed her eyes and loosened her hold on Selura's hand, carefully trying to withdraw her own from beneath that of her companion. However, almost the instant she released her hold, the asari's grip tightened and she groaned softly. Neela felt her heart skip a beat, and she waited anxiously to see Selura's eyes open. When they finally did, and Selura's head turned and their gazes met, Neela felt a surge of anxiousness and excitement run through her.

"Hello," Neela murmured, her voice thick with emotion.

"Hello," Selura smiled at her. The asari's face radiated excitement despite the simplicity of her greeting.

"I'm glad you're here," Neela said softly.

"How are you feeling?" Selura asked, concern creeping into her expression. "I know it is awful that I am here. You are just recovering, and I will make you sick again…"

"You won't," Neela smiled at the asari's concern.

"But the doctor said-"

"I have already been exposed to you… when I was tending to your arm aboard the _Sileya_…"

"But… You mean…" Selura's brow furrowed, and then her expression suddenly cleared. "Oh! You mean it is… safe? For me to be here?"

Neela nodded, unable to keep from grinning at the excited look that blanketed the asari's features. "Doctor Tillman said you could stay in here… if you want."

"I can…?" Selura's eyes widened, and Neela saw with amusement that her cheeks darkened with a significant hint of purple. She saw asari's eyes drift down just for an instant to the sheet that covered her, and she could feel herself blushing in turn.

"If you want," Neela nodded, deciding to leave it up to the woman she loved. She knew it might border on torturous to be sharing a room and sleeping side-by-side considering their feelings for one-another and their relative states of undress, but she couldn't deny that she wanted nothing more than for Selura to stay.

"Do you want me to stay?" Selura watched her anxiously, seeming almost desperate to hear her answer.

Neela smiled, chewing on her lower lip once again. She had wanted to leave it up to the asari, but she couldn't lie to her or deny her an answer given the adorable look of breathless anticipation that Selura wore.

"Yes. Very much."

Selura let out her breath in an audible sigh of relief, and Neela giggled. The warmth that filled her over the asari's obvious joy at the answer was one of the most pleasant feelings she'd ever experienced. The quarian had held so many concerns over the first time Selura would see her without her suit… Fear that the asari wouldn't find her physically attractive, fear of the possible adverse reactions to her presence, fear that her companion might be more interested in studying her than _seeing _her… but all of those fears melted away as they gazed into each other's eyes. She saw only love and admiration in Selura's gaze, and it mirrored what she felt for the scientist.

"I knew you would jump at the chance to sleep by my side," Selura's tone became teasing, and the corner of her lips curled upward in that playful expression Neela knew so well. "But you cannot join me beneath my covers, no matter how obvious it is that you want to."

"I…" Neela felt her cheeks burning with embarrassment. While she knew Selura was only teasing her, she hoped that it wouldn't be obvious that her mind had tempted her more than once with that idea. "Oh, shut up," she glared playfully at the asari. "Accusing me of your own desires is rude."

To her mingled astonishment and satisfaction, she saw the asari's expression turn horribly guilty for just an instant. She had to hide her smile, but couldn't hide her continued blush. So she wasn't the only one imagining things she shouldn't have.

"I am glad you are alright," Selura said softly, turning her head to stare up at the ceiling. "When I was lying on that walkway," she paused, swallowing, and Neela could see her eyes glistening with unshed tears, "all I could think about was the idea that Salik might do the same thing to you that he had done to me…"

"That bosh'tet," Neela scowled. "I thought he'd killed you. When I saw you lying there in a puddle of blood… I think my heart broke."

Selura glanced over at her with a sorrowful expression that was soon masked with the scientist's playful smirk. "I have that effect upon many people. Everywhere I go, I break hearts."

Neela laughed.

"I am just glad we both survived," Selura admitted. "I do not know what I would have done if I lost you."

"Or I you," Neela smiled and squeezed the asari's hand. Then, on impulse, she lifted Selura's hand to her lips and placed a soft kiss upon the back of it. The simple gesture was one Selura had done to her several times, but the look of delight that touched the asari's features was a treat to behold. Neela couldn't keep from grinning.

"I am glad I can keep my promise to introduce you to my mother someday," Selura said softly. "And maybe take you to a Thessian beach when the war is done."

"I've never been to a beach," Neela admitted. "What is it like to swim in the sea?"

"You have never visited a beach?" Selura seemed surprised.

"I grew up on a starship, remember?" Neela smiled at the asari. "And beaches weren't exactly at the top of my list of places to visit on pilgrimage. Quarian suits aren't exactly made for swimming…"

"True," the asari grinned playfully. "And they cover far too much for sunbathing."

"So are you going to tell me what it's like to swim in the sea?" Neela persisted.

"Would you like me to show you?"

"If we visit Thessia, I would have to be wearing a new enviro-suit," Neela pointed out. "I was asking what it is like to do so without one."

"Would you like me to show you?" Selura repeated.

Neela stared at the asari in confusion. She wasn't sure how that was possible short of flying her to Thessia. Selura smiled at her, apparently picking up on her confusion, and took mercy on her by explaining.

"If I meld with you, I could share my memories. Asari do it sometimes, to share things with friends or loved ones. I have not had a reason to do so in a long time, but… if you are willing to trust me, I could show you."

"You want to… to…" Neela couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was the asari actually asking to have sex with her? Or did she misunderstand what she meant by 'meld'? She had thought asari did that only during reproduction.

"It will not hurt, I promise," Selura assured her. "It will just allow you to experience a memory I choose to share… You would see it through my eyes. And be privy to my thoughts…"

"But… I thought…" Neela stammered. "You can meld with friends and family? It thought it was only done during… uh…"

Selura stared at her for a moment, and then the asari suddenly laughed, her cheeks darkening with a hint of purple. "Yes," she grinned. "It is a mental connection. Not a sexual one. Although, it is also common during intimacy…" she admitted.

"Would you be able to see my memories?" Neela was curious. She obviously didn't know much about the asari ability to meld with others.

"Only if you choose to share them," Selura assured her. "A melding is a connection of acceptance and permission. I cannot take what you do not wish to give."

"Then… I would love to share your memories," Neela said softly. She was flattered that her girlfriend would make such a gesture. She couldn't think of many things more intimate than the idea of experiencing someone's memories from their point of view. "What do I have to do?"

"Just relax," Selura said softly, gazing into Neela's eyes and squeezing her hand. The asari's eyes briefly closed, and when they opened again, her irises, the whites of her eyes… all had turned black.

Neela felt a tingle spread through her body, starting at the back of her mind. It was a strangely pleasant sensation. She would have sworn she could feel Selura's heartbeat… she could _feel_ the asari's affection for her. She could feel her trust, her admiration… her love. Neela smiled as the asari held her gaze, and slowly the world around her faded from her consciousness.

* * *

**Ethessa, A Resort Community on Nevos, Long ago…**

Neela was disoriented at first by the transition from reality to Selura's memory. When she found herself secured in a harness in a skycar, staring out the window toward the sparkling blue waters of a sea below with an excitement that was not her own, she initially felt horribly confused. It was only after the first moments of uncertainty melted away that she began to adjust to the situation. Even so, it was a little frightening, to be unable to separate her feelings from the remembered feelings of the asari.

Selura shifted in her seat, pulling against the harness that restrained her, trying to get a better look at the sparkling water below, and the sandy beach that bordered it. She could see the white froth of the waves as they crashed upon the shore. Her gaze slowly shifted away from the window, and turned toward her mother, who was in the driver's seat. Her mother's skin was much darker than her own, bordering on purple in hue, and she was dressed in a lightweight, breezy gown in anticipation of a day spent on the beach. Selura looked down at herself, clad in a brand new one-piece bathing suit purchased specially for this vacation, and she grinned happily. She couldn't wait to feel the sand between her toes. This was her first visit to a planet other than her home world, and she was excited. Lusia was too chilly for swimming, but this planet was much warmer and a lot prettier to look at.

_It's a childhood memory,_ Neela realized. _She still has the body shape of a child. Or had… Keelah, this is strange… But to see her as a child… if she were quarian, I'd guess her to be a few years shy of beginning adolescence._

The skycar touched down, and Selura felt a surge of excitement. She would soon be in the sea, and perhaps she could see a dirithal! Neela was confused at the child's thoughts for an instant, as she was unfamiliar with the term, but when Selura imagined an image of a large, wide-bodied fish covered in spines rising from the depths, she suddenly understood. Personally, she would have been happier to stay away from such a large fish, but she admired the girl's enthusiasm and sense of adventure.

When the skycar's door popped open, Selura eagerly unsnapped the straps of the harness and grabbed the oversized towel her mother had chosen for her to use at the beach. Filled with excitement, she began to dash from the vehicle. Her mother caught her by the arm, glaring at her sternly.

"Selura, I want you to stay where I can see you," she warned. "No running off."

"Okay mother," Selura sighed, rolling her eyes. Her mother was so overprotective…

"Wait here while I unpack the shader and our lunch," her mother told her, reaching into the storage compartment for the portable device, which formed a clear canopy that could be darkened to various levels to filter or entirely block out the rays of the sun.

Selura dashed off the moment her mother's back was turned, suppressing the urge to giggle as she sped off onto the beach. Her mother was too slow to wait for. She would catch up eventually. The sand was warm and soft beneath her feet, and her eyes were already upon the seemingly endless field of blue that stretched out before her.

_Keelah, she certainly wasn't an obedient child,_ Neela thought with amusement. However, her mirth soon faded, and she was instead enthralled with the soft, grainy texture of the sand beneath her feet. Or Selura's feet. Or both… she wasn't sure.

The young asari dropped her towel a few meters from the surf and dashed into the water with a squeal of glee, running until the drag of the water caused her to naturally pitch forward, after which she disappeared beneath the waves. The water was cool and refreshing, and muted the sounds of laughter and conversation from the beach, overshadowing them with the swooshing sounds of the water as she moved through it and the burbling of bubbles drifting toward the surface.

Neela was lost in the remembered sensations the asari was experiencing. The strange freedom the child felt in swimming through the seawater… the way she would come up for air and then vanish back into the depths, performing summersaults and twirling around in circles… it was delightfully exciting and relaxing all at once. It was almost sensory overload for the quarian, whose physical interaction with the galaxy had always been through tactile emulators and observation more than actual experience.

Selura dove to the bottom of the shallow water – it was too scary to go out into deeper areas – and picked some shells from the sandy sea floor, collecting them in one small hand until she couldn't hold any more. Then she slowly headed in to the shore, emerging from the cool water into the warmth of the sun, dropping the shells into the sand next to her towel and sitting down on the latter.

"Selura, I told you to wait!" her mother's voice scolded her. She felt the gentle nudge of a biotic orb bursting around her, and found herself floating gradually into the air, suspended in space while her mother stalked over to glare at her. "Did you not promise to behave today?" her mother demanded.

"Yes," Selura nodded meekly. "But I was lying," she added with a cheerful grin.

"Goddess," her mother put a hand to her head, simultaneously frowning and chuckling.

Neela, too, was mentally laughing at Selura's blunt admission of dishonesty.

"Well, you will stay there until the field wears off as punishment for disobeying me," her mother finally announced. She turned away and spread out a towel, setting up the shade-producing device and arranging a small cooler and several water bottles in the sand.

Much to Neela's amusement, Selura waved her arms and kicked her legs, trying to get herself in contact with the ground, but succeeding only in slowly rotating herself head-downward. Several passersby stared at the child or laughed in amusement, but Selura was only vaguely aware of them, engrossed as she was in attempting to reach her shells.

"Ensia!" a voice called out from nearby, catching Selura's attention.

The child spotted another asari crossing the sand toward her mother, and grinned excitedly when she saw her. Neela recognized that Selura's mother and the new woman had similar features and coloration to their skin, and guessed they were related even before she felt Selura's excitement over seeing her aunt and heard her gleeful cry.

"Auntie Nyrissa!"

Her aunt slowly walked over to stare at her while she floated upside-down, and the child grinned at her. The elder asari crossed her arms and shook her head.

"Someone has been running off without her mother again," Nyrissa pointed out as if this was a fairly common occurrence.

"She is too slow," Selura giggled.

"Ensia," the woman turned to Selura's mother, her voice teasing, "How could you punish someone so adorable? Just look at that face!"

Selura put on her cutest expression, pouting and batting her eyes, happy to have her Auntie – her partner in crime – at the beach with them. She saw her mother glare at her aunt, shaking her head as she did so.

"You know, you are not helping, Nyri," her mother said, though she was obviously struggling not to smile.

"On the contrary, I _am_ helping! I am helping my niece!"

Neela listened to the two women banter back and forth, smiling as they became increasingly teasing and playfully sarcastic. She could see where Selura got her general sense of humor. She found herself quickly coming to like both of the elder asari.

The biotic field collapsed long before the two sisters were finished teasing each other, and Selura dropped into the sand with a squeak. But the child merely rolled over, with sand falling from her scalp crests, and started sorting through her shells, inspecting them with a fascination and attention to detail that the quarian found adorable. She was half-expecting the future scientist to start running tests on them at any moment…

* * *

**Isolation Room, Resort Hospital, Mivian Heights, Now…**

When the memory faded and the world around her returned to prominence, Neela smiled at the beautiful asari by her side. After the horror of nearly losing her and then days of nightmares and fevered hallucinations, Selura's memories of a day at the beach… and being able to experience the sea the way she'd never expected to experience it firsthand… were just the thing she'd needed to settle her nerves and help to rid herself of dark thoughts. She looked forward to the day she might meet Selura's mother and aunt in person.

"Thank you," she said softly. "For sharing that with me."

"I love you," Selura said simply. "I would share anything with you."

The open honesty of her words and the very visible affection in her eyes took Neela's breath away. On impulse, she wrapped her sheet tightly around herself – for her own comfort – and carefully scooted off of her bed and onto the edge of Selura's, which was right up against her own. The movement was a little uncomfortable for her broken ankle, but once she was settled on the other massage table, pressed up against Selura's side, she felt much better. She gently laid her head upon the asari's shoulder, drawing comfort from the warmth of Selura's body against her and the softness of the skin pressed against her cheek. She closed her eyes, and felt Selura gently brush a few errant strands of her hair away from her face.

"I told you that you would jump at the chance to join me," Selura teased in a soft murmur.

Neela raised her head and propped herself up on an elbow, gazing down at the asari with admiration. They had come far closer to losing each other than she ever wanted to come again, and now that they were together in their current circumstances, she found that she couldn't stop staring at Selura's lips. She had been dreaming of her first kiss since she was old enough to understand the concept of love and romance, and she couldn't imagine ever wanting to kiss anyone more than she wanted to kiss Selura. Her heart was pounding. It just seemed crazy to her, given how close she had come to losing the asari without ever having had the opportunity to kiss her, to deny herself the chance now that she had it. She stared into Selura's dazzling blue eyes, trying to gather her nerve. She stared for so long, in fact, that Selura started to look a little concerned.

"Neela?"

The quarian slowly closed the distance between them, and her lips met Selura's in a gentle, almost timid kiss. She saw the asari's eyes… so close to her own… briefly widen in shock, and then drift closed before she allowed her own to do the same. A maelstrom of emotions raged in her heart: excitement, joy, love, affection… and fear. She marveled at the softness of Selura's lips against her own… the warmth of her breath… the subtle, delightful scent of her skin... and she was gratified when, after a moment, Selura's arm gently encircled her waist, and the asari returned her kiss with tenderness and care.

Before long, the asari's lips parted, and Neela was surprised to feel her tongue briefly tease her lips. Neela had absolutely no practical experience in kissing, but she followed the asari's lead, and was soon enthralled with the taste of Selura's tongue in her mouth. She briefly wondered where her girlfriend had acquired the apparent experience she had in this activity, but quickly put those thoughts out of her mind, losing herself in the joy of her first kiss. It was every bit as magical as she had ever dreamed it could be.

When she felt the soft graze of fingertips tracing down over the curve of her backside through the sheet, however, a surge of warmth and nervousness rushed through her. Her eyes snapped open, and she pulled away from the kiss, blushing fiercely and glaring down at the asari in mock anger.

"Behave," she growled, trying to keep from smiling at Selura's obvious desire to touch her.

"Sorry," Selura looked sheepish, but the corner of her lips curled upward. "But surely you cannot blame me for admiring such a shapely posterior…"

Neela thought she might pass out from embarrassment at the observation, as complimentary as it was. In truth, a small part of her wanted to climb beneath the asari's sheet with her and do far more than kiss her, so she couldn't really blame Selura for such a small indulgence, but she knew she wasn't ready for more than a kiss just yet. So she narrowed her eyes, continuing her playful glare, and glanced back at her own massage table.

"I could go back over there, if you don't think you can behave," she suggested, her tone teasing.

"No!" Selura answered very, very quickly, after which Neela had to struggle mightily not to laugh. "No," the asari repeated more softly. "You are fine where you are. I will keep my hand under control. I promise."

Neela smiled and leaned in slowly, and their lips met once again.

_I could get used to this…_

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: As always, I must first thank everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited/followed or otherwise given any attention at all to this story. I hope I am continuing to entertain you all, and I promise to do my best to keep it up. But the interest in my story really means the world to me, so I cannot thank you enough.**

**The past few Chapters were filled with some intense scenes and a lot of conflict. Even the first scene this time carries on with that theme, but I've been eager to get to this Chapter, because I wanted to shift gears a bit and show that even in the midst of all the chaos going on elsewhere, there are bright spots to be found. Plus, I felt the change of pace, however brief, was needed at this point in the story, especially knowing what's coming up. It's been so hard to keep from spoiling the fact that Neela would not only recover, but would find an unexpected blessing in doing so. This series of scenes was in my head about thirty Chapters ago, when Neela was tending to Selura's arm on the _Sileya_. That's a long time to keep a lid on something!**

**Also, I was purposely a little vague about the exact details of Neela's appearance because I know not everyone was a fan of the reveal Bioware put into ME3, and a fair portion of ME fans seem to have their own mental image of quarians beneath the mask. I personally always pictured them with purple skin... no idea why. But I opted not to get overly specific for this reason.**

**Hopefully the last section works. I have alluded to intimate scenes in past (unpublished) works, but my policy has always been a sort of "fade to black" finish, rather than focusing on intimate details. This is the first time I've tried to put into print anything as special and memorable as a first kiss. I'm not entirely convinced I've done it justice, but I leave that to you all to decide. I'm only sad that I didn't have the foresight to sneak in a few extra Chapters prior to the holidays so that I could have published this around then, but hopefully seven days into the new year isn't too late for a few lighthearted and fun scenes.**

**Since about 600 words of this Chapter now are me rambling, I will stop now. Barring any unforeseen disasters, the next Chapter of the story should be up on Sunday morning. Until then, have a great week!**


	40. Chapter 40: Cornered

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Forty: Cornered

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**Reaper Facility, Southern Scott…**

A series of startled cries and murmurs ran through the cramped prisoner space when their transport touched down, and Aida was almost knocked off of her feet by the jarring impact. The asari lifted her young blonde companion in her arms, letting the girl cling to her while they waited for whatever fate was about to befall them. They'd been stuck inside of the cramped space in the harvester for days. With nothing to do but sleep or worry, she'd lost track of how many it had been.

Periodically over the course of the past days, they'd stopped in unknown locations, and new prisoners would be added to their already-cramped compartment through chutes in the ceiling. The prisoner area was now so packed with scared humans that they were forced to sit on one another's laps if they wanted to sit at all. No one had eaten in days.

Fortunately, Aida had her water bottle to share with her young companion and a few others she felt needed it. However, she'd had to be careful about who she allowed to see it following a fight that broke out between several prisoners over a canteen. The scuffle had resulted in husks beating two men to death to end the commotion. Aida had discussed the possibility of escape in hushed tones with Harper, but they both agreed that until they found out where they were going, they couldn't do much other than to agree that they'd have to try at some point.

As for her young companion, the poor girl was so traumatized that Aida couldn't get her to speak. The child simply held onto her as if she were the only person on the planet capable of keeping her safe. Aida desperately wished that she thought it was possible to protect the child from whatever was coming, but she knew that if the Reapers wanted to kill them now, there would be little she could do to stop it. Her biotics might kill a few… maybe even a dozen… but in the end she would simply get herself killed and then the Reapers would carry on with their plans as if nothing had happened.

What the asari didn't understand was why the Reapers would bother to take prisoners at all. If they were intent upon exterminating all life on the planet, why not simply execute them where they were captured? It seemed a better use of time and resources than capturing and imprisoning people. There must have been something she was missing. The Reapers must have wanted prisoners for some other purpose. She just couldn't figure out _what_ purpose they were to serve.

She was engrossed in her thoughts, trying to imagine what might be coming and how they could manage to escape it, when a huge mechanical arm suddenly seized her and the child she was carrying, and she was jerked into the air and through a port in the ceiling of the transport. The suddenness of the occurrence drew a startled shriek from both herself and the young blonde child, but they could do nothing but wait while they were drawn through the darkness and placed into a new area inside of their harvester transport. When she was released from the mechanical grip, a crimson bubble of energy formed around her, and she stared at it with a mixture of dread and fascination.

Other humans and several cannibals were added to the bubble over the course of the seconds that followed, until the energy field was packed with human and reaper bodies. Then there was a sudden, disorienting rush, and a brilliant field of crimson obscured her view of their surroundings. The only sounds and sensations she could make out were the startled cries of those around her and the feeling of falling. Then there was a sudden, jarring impact and the brilliant field of energy around them burst, leaving them lying in a chamber made of dark metal, which was open to the sky above. Amazingly, the child never released her grip upon her.

Aida sat up slowly, staring around in confusion. She had no idea what had just happened… Until she spotted the harvester perched at the edge of the opening above. Crimson light grew in the creature's chest, and a huge ball of blazing crimson was projected down into the room where they stood. Aida and the others scrambled to get out of the path, but when the radiant projectile struck the ground and burst, another group of people had been added to the room. Aida recalled seeing Reaper troops emerge from similar impacts in the past, and realization dawned on her. She had just been subjected to the Reaper version of an airdrop. The child in her arms was whimpering, and she gently stroked the girl's hair in an attempt to soothe her.

The chamber into which they'd been projected was a featureless rectangular room, save for the absent roof. Aida didn't even see any signs of a door or other method of egress. She was starting to wonder if this open-air pen was to be their cell while they were held captive. Crimson transport-bubbles continued to slam into the floor at regular intervals until all of the captives and Reapers had been deposited into the room, and then the harvester above turned and started beating its wings, slowly lifting off and circling before vanishing from sight.

"_Attention organics,_" a rumbling, echoing, inhuman voice thundered all around them. _"Your incarceration in this facility commences immediately. We have no wish to squander potentially-useful resources. Your level of cooperation determines your life expectancy. Make yourselves useful, and you shall be allowed to live. Resist us, and you will be exterminated."_

Aida frowned. If she weren't holding a child, she might have been tempted to voice her doubts that the Reapers intended to let anyone live. However, she didn't want to risk the cannibals in the area turning their weapons upon her while the girl was in her arms, and when she tried to put the child down, the girl's slender arms only tightened around her in response.

A huge section of one of the walls suddenly shifted to the side, revealing a previously-hidden doorway that led into darkness.

_"Proceed into the processing area immediately,"_ the rumbling voice of the Reaper demanded.

Aida hesitated, staring suspiciously at the darkness of the void beyond that doorway. No one seemed interested in being the first to enter the door. When no one moved, however, a cannibal immediately fired upon one of the men furthest from the door. The bullets tore through his legs, and he collapsed to the ground with an agonized cry. The sudden and unprovoked attack had the effect that the Reapers apparently wanted. People quickly backed away from the fallen man and the Reapers that lurked behind the group, fearfully shuffling toward the darkness beyond the door. Harper and a few others went out to retrieve the injured man, holding up their hands to show that they meant no harm to the cannibals and husks that watched them. Once they reached him, they lifted the writhing fellow into the air and hurried to follow the rest of the group into the interior of the facility.

Aida stumbled through the darkness, following the sounds of the crowd as they proceeded along the corridor that awaited them. Eventually she could see a dim red light shining ahead, and her steps quickened involuntarily. She was eager to be in an area where she could see her surroundings.

The chamber into which they emerged was spacious, even though it was already filled with dozens of other prisoners. It was roughly rectangular in shape, but the walls slanted inward, giving the impression that the roof was pressing in on them. There were sharp protrusions from the walls and the ceiling above, and there was a faint hum in the air that could be felt more than heard… as if the very air around them was transmitting vibrations. There were several large basins near the doors that were filled with liquid. More than a couple of the prisoners ran for these, eagerly scooping handfuls of the liquid into their mouths. After days without food or water, Aida couldn't blame them, but she wasn't going to eat or drink _anything_ the Reapers offered them while she still had a little bit of water left in her bottle.

Her attention turned to the prisoners that had already been present in the room, and she noted that all of them wore alliance uniforms. Harper and the other men had already settled the wounded man on the floor near the door, and the engineer was already headed toward the other group of soldiers. She hurried to join him. If they were going to put together a plan for escape, she wanted to be a part of it. And if that wasn't to be the subject of their discussion, at least she might learn something about the situation.

"Corporal Kevin Ubruscia," one of the soldiers was introducing himself when Aida approached. The man shook Harper's hand.

"Corporal Todd Harper," the engineer introduced himself in turn.

Aida saw Kevin's attention turn to her, and she bowed her head in greeting. "I am Aida Dalinas," she introduced herself.

"Corporal Ubruscia," he repeated his introduction. "It's nice to meet you, but would you excuse us? We need to discuss Alliance business."

"I have been working with the Alliance for some time now," she protested. "I was serving as a medic up until my capture. I would like to know what is going on here."

She studied the face of the man as he regarded her speculatively. His hair was short and dark, and he sported several days' growth of beard that almost, but not quite, hid a long scar that ran along his jaw on the left side. He finally shrugged and turned his attention back to Harper.

"What outfit are you with?" he asked the engineer. "Who is your commanding officer?"

"I was with the 122nd Engineering Corps, serving under Captain Tarrislav, at F.O.B. Alpha-5," Harper informed him. "What about you?"

"The 314th Marines, serving under Captain Yoshinobu Shirakawa, in Dotterstown," Kevin responded. "We heard Alpha-5 was bombarded from orbit," he added.

"No," Harper shook his head. "A Reaper landed right on top of us, but some of our forces survived and retreated to Mivian Heights. The Reapers hit us there a few days ago and scattered what was left of us."

"Most of Dotterstown is in shambles, but we're continuing to fight a pitched battle to keep them from taking the western half of the city," Kevin informed him. "Unfortunately, the 314 got cut off during our big offensive three days ago, and the Reapers captured the remainder of our detachment. It was either surrender or die. The lieutenant commander figured if we surrendered, we might be able to free any other prisoners they had when we broke out. But it turned out we were the first prisoners here."

"An offensive?" Harper repeated with interest. "Good to know someone is still fighting."

"Yeah," Kevin nodded, but his posture slumped a little. "It's been brutal. Captain Shirakawa is doing everything he can to keep us in the fight. But we've suffered serious losses and our gains have been small. Losing the 314 will hurt operations for the rest of the defenders. Our unit was the largest and most experienced group left in the city."

"Where is the lieutenant commander?" Harper asked. "I'd like to speak with him."

"The Reapers marched him out yesterday," the marine trailed off. It seemed no more needed to be said.

"Is this all that is left of you?" Aida asked sadly, her gaze wandering over the group of marines.

"There were sixty-two of us when we got here two days ago. As you can see, only thirty-seven are left. The others were taken out slowly over the course of the first few days, and most never returned. A few seem to have surrendered to the Reapers. Traitors," he spat.

"What do you mean, 'surrendered'?" Harper questioned.

"They come in here with food once a day. They won't talk to us except to say that they can't talk to us. But they're obviously doing whatever the Reapers want them to do, just to save their own skins."

"Survival can be a powerful motivation," Aida pointed out. "While I have no plans to do what the Reapers tell me to do, I can understand why some people might."

"They're fools. Sure, they might survive for now, but after the Reapers kill the rest of us, they'll eliminate their work force," Kevin shook his head.

"Are you sure they're killing prisoners?" Aida asked. However, the question only caused the girl in her arms to start sobbing, and she bit her lip, bowing her head in misery. All eyes in the area turned toward her, and she saw Kevin frown.

"Maybe you should get someone else to look after her if we're gonna discuss that kind of shit," he suggested.

Aida felt the girl's arms tighten around her, and she sighed and shook her head. "She won't let go of me. She seems sort of… attached."

"Then let's just change the subject, yeah?"

"Fine," Aida nodded.

"So how do we escape?" Harper whispered. "You must have been thinking about it since your arrival."

"Be careful who you mention that to," Kevin murmured so softly that Aida had to lean closer to hear. "The Reapers offered to delay the execution of anyone who informs them of fellow prisoners' escape plans. We've already got traitors acting like jailors on the Reapers' behalf. Who knows how many more might turn traitor to save themselves?"

Aida glanced at Harper, and saw the man frown and look around at the group of civilians spread throughout the room. She sighed at the implication. The Reapers would do their best to turn them against each other, and there would undoubtedly be a few people who were so scared of dying that they would seize any chance to delay their own deaths. Even if it was at the expense of others.

"As for your question," Kevin spoke in a whisper. "I haven't seen any opportunities yet. But I'm keeping my eyes open for one."

"We will too," Harper assured him. "But why would the Reapers even take prisoners?"

Aida shook her head. She had been wondering the same thing. But she supposed it didn't matter. Their first priority had to be figuring out how to escape. Whatever the Reapers wanted with them, they couldn't let them get it. She would be keeping careful watch on their surroundings, looking for any air duct, vent, chute, hatch or opening through which they might be able to escape. She just prayed that she wouldn't see any of her friends march into the room as prisoners in the days to come. She left the two men to discuss the situation further, taking her young charge to a relatively quiet corner of the room to try to calm her down.

* * *

**Exogeni Tower Ruins, Southern Scott…**

Illitha stood at the center of the crumbling room, arms outstretched, struggling to maintain the shimmering dome of biotic force that surrounded her. Her breathing was labored and her arms and legs were shaking. Her lips were dry and cracked, and she was feeling dreadfully overheated as a result of her long day of exertion. She regarded the figures around her grimly, noting the doubt in their expressions. Finally, she nodded her head.

"Do it," she urged.

Rachel and the two teenagers looked at each other, none of them seeming to want to follow her instructions. She looked around at them in frustration, silently begging them to do as they were told. They had been eager enough at the start of the day to follow her orders, but as the day wore on, they'd become increasingly stubborn.

"Do it," she repeated, her tone thick with frustration.

"Illitha, you've had enough for today. You need to rest," Rachel said softly.

"I need to get us out of here!" the asari shouted. The field around her fluctuated visibly when her ire overshadowed her control. However, when she reminded herself that shouting would only put them all in danger, she quickly calmed herself and concentrated on maintaining the extended barrier. "Now attack me!"

"Spectre…" Elliot frowned at her, dropping the chunk of shattered ceiling tile he held.

"We're done, Illitha. You can barely stand," Rachel's expression was filled with concern. The marine dropped the armful of debris she held.

Illitha stared helplessly at her collected companions, grinding her teeth in irritation. Then she finally let the field drop, her shoulders slumping in defeat. She turned away from the trio, staggering toward a nearby doorway, trying not to show just how worn out she was. She slipped through the door and leaned against the wall wearily once she was out of view on the other side, burying her face in her hands and struggling mightily not to break down and cry.

_This is all my fault. I have to get them out…_

She slowly slid to the floor, drawing her knees up to her chest and resting her forehead against them. Not for the first time that week, she cursed herself for being such a weak and pathetic individual. If only she'd been more like her father, the people that had been willing to follow her wouldn't be stuck where they were now… trapped on the upper floors of a crumbling tower, out of food and water, with no way to escape.

_Such a brilliant plan… Oh, we just _have_ to see what the new Reaper structure is for… Let's all go to the top of a very tall building so we can get a better view. There's no way the Reapers might decide to camp all over the lower floors and trap us there… Goddess… I am so stupid… Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!_ She banged the back of her head against the wall to punctuate each of the last three words.

They had developed a reasonable hypothesis as to the purpose of the new Reaper structure. They'd seen harvesters landing on the roof and spewing crimson energy into the interior of the structure. From their vantage, they'd been able to spot a few people in the target area through an opening in the roof of the Reaper building after each discharge. Illitha and Rachel had agreed that it was undoubtedly a prison of some kind. But in the days since, there had been an awful smell upon the air whenever the wind shifted and blew in from that direction. That was when Jay made the grim observation that it was more likely a slaughterhouse.

The Reapers had been swarming all over the city around their new facility, and a number of them had taken up residence on the lower floors of the building. Rachel had tried several times to find a clear path through the lower floors to get them out, but her reports were always the same: There were Reaper turians and cannibals all over the building. A few husks had tried climbing to the upper levels of the structure, but they had thus far been able to quietly dispatch the intrepid corpses without raising an alarm. Unfortunately, they had intended to be in town for only a day or two before returning to their hideout in the canyon south of the city. As a result, they'd brought only enough food and water to last a few days, and left the rest hidden in the caverns. Even with rationing, their supplies had run out after their fourth day stuck in the tower, and if she didn't get them all out soon, they would all die of thirst.

_I need to talk to them… Convince them to continue helping me to train… I feel like I am making progress._

The scuffing sound of a boot scraping over broken tile just outside of the room caught her attention, and the young engineer scrambled to her feet. Even though her legs threatened to cease supporting her, she forced herself to begin pacing, so that when her visitor came in, they would find her mobile and seemingly energetic.

"Illitha, you should be resting," Rachel's voice admonished her. "You've been killing yourself for hours. My arms ache just from throwing things at you for so long. I can only imagine how exhausted you must be."

"I… I cannot rest," Illitha shook her head stubbornly. "Go get the boys. We should… we _need_ to resume training."

"Absolutely not," Rachel frowned at her. "You've done enough for today. You've been driving yourself too hard for days… You've made impressive progress. You can create that field every time and hold it now. But you'll be no good to anyone if you keep exhausting yourself like this."

"I am no good to anyone anyway!" Illitha snapped. She noted that the young blonde looked a little taken aback. She sighed and put her head in her hands. "I need to practice. My barrier… It… Now that I can extend it, it w-will get us all out of here if I can make it strong enough."

"It doesn't have to rest on you, Illitha," Rachel said softly. "We can do this as slowly and quietly as possible. Ambush them one at a time. Carve a trail through them. If we're careful and lucky, we might be able to get out that way."

"Might? That is not good enough!" Illitha almost started shouting, but caught herself just in time. She couldn't afford to bring the Reapers up to investigate the noise. Not until they were prepared to leave. "I… I have to get you all out. This… It… I…" she trailed off, feeling herself on the verge of tears. She turned away to hide her emotions from the blonde.

"Illitha, this isn't your fault," Rachel's hand came to rest on her armored shoulder. "You don't need to punish yourself like this."

"You put me in charge," Illitha said softly. "Y-You all followed me. And I got us all trapped in a tower with a hundred Reapers between us and the exits…"

"You're not a soldier," Rachel pointed out, her voice dropping to a barely-audible murmur. "You haven't been trained in tactics. You've done an amazing amount of good in the city going on your instincts alone. But if anyone should have suggested leaving a rear guard on the ground floor… or preparing an extraction plan in advance or something… It should have been me. I'm the soldier. And I suggested this stupid building in the first place."

"But _I_ led us here," Illitha countered. "I n-never wanted to be in charge," she whispered, bowing her head.

"I know. I pushed you into that too. This is my fault. I'm sorry…"

"No," Illitha shook her head, turning to face the blonde. "I m-may not have wanted to be in charge. B-But I let you put me there. I… I pretended to be a Spectre. I could have told the truth. But I let all these boys think I was s-something I am not. The fault is entirely mine. And I… I have to make it up to them. I have to get them out."

"I know you feel responsible-"

"I _am_ responsible," Illitha cut her off. "I yielded to your pressure to take the lead when I knew I-I had no business being there. Now the decisions I made might lead to people dying unless I can get them out. I w-will not fail you…" the asari felt a tear slide down her cheek, and she wiped it away irritably.

Rachel gazed at her sympathetically for a moment, and then gently but insistently pulled her into a tight embrace. Illitha stiffened at first in the blonde's arms, but the truth was that she was terrified, and the gentle, supportive contact was immensely comforting. She pressed her face into the rubbery weave that rose out of the girl's armor to cover her neck, and held onto her for dear life. She felt the tears coming, but this time she made no attempt to stop them. She leaned into Rachel and she cried. Her grief was not for herself, but for the people she'd led into this building, and who might die for her mistake.

Rachel said nothing. She just held her and supported her, letting her give outlet to her fear and her sorrow. As Illitha sobbed on the blonde's shoulder, she found her thoughts turning to Aida. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd cried on the shoulder of anyone but her best friend. Prior to meeting Aida, the only ones that ever saw her in this state had been her pillow and occasionally her mother. Now she was burdening poor Rachel with her inadequacies.

"It is funny," she finally murmured, her voice thick with tears. "There was a time I was terrified of dying… Or even of being hurt… J-Just the thought of stepping into danger made my stomach tie itself in knots. Now… I… I w-would give my life gladly if I knew it would mean the rest of you would get to safety…"

"Illitha…" Rachel stood back and held her at arm's length, gazing at her suspiciously.

"C-Cerberus kidnapped me a while back," Illitha said softly. "I… I knew they w-were going to kill me. B-But I was willing to die at that time if my death would warn my friends that Cerberus was coming for them. I had overheard them talking about throwing me from a shuttle and then going after the rest of the crew…" she trailed off, and her eyes widened.

"Illitha?" Rachel was staring at her. The look of anticipation on the blonde's face suggested that she had recognized the dawning realization in Illitha's expression.

"I… I just came up with a plan," Illitha said softly. "B-But you will all _really_ need to trust me for this one."

"As long as it doesn't involve you sacrificing your life for ours, I trust you implicitly."

"I… I need to pull myself together so that the others do not see me in this state. W-Will you gather them and tell them that I have a plan? I will join you all in that… that ruined laboratory on the floor below."

"Aye aye, Spectre," Rachel smiled at her and saluted. "And for the record, you're the one coming up with the day-saving plan once again," she added. "I knew you would come up with something," she turned and strode from the room.

Illitha wiped the moisture from her cheeks and sighed.

_Sure, I am the one coming up with the plan,_ she thought. _But I was also the one that came up with the plan that put us in this mess to begin with. At least I know from experience that this plan will work… We just need a little bit of luck…_

* * *

**Southern Scott, Capital City of Terra Nova…**

Prathus paced back and forth across the ruined floor of the building they'd chosen as a temporary resting point, careful to avoid stepping too close to the small holes that dotted the surface. As he walked back and forth, his gaze frequently turned to the nearby Reaper device, the latest in the string of such devices that they'd tracked down in an effort to find Illitha. The asari had clearly been busy, and Prathus had the feeling that it was taking them longer to find the devices in her wake than it was for the young engineer to actually find and disable them. They'd been combing through the ruins for a Galactic Standard week, and seemed to be no closer to finding his friend.

The situation was beginning to wear on all of them. They were essentially as directionless now as they had been when they first learned that the Alliance was severing contact with them. They'd been wandering through the ruins, killing roving groups of Reapers, but had no real idea of where they were going or how far behind Illitha they actually were. Zaeed grumbled frequently about finding something more productive to do, and as much as Prathus wanted to find and help Illitha, he was starting to share the human's opinion. This was why he'd agreed to take a break while McSween worked on breaking the security on the omni-tools Zaeed had collected from Cerberus. Zaeed was convinced that Cerberus would have had a ship waiting to take them off-world. If they could discover its location, they might have some idea of where to find Salik… _if_ the salarian hadn't thought of it first and beat them to it.

Prathus strayed over to the window in the wall nearest to him, surveying the street below warily. They'd been unable to rest in one place for more than a handful of minutes at a time in the past couple of days. It was as if the husks could literally sniff them out, and there were always cannibals and the reaperized versions of his own people close on their heels. They'd even spotted a few hulking beasts covered in armored plating stomping through the streets, but had thus far managed to avoid conflict with the big brutes.

Seeing no sign of activity outside in the street, Prathus limped over to a relatively-intact desk and sat down, giving his legs a rest. The last of his recent bullet injuries had healed up nicely over the course of the week despite the exertion of walking around all day each day, and it was refreshing to have only the vague awkwardness of his old injury to contend with once again. He never thought he'd be thankful for that limp, but it was far preferable to the fresh wounds in both legs. He shook his head.

"Care to share?"

The turian shifted his gaze to the owner of the voice. It belonged to a young, bright-eyed marine he'd come to know as Benner over the course of the week. The young human was an inquisitive individual, eager to hear about turian culture and Prathus's experiences during the Relay 314 Incident. While Prathus wasn't always in the mood to talk with the human, he had to admit to himself that he found it refreshing to deal with a human that seemed to hold no opinion whatsoever on the old First Contact War, as the humans called it. Benner just wanted to learn about turians.

Prathus eyed the human speculatively for a moment before deciding to share his thoughts. "I was just thinking how nice it was to deal only with my old injury instead of with a bunch of new ones," he admitted. "Never thought I'd be thankful for something like that. But then I never expected to be involved in a war again either…"

The young marine chuckled and shook his head, sitting down next to Prathus on the desk. "I see a lot of experienced soldiers with old scars and war wounds. I know it'll happen to me someday. It's almost inevitable. But I can't wrap my head around living with it yet. How do you keep from getting bitter over the constant reminder?"

"It's not easy," Prathus muttered. He decided not to mention how much he disliked humans as a result of it. Though he had to admit that his dislike had been waning of late. Fighting alongside the Alliance soldiers and the human mercenary had caused him to develop a grudging respect for the humans' spirit. "Sometimes it's a reminder of just how much hardship that old enemy put you through," he added. "It's easy to get caught up in old grudges if you let yourself."

"I guess I can understand that," the marine nodded. He might have said more, but there was a very audible gurgling sound from his abdomen at that moment, and he sighed.

Prathus understood completely. There hadn't been time to grab what meager food stores the Alliance had stockpiled before leaving Mivian Heights, and they'd found no sign of anything edible since arriving in the city. It was even worse for the turian, as the last of his dextro rations had run out two days before. Unless he found some dextro-based food somewhere, he was facing the very real possibility of starvation in the days to come. Water was almost as severe an issue. They'd been rationing their water very carefully, but Prathus's canteen was down to just a few mouthfuls.

"Got it," McSween suddenly crowed from the other side of the room.

Prathus and Benner both stood up, walking over to join Zaeed and the other marines, all of whom were gathering around the engineer. He waited patiently while the red-haired human searched through the data on the Cerberus omni-tool. When he saw the frown upon the engineer's face, and saw that frown grow deeper and deeper, however, he knew there wasn't going to be any good news coming. When McSween finally spoke, his first words confirmed the turian's expectations.

"Well, I 'ave bad news… an' worse news," he announced.

"That's new," Benner pointed out with heavy sarcasm. A few marines chuckled.

"The bad news is that there's no mention o' any ship or exit strategy on the omni," McSween announced. "Only orders t'seize a Prothean ruin an' secure the archive there."

"Well, we already figured that much of their strategy out," Prathus shrugged. "But they must have planned a way off the planet. So what's the worse news?"

"Well, that part applies only if Cerberus is really our enemy in this war," the engineer began.

"They are," Zaeed interjected. "Trust me."

"Aye, well…" the engineer turned his attention back to the omni-tool, "This data mentions three groups on the planet. Detachments Alpha, Beta, and Charlie. The bastard ye took this from was apparently part o' Beta detachment. 'Cause that's the only one I see mission details for. 'Secure the prothean site and gain access to archives for Doctor Ballimond'," McSween read the details. "It also says 'Eliminate any potential security risks. Destroy archive upon completion'."

"I don't see where this is bad news," Benner looked around at the others uncertainly.

"It's a problem because my team only wiped out two groups of Cerberus troops," Zaeed explained. "We hit one in the city here, and one at the Prothean dig site. There's another Cerberus group somewhere on this planet," the mercenary finished.

Prathus watched Zaeed closely, and noted that there was a very faint look of satisfaction on the human's scarred face. He knew exactly what the mercenary was thinking: If there was another Cerberus group somewhere, he had one more shot at getting the information he wanted.

"Does it mention where the other groups were deployed? Or what their objective was?" Prathus asked.

"No," McSween shook his head. "The rest o' the information is operational details. Maps o' the cities on the surface, mission-specific communications frequencies," he paused and stared at the display on the omni-tool for a moment. "Suicide on capture orders?" he shook his head. "Bloody 'ell…"

"So this doesn't help us at all," Prathus sighed. "The communications frequencies would be nice if the Reapers weren't jamming all comms in the city, but since they are…" he looked around at the assembled group, "What do we do? Keep trying to track down T'Zari's group?"

"We're never gonna catch up to her," Zaeed muttered. "She's got to have some sort of information on where these things are hidden. We spend hours searching for each one and they're all disarmed already. We're wasting time."

"I don't particularly disagree," Prathus shrugged. "But what else can we do?"

"Is there a shipyard on the planet somewhere? Someplace remote that the Reapers might not have hit yet?" Zaeed asked.

"I'm sure the very first target the Reapers would have chosen is any location where there were a bunch of ships gathered," Prathus pointed out.

"Aye," McSween nodded. "They hit the building that housed the hangar in Alliance HQ first thing. O' course it also housed the armory an' hospital wing, so it was a prime target. There are no other major ports or shipyards that I know of, except the asteroid in orbit."

"Well, we sure can't walk _there_," Prathus muttered.

A tremendous rumbling sound filled the air, drowning out further conversation. Prathus limped over to the nearest window, searching for the source of the noise. It didn't take long to locate it. The smaller of the two Reapers that had been stomping through the city was rising slowly into the air. Its thrusters were the source of the deafening noise. Apparently their conquest of Scott was complete. The larger Reaper had taken a position just a few-dozen blocks to the northwest of their position, standing as motionless as a statue. Prathus watched the second Reaper turn in the air and soar off to the west, over the smoldering remains of the mountains.

"Where the hell is it going?" Benner asked.

"No clue," Prathus muttered. "I'm not from here. What's to the west of us?"

"Emergency Site A," McSween pointed out.

"An orbital strike took that out," Prathus shook his head. "What else?"

"Dotterstown," one of the marines spoke up. "Maybe it's heading off to help other Reapers hit Dotterstown. Or maybe they haven't even invaded Dotterstown yet."

"There were half a dozen Reapers in orbit," Zaeed informed them. "Two here, maybe a few remained in orbit, which leaves at least one or two others to hit other settlements. If Dotterstown is a decent-sized settlement at all, then it's already under siege."

"It's the second-largest settlement on Terra Nova," McSween answered. "The embassies an' a bunch o' big company headquarters are there. Along wi' a small Alliance outpost."

"Then it's definitely under siege," Prathus shook his head. "And another Reaper would probably go a long way toward finishing it off."

"But now there's only one Reaper left in town," Benner looked around at the others in the group. "If we could put together a decent sized force, this would be the time to hit it and maybe take it down!"

"We sure can't take down a goddamn Reaper with assault rifles and grenades," Zaeed snorted. "We need artillery for that."

"If they've finished stomping their way through this city, I think we can assume that all the artillery here has been destroyed," Prathus's mandibles twitched in frustration. "But if we headed-"

The ping of Prathus's omni-tool cut off the suggestion he was about to make. It was echoed by alerts from every other omni in the room. Prathus activated his omni and scanned the information displayed there, amazed to find that he had received an incoming signal. It seemed to have been a burst transmission with a brief message, broadcast to every omni-tool in the city. He activated the message.

"_My name is Simon Atwell,_" a voice began without preamble. "_We have worked out a special series of filters to breach the Reaper jamming signal. Risk of Reaper interception of this message is too great to chance attaching copies of the filters to the transmission. Meet my group at the site of Fulton's Folly for help._"

"Simon Atwell?" Prathus repeated. "Who is Simon Atwell?"

"He was the chief engineer on the X-57 relocation project," Zaeed volunteered. "He left the project after batarians hijacked the asteroid and tried to slam it into Terra Nova. Almost everyone else on the team was killed by a batarian bomb when Shepard refused to let the terrorist leader escape."

Prathus stared at the mercenary, wondering why he knew so much about Terra Nova. Something of his curiosity must have been visible in his expression, because the mercenary looked right at him and shrugged.

"When I hired on to Shepard's crew to stop the collectors, I did some research on her. I don't like walking into anything blind," the mercenary explained.

"Okay, then what is Fulton's Folly?" the turian asked. "It sounds to me like meeting this 'Atwell' person should be our next step. If we can clear up communications, we might be able to coordinate some sort of offensive, or somehow help the defenders. And we could _definitely_ tap into Cerberus comms now that we have their frequencies and security codes."

"Agreed," Zaeed nodded.

"Fulton's Folly is an old robotic mining site in the mountains to the north," McSween informed them. "A man named Jacob Fulton secured permits to the site about two years ago, claiming that he'd found the richest deposits of palladium in history. He secured a bunch o' investors an' spent a fortune on workers, equipment, construction o' the facility…"

"It obviously didn't work out like he planned, given the name this 'Atwell' used for the site," Prathus shook his head.

"Aye," McSween chuckled. "Turned out t'be a big scam. Fulton's partner falsified the scanner results an' ran off wi' the investment capital. Left Fulton holdin' the bag."

"Do you know where the place is?" Zaeed asked.

"Aye," McSween activated his omni-tool, sending out a nav-point to everyone in the group. "It's 'ere. In the mountains. Pretty remote. Good place to hide from the bloody Reapers."

Prathus nodded in satisfaction, studying the nav-point and the accompanying map McSween had uploaded. It was about time that someone took some steps toward reestablishing communications. In a couple of days, they would be able to reach the site and could then start really coordinating to fight against the Reapers. And with any luck, anyone else in the city that had received the message would also head that way. He hoped that would include Illitha.

* * *

**Exogeni Tower Ruins, Southern Scott…**

Illitha stood at the ninth-floor doorway in the stairwell, looking around at the small group that she'd led into this building. It had taken some convincing to get everyone to agree to her plan, given the inherent risks in it, but in the end no one had any better ideas, and it was clear that they all had to get out. Now they were prepared to set her plan in motion. She glanced down at the stairs where they should have continued down to the eighth floor and frowned. A massive hole had been blasted through the corner of the building, leaving only twisted metal and open air below them in the stairwell. According to the simulations she'd run, they needed to get to the south side of the building on the eighth floor for her escape route to work. There was a second stairwell on the opposite side of the building that was in even worse shape, but they'd discovered when they were first exploring the building that it was intact from floors seven to nine. So that was their first destination.

"Remember. Once we start shooting, the Reapers will be all over us," Rachel warned. "So we do this as quiet as possible until the Reapers actually have a chance to open fire and give us away."

"We're with you," Jay nodded.

Illitha's eyes went from one person to the next, examining each of them in turn. She might not have wanted to be a leader, but her wants were now irrelevant. This was her team, and if this plan went bad and anyone died, it would be entirely on her. Jack and Danny were both wearing makeshift vests cobbled together out of a variety of impact-resistant polymers, but those were the only two vests she'd had the time and materials to create over the course of the week. They didn't include shield generators, but they might stop a bullet or two that otherwise could prove fatal.

"I am in the lead," Illitha reminded them all. "R-Rachel and I will try to dispatch any Reapers we come across without raising an alarm. Jack, you watch our backs. Everyone else in the middle."

She waited until she received nods of agreement from the others, and then she carefully peered into the hallway beyond the door to be sure it was still clear. They'd pried open most of the doors along their escape route on their way _into_ the structure, which would help their exit somewhat. She saw no signs of Reapers wandering the corridor, so she stepped through the door and started toward the bend at its end, listening carefully for any sounds that might indicate Reapers lurking nearby.

They traversed the first two corridors without running into Reapers, but that was as far as their luck took them. At the end of the second corridor was a gaping hole in the side of the building, which they had already known would force them to cut through a series of conference rooms to reach the other end of the floor. Unfortunately, when they reached the door to the first conference room, they found a Reaper turian and several cannibals lurking inside. Illitha frowned. They had seen plenty of the Reaper turians roaming through the streets, but this would be their first direct confrontation with one. She had no idea what to expect.

She turned and gestured to the rest of the group, quickly informing them through their prearranged hand signals about the numbers and types of enemies waiting in the room beyond. Rachel and Jack both nodded, and since they were the three best suited to taking out enemies quietly, the two of them joined Illitha at the doorway. Illitha intended to hit the turian first, since it was an unknown in this situation. She focused upon her biotics and formed an orb in her hand. She figured if she knocked it off its feet, someone would be able to reach it and kill it before it recovered from the biotic throw. She nodded three counts to the others, and then stepped into the doorway and hurled the orb.

She was completely unprepared for the results. The biotic orb impacted upon a kinetic barrier that protected the turian, staggering it, but otherwise doing no damage. Rachel and Jack were already starting to rush past her, but this new development increased the level of danger significantly. She immediately grabbed Jack by the arm and pulled him back out into the hallway.

The sound of assault rifle fire immediately filled the air, and Rachel staggered under the barrage. Illitha activated her tech armor and then quickly darted into the room, focusing all of her energy upon projecting her barrier outward into a dome that would protect the marine from the incoming fire for a moment. With all possibility of secrecy lost, Rachel opened fire with her assault rifle, targeting the turian until it withdrew from the room and took cover behind the doorframe, and then turning her attention to one of the cannibals. The resounding sound of a single gunshot rang out a moment later, and a second cannibal's head exploded in a shower of gore.

Bullets struck Illitha's barrier dome repeatedly, swiftly taking a toll on her ability to keep the field up. While she'd been practicing for the last few days against thrown objects to try to build her barrier's strength, deflecting gunfire was an entirely different matter. Fortunately, her allies dealt with the cannibals as quickly as they could manage. She let the barrier drop, and everyone took cover behind the conference table at the room's center.

"So much for secrecy," Rachel grumbled.

"W-We need to push through. If w-we let the Reapers slow us too much… they will eventually outnumber us so greatly that we will be unable to proceed at all."

"Then let's go," Rachel urged, darting out of cover and rushing for the door.

The Reaper turian spotted the blonde coming, and it fell back from the doorway, firing upon her as she advanced. Illitha was quick to run after Rachel, and the others followed their lead. Illitha hit the retreating turian with another biotic throw to stagger it, and was gratified when Jay took the opportunity to fire another shot from his sniper rifle, which collapsed the turian's shields. Several husks dashed in from an adjacent room, but Rachel ignored them and fired on the exposed turian Reaper. Illitha defended the blonde while she was engaged, using biotic throws as rapidly as she could manage to knock the husks away from her. Jack, Danny and Elliot fired upon the husks she knocked down to finish them off.

Unfortunately, from that moment onward, they were forced to fight for almost every inch of ground they gained. Husks were their primary opponents. The creatures hurtled out of every doorway and leapt over every partially-crumbled wall they passed, keeping the pressure on them. Cannibals fired upon them from any point of cover the creatures could find, and the turian Reapers showed up in increasing numbers as they got closer to the second stairwell. In areas with little or no cover, the group was forced to cluster around Illitha while she shielded the entire team, giving them the breathing room they needed to finish off their attackers. But the effort was rapidly tiring the asari.

When they reached the stairwell, Illitha leaned heavily against the railing, taking a moment to catch her breath. Jack and Jay continued to fire into the corridor from which they'd just come, holding back the Reapers behind them while Rachel and the two teens proceeded down the stairs to the floor below, working to pry open the door on the landing. In their first time through the building, they had used this stairway to go from floor seven to nine, so they hadn't needed to pry open the eighth-floor door. It was Illitha's hope that this would mean the floor would be free of Reapers.

Illitha's rest was short-lived. She heard shots echo up from the stairwell below, and she cursed herself for not staying with the others when they went down to the next landing. She dashed down the stairs two at a time until she was halfway to the landing below and could see the source of the shots. Reaper troops were coming up from the seventh floor and had fired upon her companions while they were working at the door. The sudden attack had forced Rachel and the two boys to abandon their efforts and drop to the floor for cover. The asari quickly hurled a singularity into the midst of the cannibals and husks, ensnaring several in the field. Then she dashed down the remaining stairs to join the others. She noted that Elliot was bleeding heavily from a wound in his arm, and she cursed herself a second time for letting it happen. She created a protective dome for the others around the door to shield them from Reaper fire.

"Open it!" she urged.

Rachel and Danny nodded and went back to work. Jack and Jay hurried down the stairs to join them, and Jack fired upon the Reapers crowding the stairs below while Jay assisted his brother to his feet and worked to quickly bind the wound with a strip of cloth torn from his shirt. Illitha put every ounce of energy she could muster into her barrier, so that no one else would be injured before they were safely through the door.

"We've got it!" Rachel announced from behind her after what seemed like an eternity.

Illitha nodded and slowly backed through the doorway, keeping her barrier in place until they were in the darkened corridor beyond. Then she gratefully dropped the field and stepped out of the line of fire, feeling her knees shake as a result of the exertion. She collapsed to the floor.

"Are you okay?" the blonde asked her, gazing at her with concern.

"Forget me," Illitha shook her head. "How is Elliot?"

"I'll be okay," the teenager answered immediately.

"I'll stay here and hold them back at the door while the rest of you get to the south side of the building," Rachel suggested, taking cover against the doorframe.

"Out of the question," Illitha shook her head. "Y-You need to lead the way to our exit point."

"You are exhausted," Rachel frowned at her. "You can't stay here and guard the rear."

"I do not plan to," Illitha assured her, which seemed to surprise the blonde. "Fall back to the end of this corridor. Jay," she turned to the young marksman.

"Me?" the young man seemed surprised.

"You have excellent aim. We need you t-to take cover at the corner at the hall's end and shoot anything that comes through this door," Illitha informed him. "B-But only stay there until we reach the end of the second corridor. Then you follow us."

She didn't like the idea of leaving an unarmored member of her team to guard the rear, but the young man's precision with a rifle was amazing. She felt that he was the best choice to keep the Reapers pinned at the door for the few minutes they needed.

"Yes ma'am," the young sniper nodded, running toward the end of the hall to take his position.

"Rachel, you cover the door until we all get around that corner," Illitha added. "My singularity will collapse any second, and then the path will be clear for the Reapers to come after us. Once we round the corner, Jay keeps them pinned until we reach the next corner or junction."

The blonde nodded and took her position, and they all hurried down the hall, with Rachel watching the door. Illitha wasn't wrong. They were halfway to the end of the corridor when the first husks reached the door. The rhythmic discharge of Rachel's rifle filled the air as the blonde covered them against pursuit. Illitha led the rest of the group around the corner toward their destination, praying that the rooms at the south end of the building would be mostly intact.

The plan seemed to be working, though they were drawing a great deal more pursuit with every passing second. When Illitha glanced back at one point to be sure Jay was following them, she saw a staggering number of husks dashing down the hallway behind them. She and Rachel paused for a moment to fire on the husks with their assault rifles, gunning down well over a dozen of the creatures before the arrival of cannibals forced them to fall back.

When they reached their destination, Illitha was happy to see that the room situated the southern side of the building was still largely intact. Had it been a gaping hole with lost floor space, the entire plan would have been a waste. But the floor looked solid all the way up to the shattered floor-to-ceiling windows. She stepped up to the edge, glancing out at the building adjacent to the one in which they stood. There was a sizeable gap between the two, but the roof of the next building was several floors below. According to the simulations the engineer had run on her omni-tool, this room was the perfect height to allow them to traverse the distance without missing the neighboring building. The prospect of leaping out of a tall building was terrifying, but it was the only hope they had of getting all the way to ground level without being killed by Reapers. Of course, there was still the safety net to place…

Illitha focused her energy and formed a biotic orb, hurling it at the space over the roof of the adjacent building, where it blossomed into a singularity. Just like when she had leapt out of the shuttle on Noveria, she intended to use the intense pull of the singularity's gravitational field to slow their fall so they wouldn't be injured by the impact.

"R-Remember," she turned to face her assembled team. "You cannot hesitate. The singularity will catch you, but… you have to run full speed and jump without pause. Jack… You are first. W-When the singularity collapses, you have to cover the rooftop door down there so that Reapers do not come up."

"Got it," Jack nodded, though he looked absolutely terrified.

"Trust me," Illitha encouraged him. "I have done this before. The singularity _will_ catch you." She did her best to sound confident, though inwardly she was anything but. If anyone hesitated on the jump, they would fail to clear the distance, and… their deaths would be her fault. It was her plan. Her responsibility.

Shots rang out from the doorway, where Jay and Rachel had taken position to hold the Reapers back. They couldn't risk having multiple people jump into the same singularity, for fear that the two would collide and people would get hurt. So they had to wait for each one to collapse and free its captured individual before the next person could jump. They needed to hold the line and buy that time. Jack moved all the way to the wall farthest from the windows, breathing heavily and rubbing his hands together, trying to build up the confidence for the jump. Illitha took a spot next to the window. If he didn't clear the gap between buildings, she would be sick with the knowledge that it was her fault, but she was determined to see his landing to assure herself he was safe.

The human finally closed his eyes, crossed himself, and ran for the opening, leaping out into open air with a cry that Illitha could only describe as terrified. She held her breath as he sailed outward and downward. At first, she was positive that he didn't have the momentum. He seemed to be dropping too fast. But to her surprise, he easily cleared the distance, plummeting right through the heart of the singularity. And as had happened to her on Noveria, the human fell far enough to strike the surface of the roof, and then was promptly hoisted back into the air, floating helplessly in the field.

"Jay!" she called. "He made it. Now g-get over here and cover that rooftop door with your rifle until the field collapses."

The young marksman nodded and left his position at the door, which Illitha promptly took, readying her rifle and joining Rachel in firing at the Reapers collected at the far end of the corridor. She spotted several that were using the doors flanking the hallway as cover as well, and quickly realized that they were slowly advancing. But she couldn't figure out how. The room they were in was at the end of the corridor, so there was only one way to approach it.

"H-How are they getting to these closer rooms?" she asked Rachel.

"The turians," the blonde growled. "They hurl some kind of instant-deploy armoring at allies. You can shoot it until it falls off, but it protects them while they advance."

Illitha frowned, picking a target and firing a quick volley at it. Her aim still left much to be desired, but in the close confines of a hallway, she was effective enough. The two of them kept shooting until Illitha heard Jay say that the singularity had collapsed. Then she left her spot to go and create a new one on the rooftop to catch the next person.

It was a time-consuming process, and each time she rejoined Rachel at the door following someone's jump, there seemed to be more cannibals and marauders in the doors closer to their room. But despite the mounting pressure, she was thankful that by the time all four of the boys were on the adjacent rooftop, no one had missed the jump. She took aim at a turian as it tried to move further up the hallway, and her rifle fire collapsed its barrier and then quickly put it down. When it fell, she glanced at Rachel.

"Your turn."

"No way," the blonde shook her head. "You go first."

"I have to create a singularity to catch you," Illitha argued. "You have to go now."

"You can create it from down there," Rachel pointed out. "I'm _not _leaving you up here alone."

Illitha frowned, firing at an advancing cannibal and watching as the majority of her shots ricocheted off of the haphazard bands of armor that blanketed its flesh. It took cover in a doorway just a few doors down from their room. They really didn't have the time to argue.

"Get going, Spectre," Rachel urged. "I can hold them here for a few more minutes."

"Who is in charge here?" Illitha demanded. Her voice held an authoritative tone that would have surprised her, if she had been at all aware of it. "Y-You said you would follow my orders. I am _ordering _you to go. Now!"

The blonde's brows had risen in surprise, and she stared at Illitha with an expression of shock. Illitha couldn't figure out why, as she hadn't even been aware of the way her tone had changed when she pulled rank. Finally, Rachel nodded, pulling a grenade out of the pouch at her side and rolling it into the hallway, no doubt in the hope that the explosion would give them a few moments of relief to set up the jump. Illitha hurried to the window and created another singularity on the adjacent roof, and then quickly returned to the doorway to keep pressure on the Reapers gathered outside.

"Don't keep us waiting," Rachel said softly. Then she dashed for the window and leapt with a shout that was somewhere between frightened and exhilarated.

Illitha sighed once she was alone. She couldn't see Rachel's landing, but she had to assume the blonde made it to the other building. Somehow, she'd managed to get her team to safety, and it was a tremendous relief. She hurled a singularity into the space between two nearby doors, grinning to herself when the field pulled the cannibals out of the doors that flanked it and into open space. She fired on them both until her shots finally penetrated their armor and killed them, and then she slapped the thermal clip out of her rifle and snapped in a new one. Her _last _one. It was then that she noticed something new.

The floor was trembling beneath her feet.

She frowned and wondered if perhaps the big Reaper was coming to assist its troops by obliterating the rest of the building. She fired a few shots at the Reapers in the hallway, waiting until she was fairly sure her singularity would have collapsed. She was just about to form a new singularity over the door to block the path in preparation for her jump when a hulking figure rounded the corner at the end of the corridor. When she saw the massive, brutish armored body and the turian head anchored atop it, her eyes widened. The creature pounded its chest and roared, and when it glared at her afterward, she would have sworn its eyes were glowing red for a moment.

"Goddess…" she whimpered.

The beast planted a hand against the floor and braced itself, and then started sprinting down the corridor toward her. It ran right through the fading field of her singularity as if the swirling vortex didn't exist. Illitha's instinctive response was to hit it with a biotic throw in the hopes of halting its charge, but the beast's momentum was so great that it didn't even seem to notice. Illitha felt her heart skip a beat, and she quickly expanded her barrier into a dome, hoping that she could keep the creature from running right over her. The brute's massive, armored claw slammed into her barrier in a blow so powerful that it collapsed the shield immediately and sent her staggering backward. The creature leapt toward her, and she only barely dove out of the path before its huge fists slammed into the floor tiles where she had been standing, shattering them to pieces. She fired on the beast, but even the shots that struck flesh instead of armor didn't seem to bother it.

_I cannot beat this thing_, she realized. _But I cannot back up to the wall for a full running start either. I have no choice but to do this as I did it on Noveria. Leap first and create the singularity on the way down…_

The brute turned and took a backhand swipe at her with its massive claw arm, and Illitha instinctively ducked beneath the blow. She didn't hesitate one second longer. She turned and sprinted for the window, hearing the brute's footsteps pounding right on her heels. When she leapt into open air, she couldn't stop the ear-piercing scream that erupted from her lungs. She could tell immediately that she was going to fall well short of the neighboring building, so she fought to control the panic that rose in her chest as she fell and hurled a singularity into the air over the wide alley below. Fortunately, she'd had a lot of practice at creating singularities since the last time she had to save herself like this, and thus the field manifested right where she wanted it, about a dozen meters above the pavement.

Unfortunately, though she fell into the field as intended, the momentum of her fall took her right through it, and since she'd created it higher above the ground since she was falling farther, there was no surface to halt her fall while the singularity was still pulling the opposite direction. The singularity took a great deal of momentum out of her fall in the process, but when the gravitational field failed to hold her aloft, she felt her stomach tie itself in knots. She had only an instant to brace herself before she struck the pavement and pain exploded through her legs.

She lay on the ground where she'd landed for long moments, waiting for the pain to subside, but the ache throughout her legs refused to go away. When she tried to get up, she could feel twinges in most of the muscles through both legs. She didn't think anything was broken, but she'd definitely pulled a bunch of muscles. She decided against rising. Rather than to strain the muscles further, she opted to crawl behind a dumpster and hide until her team could get to ground level and help her. She was sure the Reapers wouldn't be far behind.

As she lay there, a ping from her omni-tool alerted her to an incoming message. She was quick to mute the device, lest the alerts draw any nearby Reapers to her. But she found herself wondering who had managed to get a message through the Reaper jamming signal, and whether it might portend a fortunate or unfortunate turn of chance…

.

* * *

.

**Author's Note: First off, I apologize for the abnormal length of this Chapter. There was a lot I wanted to cover, and I didn't feel that splitting the last section into two and shoving the second half into the next Chapter would work. It was important to me to cover it all. I promise, I don't have any more Chapters over 11k words planned. I really try to keep them between 8.5 and 9.5K as much as I can. So thanks for bearing with me this time.**

**With that said, my sincere appreciation goes out to everyone who has read, reviewed, PMed, favorited/followed, or otherwise given any attention to my story. I'm really happy to be entertaining a few people with the tale, and there's some things coming up that I'm really excited to share. I've also been excited to share _this_ Chapter, ever since Illitha managed to successfully expand her barrier several Chapters back. She wanted to be able to protect others with her biotics, and in this Chapter, she had her chance.**

**On another note, I am aware that the codex says there are two types of nonsentient Reaper... Processors and Troop Transports. When the Reaper structure landed, I may have given the impression it was a troop transport, since it brought reinforcements, and then this Chapter, Illitha's team was sure it was a slaughterhouse, aka Processor. But I figured there was no reason some extra troops couldn't hitch a ride aboard a Processor. The game repeatedly mentioned that the Reaper presence on Terra Nova was "light". I decided that from a Reaper perspective, it wouldn't be worth sending a whole Troop Transport to Terra Nova with that being the case.**

**Barring unforeseen complications, the next Chapter will go up on Friday. I hope everyone has had a great weekend, and thanks again for taking time out of your day to read the story.**


	41. Chapter 41: Warnings

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Forty-One: Warnings

.

**Resort Hospital, Mivian Heights…**

"Sit up slowly," the doctor warned.

Julisa patiently sat up with the human doctor's help, closing her eyes and blocking out the small twinges of pain with practiced ease. As a former commando, she was well-accustomed to ignoring her injuries and getting the job done. But the doctor had been adamant that she rest in her bed until it was absolutely safe to begin moving around. Given the multitude of fractures and the internal injuries the captain had suffered, she had been forced to agree. Reinjuring herself would only have increased her recovery time, and she really couldn't afford to be out of the fighting for any longer than necessary… especially while her crew was in danger. Now that she was nine days into recovery, the doctor had finally deemed her fit for a small bit of mobility.

Her eyes went to the human named Gradian, who was standing silently in the doorway, watching. She knew he was in charge of the remaining forces at the hospital. The man had been making smart decisions, in her view, and she appreciated his insistence on keeping everyone updated about their situation. He came to her room a couple times a day to speak to her. She got the feeling that he was really hoping that having an asari commando on his side would give his people some advantage. She hadn't yet been willing to tell him that her first priority once she was able to move and fight would be to find the rest of her crew.

Once she was upright, she took a moment to rest and prepare herself for the next step. While she did have a fractured leg, the pressure brace the humans had placed upon it would give it the support and stability it needed to allow it to heal while giving her the freedom to walk around… if she was careful. She wanted to get on her feet and do some walking, more because lying in a bed for over a week was driving her insane than because she thought there would be much to see. Selura and Neela were both in the isolation chamber, so she couldn't visit them, and the rest of her crew was missing. She shook her head.

"We received a transmission yesterday," the lieutenant announced.

"From who? Captain Tarrislav?" Doctor Tillman asked.

"No," Gradian shook his head. "From a civilian engineer. He found a way to filter out the Reaper jamming signal. He couldn't send along schematics for fear of the Reapers intercepting the signal, but I know where to find him to receive the tech."

"You are sending someone, of course," Julisa made it a statement rather than a question. However, as she watched the human and noted the slight shift of his brows that suggested uncertainty, it became clear that her assumption was wrong. He didn't need to respond. "Why not?" she questioned.

"I have six sentries here, plus three engineers, our doctor, and myself. We have eight seriously injured patients, and increasing numbers of Reapers straying into the gorge. I knew they wouldn't leave this place uninvestigated forever. We _need_ the communications tech. But I don't think we can spare the men to go and get it. Especially when we may be forced to evacuate this place soon."

"Evacuate?" Julisa repeated, her eyes narrowing. "What about my pilot? She cannot leave the isolation chamber."

"I have my engineers preparing a transport for her as we speak."

"I want to see it."

The lieutenant made no protest. The doctor assisted her to her feet, and she slowly staggered from her room and allowed the human woman to guide her down the hall to the last room in the corridor. She stopped in the doorway, watching several humans working to construct a device that looked like a glass box on wheels. The device was longer than it was wide, and was apparently being constructed to allow the quarian to lie down inside so that she could be wheeled along with them when they evacuated. It wouldn't be pleasant for the girl, but it would allow them to move her. She noted that the wheels were fairly large, the wheelbase was wide, and the suspension system looked rather complex, leading her to believe it was intended to be moved over rough terrain with ease.

"What about decontamination?" she asked.

"We have the decon systems cannibalized from the shuttle that we installed in the clean room," Gradian pointed out. "The plan is to run this conveyance through the decontamination cycle and get it into the isolation chamber. Then we get her sealed inside so that she is safe from outside contaminants. Once that's done, we remove the decon systems from the sauna and install them into this device instead."

"And then we just wheel her out," Julisa nodded.

"She wheels _herself_ out," one of the engineers cut in. Julisa's gaze turned upon the bearded human, who activated his omni-tool with a grin.

Julisa watched as the wheels on the device turned back and forth under remote control and then the entire thing rolled forward and back. The resting surface inside of the box had shifted into a position more like a reclining chair. She caught herself as she was about to smile at the humans' ingenuity. They had apparently installed a simple drive train and remote control suite, to allow the quarian pilot to get around on her own. She knew that Neela would appreciate that, and that it would make being confined to a glass bed a little more bearable.

"Don't worry, Captain," Gradian spoke up. "We have no intention of endangering the life of your pilot, or of confining her to a small polymer box without giving her a means of entertaining herself."

"Where did you get the materials?" Julisa wondered aloud.

"We cut apart every security window we could find to create the enclosure," the bearded engineer explained. "The drive train and remote control receivers come from equipment in the shed adjacent to the landing area out back. And we've put together a housing for the filtration systems. Once we get your quarian inside, it will be a simple matter of transferring the decontamination systems from the sauna to this thing…"

"She will be fine once she's inside," Gradian assured her.

"The problem will be prying her away from her companion," Doctor Tillman murmured with a small smile.

Julisa glanced sidelong at the doctor, wondering what it was that she had missed. The woman seemed amused by the observation.

"Well, I need to check in with the sentries," Gradian's voice distracted her from her thoughts. "It's good to see you up and around. We'll keep you updated on our progress on the mobile isolation chamber." The lieutenant nodded his head and excused himself.

Julisa watched him go, and then turned and headed down the hallway, with the doctor assisting her. Once they were well away from the others, she decided to satisfy her curiosity.

"What did you mean when you said it would be difficult to pry Neela away from her companion?"

"Oh," the doctor smiled again, her eyes alight with amusement. "Since I put the two of them together, I can count on one hand the number of times I walked in there and _didn't_ find the two of them kissing or cuddled up together. I just keep hoping I won't enter and find them engaged in more… uh… personal endeavors…"

"Neela and Selura?" the captain repeated, a little shocked. Aida had failed to mention that the romance between the two had become so serious. Clearly she had missed a great deal more than she realized. But then, she had been doing an excellent job of ignoring the young asari during their journey because of her resemblance to Lethia. She sighed.

"They seem quite taken with each other," the doctor commented. "It's actually rather sweet."

Julisa nodded, but said nothing. She wasn't sure whether it was the dislike she felt for the young scientist due to her resemblance to her lost bondmate or overprotective instincts toward a member of her crew, but she found herself wanting to have a nice, long talk with the asari. A warning against toying with Neela's heart seemed appropriate. The young quarian didn't deserve to have her heart broken if Selura wasn't serious about pursuing a long-term relationship. The captain would be expecting to see an asari bonding bracelet upon the quarian's wrist at some point…

* * *

**Mountain Trail, North of Scott…**

Illitha leaned heavily upon Rachel as she limped along the winding trail that led into the mountains. The pain in her knees from the fall in the city was lessening with the passing of the hours, but she was still certain she had pulled some muscles in both legs. She and Rachel had both agreed that she should keep her weight off of them as much as possible. Thus the various members of their team were taking turns supporting the young asari on their journey northward.

The transmission received in the city had been a welcome surprise. When Illitha's team finally found her and got her to a safe area, they had filled her in on the contents of the transmission, and she subsequently listened to it herself. The need to discuss finding the man responsible had been nonexistent. They needed the information that would clear their communications, plain and simple. Their only problem was that none of them knew what Fulton's Folly was. Their only lead had come from Illitha's omni-tool, because her signal tracking software had been able to determine the direction of the source. They knew that the source of the brief transmission burst was somewhere to the north of the city. And so they were potentially facing a protracted search of the area. Their hope was that the man might repeat his transmission at some point so that they could get a better fix on the signal origin.

Without a clear destination, they had opted to stick to the hiking trails leading into the mountains, rather than to follow any of the roads that had been carved through them. Illitha was sure the Reapers would have been checking the roads, searching for anyone that had used them as a way to escape the city. They might very well be on the paths as well, but it seemed less likely than encountering danger on major thoroughfares.

Her eyes strayed to Jay, who was at the head of their line. The young marksman and his rifle had seemed the obvious choice to lead the way, and he was doing an excellent job of scanning the trail ahead of them in search of signs of activity. He was also tasked with watching for signs of game, since none of them had eaten in three days now. She hated asking him to take the lead, however, because he had no armor to protect him if they ran into trouble. It was her hope that when they found the man that had sent the transmission, he might have some spare armor and weapons they could convince him to lend them.

"Are you okay? Do you need to rest?" Rachel murmured, distracting Illitha from her thoughts.

"I can keep going," she answered, smiling at the human woman's concern. "I cannot let myself slow us down too much. W-we need to find this place, whatever it is."

"We'll go as slow as we need to," Rachel assured her. "We don't really have any idea where we're going anyway…"

Illitha frowned. She hated not having any idea where they were headed. At least when they'd been in the city disabling indoctrination boosters, she'd felt like she was making a difference and helping people. Now she felt a lot less useful.

"Harvester!" Jay shouted a warning.

Illitha's head snapped up and she quickly spotted the winged creature soaring into view over the peak of the mountain that their path ran along. Everyone scrambled to take cover behind the jagged protrusions and large boulders that flanked the trail. Rachel assisted Illitha to cover, and as she settled the asari upon the ground and drew her rifle, the marine shook her head.

"It's probably looking for the same thing we are. And in the air, it'll find it a lot faster."

Illitha's eyes widened when she realized that Rachel was right. If the signal had been broadcast openly, the Reapers had undoubtedly received it too. Of course they would send some forces to find and eradicate the data that would allow the defenders to communicate freely. If the Reapers found Fulton's Folly before they did, their journey would be a waste of time and energy. Her decision was made in an instant.

"Jay!" she shouted. "Shoot it! Now!"

The young marksman stared at her as if she'd gone mad.

"Do it!" she repeated. "Everyone else, ready your weapons, take cover, and wait for my signal! W-we cannot just let it fly away to find our destination first!"

Everyone was now looking at her with fear and uncertainty, but to their credit, they all did as she demanded. Jay took aim and fired upon the harvester, and his precision was as good as ever. The creature's head jerked up when the round impacted with its flank, and it wheeled around in the air. Illitha got to her feet with Rachel's help, and braced herself against the basaltic protrusion she was using as cover.

The harvester circled around, obviously searching for the source of the shot, and quickly drew closer to their position. Illitha watched the creature as it soared over the path toward them, waiting until it was within easy striking distance. She didn't want to risk starting the attack until it was close enough for them all to hit reliably, especially since she was sure its weapons had superior range. It was only when she could begin to make out fine details along its underbelly that she finally gave the signal.

"Hit it!"

All at once, everyone opened fire. The harvester veered off and circled around, retaliating with a volley of thunderous shots that impacted against their cover and the mountainside behind them, sending chips of stone hurtling into the air. The debris fell over them like rain an instant later.

Illitha was sure the creature was fairly heavily-armored, and they were all short on thermal clips. She herself had only two left. In the tower earlier in the day, she had thought she was down to one, but she'd forgotten that there was a thermal clip in her pistol as well. She was using the latter at the moment to fire when the harvester passed by, since she needed a free hand to cling to her cover for support. The creature continued to circle, repeatedly bombarding their position in passing, while they rapidly used up their thermal clips to pepper it with fire.

The audible alarm signaling that a nearby weapon's heat sink was at capacity rang out, and then another shortly afterward. Beside her, Rachel slapped her thermal clip out of her weapon and snapped in a new one, muttering "Last one," as she did so.

"I'm out," Jack announced from nearby.

Illitha removed the rifle from its spot upon her back and tossed the weapon to Jack, who nodded and activated the firearm, resuming his assault. Illitha was just beginning to realize that she'd made another serious mistake by ordering this attack when the situation got worse.

On its next pass, the harvester spewed a radiant mass of crimson light onto the trail ahead of them, and Illitha watched in horror as a mass of husks and cannibals loomed out of the smoke at the impact site, followed by a couple of Reaper turians and finally, one of the massive brutes. The others in the group noticed it as well, and she knew that everyone was experiencing the same rising tide of panic that she felt. In fact, Danny left his position and started running down the path the way they'd come.

"Danny! Get down!" Rachel shouted, but the boy ignored her.

Illitha saw the harvester veer off and chase the fleeing boy down, and she knew what was coming even before the winged beast opened fire. The rapid-fire series of blasts tore up the trail behind the teen, and the last few struck him from behind. The force of the impacts sent his limp form tumbling along the path for a dozen meters.

Illitha felt a wave of guilt wash over her. She had demanded that they attack the harvester, and now a member of her team was seriously injured… possibly dead. But with the guilt came an intense surge of anger. The pain in her knees was forgotten. She left her cover and ran to the set of boulders Jay was using for cover, motioning toward the harvester as she ran.

"Keep shooting that thing! And everyone with an omni, open a link to mine!"

She activated her tech armor and took a position against a large boulder, using the rock for cover from the harvester while she settled her sights on the Reapers advancing along the path. A few were already beginning to fire, and she saw the turians hurling dark objects at the cannibals and husks, which expanded on impact to blanket them in armored plating. She didn't care. She had no intention of _shooting_ any of them. Wispy tendrils of biotic energy rose around her, and an orb formed in her hand.

She timed her biotic throws carefully, arcing each one low and toward the mountainside, curving them outward. The first throw struck a husk as it dashed up the path, and the force of the impact sent the walking corpse sailing off the trail, plummeting to the rocks below. Several more husks and a cannibal followed the first to its fate before the rest wised up enough to take cover along the path. All except the brute, which stalked up the path toward her.

"Link is open!" she heard Jack shout. "And my last clip is at capacity," he warned.

"S-Save your clips," Illitha shouted, quickly copying her combat software to both active omni-tools in the group. "Use incineration bursts! They should work better against the armor anyway!" she readied an incineration burst as she spoke, her eyes upon the approaching brute, which paused to beat its chest and roar at her. "Jay, pick your shots. Hit the spots where the thermite clings to its armor! Anyone else with thermal clips left, give them to Jay!"

She hoped that everyone heard her and listened to her, but she could spare no more time to think of the team. She fired her first incineration drone at the brute, showering the beast in fire just as it braced itself and dashed up the path toward her. She held her ground and quickly expanded her barrier into a dome, hoping that she could keep the field solid enough to halt its charge. Fortunately, since she hadn't exerted her biotics too much yet, she was able to put a lot of energy into the dome. The beast thundered into the field and struck it with a massive fist, but was stopped dead in its tracks. Illitha felt the field fluctuate, but it held solid. Without being aware of it, she was almost immediately grinning.

The brute leapt into the air, bringing both fists down, but Illitha dropped her barrier at that moment, and instead of landing a thunderous blow upon the dome, the creature's fists came down upon the path in front of her. She fired another incineration burst at the creature, and followed it up by backing up several steps and hurling a biotic orb at its chest. The orb blossomed into the swirling vortex of a singularity, and the creature rocked unsteadily as the gravitational field tried to ensnare it. Unfortunately, the creature was far too massive for Illitha's singularity to lift, but unlike the brute in the tower, which had been in mid-charge and had enough momentum to dash right through the field, this one had been standing still, and thus the pull was hindering it to some degree.

Illitha knew about the potentially volatile reactions some biotic fields could have when disrupted by others… any biotic knew a little about the phenomenon, commonly referred to as biotic explosion. But it had never before occurred to her to make use of one. As she watched the brute find its footing and start to muscle its way through the gravitational pull of her singularity, however, the thought came to her, and she quickly hurled another biotic orb into the heart of the singularity. There was a blinding flash and a thunderous explosion as the already-unstable field of the singularity was disrupted, and the brutish monster was rocked backward by the blast. It gave Illitha an idea. But because the other Reaper troops were beginning to move out of cover and fire upon her, she first had to hurl a singularity into their midst to keep them occupied.

The brute pounded the armor plating on its chest and roared at Illitha, and she moved back several steps, standing at the very edge of the mountain trail. She knew she was exposed to harvester fire, but she hoped that for just a few seconds, it would be occupied with the others. Her heart raced, and she saw the brute brace itself and charge. She held her breath. Her timing had to be perfect.

The brute thundered toward her, swinging its massive arm in a sweeping arc. At the last second, Illitha dove to the ground and rolled to the side, and the brute's swing sailed harmlessly overhead. She turned over and hit it in the back with a singularity, and then immediately followed up with a biotic throw. The blinding flash resulting from the resounding detonation would have been dazzling if not for the protection provided by her helmet's visor, but thanks to the protection, she could see the brute stumble toward the edge of the trail and teeter there precariously. She scrambled to her feet and pelted it with biotic throws as fast as she could form and throw them, watching in satisfaction as each one rocked it further, until finally, the massive beast tumbled over the side with a howl.

She might have celebrated, but an explosion rocked her, collapsing her barrier and overloading her tech armor. The force of the blast knocked her to the ground, and she was slow to get to her feet. In concentrating on the brute, she had forgotten about the other Reapers. She turned over and started to rise, but as she was getting up, a massive shadow fell over her, forcing her to instinctively dive to the ground again.

She needn't have bothered. The smoldering body of the harvester crashed onto the path ahead of her, and she heard cheers ring out from behind her at the sight. After a few seconds, the corpse of the winged beast erupted in a massive detonation that rocked the mountainside and showered them all with dirt and rock. Illitha shielded her head with her arms, and waited until the rain of grit ended. When she finally raised her head, she could only stare at the path ahead of them in a mixture of shock and dismay. Where there had been a winding trail hugging the mountainside, there was now a massive crater in the slope, barring further progress. And there was no sign that any of the Reapers on the path ahead had survived the harvester's destruction.

"Spectre, you have nerves of steel," Jay's voice commented as the young man crouched at her side, assisting her to her feet. "I can't believe you would stand your ground with something like that charging at you, barrier or no."

"It was the only choice," Illitha murmured. Now that the danger had passed, she could feel herself shaking. "I c-could not let it run past me and drive everyone else into the open."

"You saved our lives," Elliot spoke up, smiling at her.

"Not everyone," Illitha bowed her head, her eyes straying to the motionless form of the other teen, lying on the path behind them. "He died b-because of my decision."

"He died because he panicked and ran into the open," Rachel pointed out. "I'm sorry that he did. He was a good kid. But his reaction was beyond your control. The rest of us stayed in cover like you directed and we survived without more than a few cuts and scrapes."

"He is still my responsibility!" Illitha glared at the blonde. "You all are!"

"We're following you, but our actions are our own," Rachel said evenly. "If you tell me to take cover and keep out of sight and the first thing I do is run out in the open and draw enemy attention, is that your fault?"

Illitha stared at the young marine, unable to believe what she was hearing. While a small part of her mind was telling her that Rachel was right and Danny's fear was not her fault, it seemed so heartless and cruel to blame the kid for being scared. She was so stupefied by the coldness of the blonde's response that she couldn't even find the words to argue with her.

"She's right, Spectre," Jay offered. "Your plan was solid. Everything you said was exactly right. The incineration bursts, firing at the weak spots, keeping in cover… even starting the attack to begin with. I thought you were crazy at first," he admitted. "But you were right. Letting the thing beat us to our destination would have been stupid."

Illitha supposed she should have been grateful for the support and that no one else was blaming her for Danny's death, but instead she found their willingness to hold her blameless rather irritating. She shook her head.

"I am not a Spectre," she confessed.

"What?" Elliot was staring at her.

"Rachel lied. She calls me Spectre to tease me. I am not a Spectre. I am not even a commando or a soldier."

"I don't care if you're a massage therapist," Jay shrugged. "I just saw someone singlehandedly hold back a slew of Reapers to keep the rest of us safe and stare down that ugly brute without backup in the process. I'd rather be following you around than a decorated Alliance N7."

"Me too," Rachel grinned at her. "But you already know that."

Illitha stared at the others, and she saw Elliot finally nod as well, though she thought she saw a hint of disappointment in the teen's expression. She had confessed the truth to them because a part of her hoped they would hate her for lying and would blame her for Danny's death, but they still supported her without hesitation. She bowed her head and sighed. She didn't deserve the devotion.

"The path ahead is blocked, Spectre," Rachel pointed out. "So what do we do now?"

"Wasn't there a branch in the trail a while back that led into the valley?" Jay asked.

"Yeah," Elliot nodded. "But there was a warning sign there. 'Danger' or 'No Trespassing' or something."

"Well, it can't be any more dangerous than trying to skirt the edge of a crumbling crater," Rachel gestured toward the ruined path ahead of them.

"What do you think, Illitha?" Jay asked.

Within moments, all eyes were upon the young engineer. She stared at them in silence while they waited for her answer, tempted to rebel against a continued role of leadership. She had been afraid from the start that her decisions would get people killed. Now that she had seen that fear become reality, she found herself even more frightened by the prospect of making the decisions. But in looking at the faith she saw in the gazes of the four humans, she knew she couldn't turn her backs on them now. With a sigh, she gestured back the way they had come.

"We go back to the split in the trail," she announced. "But we should… we need to do something about Danny. We cannot just leave him here on the mountainside."

Jay cleared his throat uncomfortably. "We don't have shovels or anything to bury him. So what do we do?"

"I do not know," Illitha's shoulders slumped. She just couldn't leave the poor boy as he was. He deserved more.

"Gather up all these chunks of rock," Rachel suggested. "We'll pile them around him. It's the least we can do."

Jay and Elliot both nodded and started gathering up the larger chunks of rock left behind by the explosion of the harvester and the portions of their cover that had been shattered by enemy fire. Rachel stepped close to Illitha and put an arm around her shoulders, squeezing gently.

"You did better than anyone else could have managed," the blonde whispered to her. "You can't blame yourself. In war, people will die. We can't save everyone."

"I know," Illitha murmured, her head bowed. When Rachel nodded and walked away, Illitha felt a tear slide down her cheek, and she wiped it away. "That is the problem," she added, speaking more to herself than anyone else.

* * *

**Resort Hospital, Mivian Heights…**

Selura stared intently at the wall beside the sauna door, trying to ignore the sounds of rustling cloth and the quiet hisses of pain behind her. The doctor had brought a couple of Alliance uniforms into the room on her most recent visit, so that Neela and herself could dress and not have to rely upon the sheets for modesty any longer. The days since Neela had recovered from her reaction to exposure had been almost blissful for the asari. So much so, in fact, that she almost forgot there was a war going on. The two of them had been enjoying their time isolated together in a safe environment. It was sweet torture to the young scientist to spend her days cuddling with and kissing the woman she loved, and knowing that someday it would have to end. Only Neela's restraint and self control kept the asari from trying to push things just a little further than kissing. She respected the quarian too much to cross the boundaries Neela set.

"You should be walking around," Neela told her. "The doctor said you need to be moving frequently."

Selura nodded, using her elbow to slowly assist herself to a seated position. It wasn't easy to sit up with one useless arm and wounds in her stomach. According to Doctor Tillman, her injuries were healing nicely, and while it would still be some time before she could engage in any vigorous activity, walking around for short periods several times a day would help the muscles around the wounds recover more quickly. She carefully slid off of the makeshift gurney, shuffling around the room and keeping her eyes off of her companion, no matter how tempted she was to sneak a peek while Neela was dressing. She felt guilty for that urge, but her hormones had been teasing her with the idea ever since Neela first kissed her.

"Has that tickle in your lungs gone away yet?" Selura asked just to keep her mind off of less appropriate thoughts.

"Almost," Neela answered. "I can still feel it once in a while, but most of the time I don't notice it."

Selura nodded, smiling in relief. It was extremely comforting to know that Neela had recovered without any lasting effects. She paced slowly back and forth, and her thoughts turned to the idea of getting Neela out of the isolation room. It was a frequent topic of thought for the asari these days.

"I was thinking," she said softly. "If I could get your old suit and a couple of Alliance suits of armor, we might be able to incorporate your suit's tactile systems into a new outfit of some kind. We'd have to modify the Alliance gear quite a bit to fit you, but I think we could do it. It wouldn't quite be a quarian enviro-suit, but at least we could get you out of here," she smiled.

"Don't worry about my old suit. We don't need it," Neela murmured.

"But what about the tactile emulators?" Selura turned to look at the quarian, and then bit her lip and turned away when she got an eyeful of Neela's bare torso; the girl was just pulling the shirt on over her head. She could feel herself blushing, and was glad Neela hadn't seemed to have seen her looking, even if it was an accident.

"They're useless," the quarian's voice was subdued. "I'm dressed now," she announced.

Selura turned to look at her once again, and could still feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment. However, when she saw the miserable expression upon the quarian's face, all of her inappropriate thoughts fled, replaced by concern. She shuffled toward her girlfriend's bed, staring at her face. It was still a little strange for her to be able to rely on Neela's facial expressions to read her mood. She'd actually become accustomed to paying attention to Neela's voice and body language in lieu of her expression.

"I know that your suit's functions were taken offline, but maybe I could get them working-"

"They're not the problem," Neela interrupted her. The quarian gestured to the dark inlays of the cybernetic interfaces visible in the exposed sections of her forearms. "The nanites got into my suit and cut my cybernetics to pieces."

Selura's mouth fell open. The nanites had damaged Neela's implants? The thought had never occurred to her. She saw Neela's lower lip tremble, and she was quick to shuffle closer and carefully climb onto the massage table with her, sliding her good arm beneath the quarian to pull her close. Neela held onto her, and after a moment, the quarian started sobbing against her shoulder. Selura carefully lifted her injured arm and gently stroked the girl's hair, marveling at the softness of it even as her heart broke for her suffering.

"You should have told me about this sooner," Selura said softly, feeling bad for even bringing the subject up. "If I had known…"

"I didn't want to think about it," Neela sobbed. "While we were stuck in here, I could pretend it wasn't an issue."

"I am sorry," Selura whispered to her, kissing her cheek softly and then holding her while she cried. She was glad to be able to be a source of support for her girlfriend at times like this, but she found her thoughts turning toward the salarian that was responsible for it all. Her imagination filled with scenarios of bloody vengeance.

"My father is a suit technician," Neela sniffled. "I told you that, didn't I?"

"Yes," Selura smiled, wrenching her thoughts away from revenge upon the salarian. "When we get out of here, he will make you a proper suit. And I will be happy to see you in it."

"I'm happy you've seen me _out_ of it," Neela managed a small laugh, pulling back enough to gaze tearfully into Selura's eyes.

"Me too," Selura smiled at her, leaning forward to press a soft kiss against her forehead. "You are so beautiful."

Neela's eyes lowered shyly, and Selura had to resist the urge to kiss her again. Instead, she just pulled her close once more, resting her cheek against the quarian's hair. She'd never had the opportunity to feel the texture of hair before the past few days, but had always been curious about it when she looked at humans. Finding that quarians shared the feature had been a pleasant surprise. She loved the softness of it.

"Maybe you're right," Neela finally said. "We should have the doctor bring in any protective gear they can spare, along with my suit. Maybe I've learned enough from watching my father work to put together something that will work well enough to keep me safe… if you'd help me."

"Of course I will help," Selura grinned, drawing away and gently running her finger along her girlfriend's jawline, gazing at her with open adoration. "If you would allow me one small design demand?"

Neela's expression filled with curiosity. "A design demand?" she repeated.

"Can we keep your visor clear? Or at least less opaque than your old one? I admit, I don't want to be denied the chance to see your face anymore…"

She watched as the quarian's cheeks darkened, and the girl lowered her eyes and bit her lip. She grinned, hoping she hadn't crossed the line in her request. She was sure Neela thought she was teasing, but for once, she was completely serious. She actually thought it was a shame that Neela's visor had ever hidden her face from view. It seemed a shame to hide such beauty.

"I need your help for the suit," Neela finally said, her voice barely audible. "So if that's the only way you'll help…" she glanced up, managing a shy little smile.

"I would help even if your plan was to hide yourself in a mobile metal box," Selura grinned at her. "My request was just me hoping you would be willing to spoil me even more than you already have…"

"Maybe we can work something out," Neela hedged, sniffling softly and cuddling up against her. "As long as you aren't going to peek at me when I'm half dressed again…"

Selura winced, feeling her cheeks burning with embarrassment. "You… saw that?"

Neela nodded, hiding her face against the asari's shoulder. Selura found her companion's obvious shyness rather endearing. It was a side of her she hadn't often seen when Neela had her suit to hide behind, but it had come up frequently over the past few days while they were together. She imagined that it was very different for a quarian to be so exposed to another. She actually thought the young pilot handled it all very well, considering.

"It was an accident, if that helps any," Selura offered.

"A little," Neela muttered softly.

"I am sorry," Selura whispered. "I hope you are not mad at me."

"No," Neela shook her head. "I know you didn't mean to look. Just… can we change the subject please?"

Selura nodded, but the corner of her lips turned upward in a grin. She knew she was risking making Neela angry by teasing, but she couldn't help herself.

"Did I ever tell you I inherited a photographic memory from my father? All salarians have them, you know…" she teased. She was lying, of course. She had a good memory, but not quite _that_ good.

Neela lifted her head and stared at her in open-mouthed shock. Selura saw her cheeks darken significantly, and she had to fight with all of her being not to burst out laughing.

"It is a memory I will always cherish," she grinned.

"Bosh'tet!" Neela suddenly slugged her in the thigh. Hard.

Selura laughed, even as she gingerly rubbed her bruised leg. She tickled the quarian's side where her other hand was resting upon it, teasing her further. "If you want to walk around shirtless, I will not mind. I already have that image in my head anyway."

To her vast amusement, this suggestion prompted many more punches in the thigh. She couldn't risk using her injured arm to shield herself from the pilot's ire, so she was forced to simply absorb the punishment, which soon had her wincing at every blow. But she noted the hint of a smile on the quarian's lips. In hopes of sparing herself any further pain… and partly because her stomach wounds were starting to hurt as a result of her laughter, she tightened her arm around the quarian and held her close, whispering into her ear.

"I am only teasing. I love you, Neela."

At first, Neela was rigid in her arms, though she made no attempt to pull away. Then she slowly relaxed against her, shaking her head slightly.

"Keelah, you're such a brat," the quarian murmured. "You're lucky I happen to like you."

"This is how you show it? By bruising a poor, injured scientist?"

"You're lucky that's all I did," Neela growled playfully.

"I know why you left Illium now," Selura grinned at her. "With a temper like that, I am certain some poor merchant ended up assaulted at _some_ point…"

"Oh, shut up…"

"Goddess! The abuse I take from you!" Selura shook her head in mock indignation.

"Funny, I was just thinking the same thing…" Neela giggled softly.

"Maybe I can make it up to you," Selura suggested.

"How?"

"Take your shirt off and let me show you," the asari grinned.

Neela resumed her assault upon Selura's thigh.

* * *

**Fulton's Folly…**

Zaeed crept slowly up the incline in the path toward a series of jagged protrusions that lined a bend in the trail, keeping his rifle always trained upon what was in front of him. After a day of navigating trails through the mountains and fighting off Reaper air drops courtesy of the occasional harvester wandering over the area, things had become quiet. For the last day, they hadn't seen any sign of danger. The mercenary was glad to be drawing close to their destination, at least according to the nav-point McSween had provided to them all. He felt like he was finally on the cusp of doing something useful.

At first, they had thought that the harvesters were searching for Fulton's Folly as well, since there were several of them flying over the mountain range in lazy circles. However, as the journey wore on from the first day into a second, it became clearer that the winged Reapers weren't conducting any sort of organized search. There weren't enough of them to account for a serious attempt to locate a facility in the mountains, and McSween was adamant that 'Fulton's Folly' was a nickname used for the site, not the term that would have been used in any database to which the Reapers might have had access.

The veteran mercenary was sure the Reapers had intercepted the message, but if they didn't yet have any indoctrinated informants that would have known the nickname, they wouldn't have had any idea where to look. McSween's theory seemed to be given additional support by the lack of harvester activity the further north their group traveled.

They had received a second transmission early that morning from Simon Atwell, but it had merely been a verbatim rebroadcast of the original message. The lack of variation had given them all a brief moment of pause, as several of the marines in their group proposed the idea that it was a Reaper trap to draw survivors to an ambush of some kind. In the end, they decided that their only choice was to press on. They couldn't abandon the possibility of reestablishing communications on the chance that they _might_ be walking into a trap.

Zaeed crouched behind the jagged rock formations at the edge of the path, and directed his gaze into the small valley below. A sizeable facility had been constructed in the face of the mountain opposite his vantage. From where he was, he could see a bank of intact windows flanked by massive storm shutters, which could be closed over the entire facility to protect it from inclement weather and other dangers. The facility was bookended by two massive bay doors that he guessed led into shuttle bays, but he saw no sign of an actual mine shaft. All of the entrances were set far enough into the mountainside that he was sure there would be no sign of the place from directly above. If there was ever a good place to hide from the Reapers, this was it.

He saw no signs of activity, and his instincts told him that the quiet and stillness were not good signs. There were no obvious signs of explosives damage, bodies, or bullet impacts, but something still felt terribly wrong. If there were people hiding in this facility, why weren't the exterior shutters closed? Why leave the windows exposed if Reapers might swoop in and crash through them at any moment? Either this was a trap, or something else was going on…

"I don't like this," Prathus muttered from behind Zaeed. "This couldn't look any more ominous if there was human blood splashed all over the windows."

Zaeed snorted. He and the turian were thinking the same thing. The scene looked so inviting and so ideal that something _had_ to be wrong.

"We're here," Zaeed finally said. "We can either turn around, or take a look and hope that whatever happened here didn't wipe out the data we came for."

Prathus waved the others forward, and soon the entire group was huddled behind the rock formation, looking over the scene below. Since no one was the agreed-upon leader of their little group, the mercenary wanted to hear some opinions. It didn't take long for the others to pick up on the signs that he and Prathus had found so disturbing.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph," McSween shook his head. "Looks like someone hung out a giant 'it's safe here, come inside' banner. If this is a bloody trap, it's an obvious one."

"Seriously," Benner spoke up. "Anyone with any sense would have closed the protective shutters and posted a watch outside in that nest."

"What nest?" Prathus looked perplexed.

"There," Benner pointed.

Zaeed turned to look in the direction the marine was pointing, and finally spotted it. In the adjacent mountain face, there was a small window carved into the rock. It was so well-hidden that it was almost invisible from where they stood. The mercenary wondered how the marine had even spotted it. Neither he nor Prathus had seen it.

"So the mine had a watch tower positioned with a clear view of the whole facility," Prathus mused. "Seems like an odd bit of security for a small mining operation."

"How did you even spot that thing?" one of the marines asked Benner.

"I knew to look for it," the young man shrugged. "My parents worked with a mining company. They dragged me and my brother around to a dozen different mining sites when I was a kid. There was _always_ some kind of watch tower in the area. To keep watch for pirates or whatever."

"Forget how he spotted it," Prathus muttered. "What do we do? If you ask me, this is either a trap or the site of a massacre. Maybe both. So do we investigate? Or do we turn around and head back to the city?"

"We could really use the communications filters Atwell promised in 'is message," McSween reminded them. "I dinnae think we can just turn an' leave. We 'ave to at least search for some sign o' the data."

"Agreed," Zaeed nodded. "Otherwise, we just wasted two days for nothing. And there's still every chance there's a bunch of idiot civilians hiding in there who never thought to close the goddamn shutters. All this hesitation could be for nothing…"

"No argument here," Prathus nodded. "I'd rather take a look than just assume this whole trip was a waste. But I doubt we're going to find clueless civilians. Dead ones, maybe…"

"Right then," Zaeed rose to his feet and started down the trail into the valley. "Keep sharp."

The veteran mercenary led the way along the winding trail, his gaze straying often both to the windows of the facility opposite, and the sentry nest, now that he knew it was there. He half-expected harvesters to fall upon them as soon as they were down in the valley with nowhere to hide. However, his concerns were apparently unwarranted. They reached the valley and crossed to the mountain that housed the facility without ever seeing a sign of danger.

It took a little bit of searching to locate the ground-level entrance to the facility. They finally found it in a hollowed-out archway around the side of the mountain, facing toward the sentry nest. From the path above, it wasn't visible at all. While McSween worked to hack the lock on the door, Zaeed found himself thinking again that something was strange about the site. It was supposed to be a mine, but it was set up a lot more like a secret research facility or military bunker. And judging from McSween's swearing, it had an excellent security system.

They all waited, huddled in the archway outside the door, while McSween continued to swear and grumble and otherwise complain about the length of time involved in hacking the security. When the lock finally gave way with an audible click and the exterior door parted, the engineer shook his head.

"It's 'bout bloody time," he grumbled.

"Was anything ever done with this facility after Fulton was arrested for the fraud?" Zaeed asked. "Seems like a hell of a security system for an abandoned mine."

"Aye," McSween nodded. "Bloody thing kept reconfiguring as I took down more blocks o' protection."

"With a security system like that, I think we should keep an eye out for other automated defenses," Prathus suggested.

"Agreed," Zaeed raised his rifle and took point, engaging the night vision overlay in his helmet. Beyond the door was a small lobby, but there was no light except the sunlight shining in from outside. The lobby held several benches, and a reception desk ran the length of the left-hand wall. As his gaze swept the room, his eyes eventually fell upon a filtered water dispenser in a corner. He gestured toward it.

The last of their water had run out before they even left the city, so they hadn't had a drop to drink in two days. Everyone had their canteens in hand almost instantly, and they took turns refilling the containers and drinking greedily to put their thirst to rest. When the first drops of the cold, clear water passed Zaeed's lips, he instantly felt better. He drained the majority of his canteen before refilling it.

"Maybe there'll be some food in here too," Benner suggested optimistically.

"Maybe," Zaeed grunted. "But we need to keep on our toes. I think-"

The suggestion the mercenary had been about to make was cut off when the exterior door suddenly closed, plunging them all into complete darkness. The only point of reference was the holographic trigger on the door, which immediately turned red. Zaeed slipped his helmet on immediately and reengaged the night vision function.

"Did that bloody thing just seal itself again?" McSween demanded.

"Apparently so," Prathus muttered. "So much for an easy exit…"

"Cut the chatter until we know there aren't any Reapers wandering around the halls," Zaeed snapped.

"Or Cerberus," Prathus added.

Zaeed smirked at the thought. He actually wouldn't mind in the slightest if they found the third detachment of Cerberus goons in the facility. At least then he could take his last shot at getting some information out of them… Whether he was successful or not, at least his promise to help find Salik would then be the only thing keeping him on the planet. Well, that and lack of transportation…

Zaeed headed for the interior door, and when it opened, he found a long, dark corridor beyond. However, just as he was about to enter, he heard a thump and some muffled swearing behind him. He turned around to see Prathus feeling his way along one of the benches, trying to get around it. Zaeed hadn't considered it until that moment, but this was a repeat of the problem they'd encountered at the Prothean dig site. Prathus had no helmet, and thus no night vision.

"Prathus," Zaeed spoke up. "Maybe you should stick near the entrance and watch our backs until we clear the lower floor enough to allow us to engage the lights."

"Yeah," the turian drawled. "That might be best."

Zaeed knew his companion wasn't happy about the prospect of being left behind, but he would be doing more harm than good by tagging along when he couldn't see where he was going. He watched the turian shuffle toward the light of the exterior door's holographic trigger and take up a position against the wall. Zaeed gestured for the marines to follow him and led the way into the corridor.

There was no way to know how large the facility might be, and it took them time to search every room on the lowest level. When they cleared the final one and reached an elevator at its end, the mercenary activated his omni-tool and tapped into the general access console set into the wall beside the elevator, engaging the lights throughout the level. With that done, a thought occurred to him.

"McSween, can you tap into the facility mainframe from this console?"

"No clue. Let me give 'er a look," the engineer offered, activating his omni-tool. After working in silence for some time, he finally shook his head and frowned. "No good," he reported. "The system is secured with high-grade lockouts an' biometric access systems. Without appropriate biometric data on file, I cannae even initialize most higher functions, an' hacking the bloody thing is near impossible, since there seems to be an additional layer o' security on top o' it all. Like the coding in the exterior lock, but a fair bit more devilish."

"Can you get us anything at all? An interior schematic? Personnel rosters?" Zaeed pressed.

"No," McSween shrugged. "Sorry. All data 'bout the facility is marked for authorized personnel only."

Zaeed nodded, and his suspicions that this facility was more than an abandoned mine grew. The security setup reminded him more of a secure military facility than anything civilian-run. He had no doubt that they would find further confirmation of his suspicions as they progressed. With nothing else to be accomplished on the ground floor, everyone crowded into the elevator and they ascended to the next level.

They found their first sign of trouble just a few meters from the elevator doors when they opened. A crumpled human body lay upon the deck plating, with a sizeable pool of blood around his head. The first thing Zaeed noticed was the Alliance uniform the corpse wore. He stepped closer and crouched beside the corpse, noting that the unfortunate soul had a single gunshot wound to the back of his head.

"Reapers didn't do that," Benner pointed out. "A single shot? Cannibals and those turian things have no sense of restraint or precision at all."

"Maybe your turian friend is right? Could it be Cerberus?" one of the marines asked.

"Maybe," Zaeed nodded slowly. But he had the sinking feeling that this was the handiwork of someone a good deal more dangerous. The sight was eerily reminiscent of the dozen or so Cerberus corpses that had been scattered through the upper level of the Prothean ruins.

"We need to keep searchin'," McSween urged.

"One of you needs to go back and warn the turian," Zaeed suggested. "Tell him it's possible that Salik is on site… And all of you need to keep your eyes open. If I'm right, we've got a potential threat with a tactical cloak wandering the goddamn halls…"

Zaeed could already predict the turian's response when he was informed of the news. If his instincts were right, and they usually were, things were about to turn very ugly…

.

* * *

.

**Author's Note: As always, I first must thank everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited/followed or otherwise paid any attention to my story. It is greatly appreciated that you take the time out of your lives to read what my imagination has produced. So thank you!**

**Well! Many people have mentioned in PMs or reviews that they were wondering where Salik had gone off to. Could this be the moment when he resurfaces? The evidence seems to point that way, but until next Chapter, I guess you can only speculate! :P**

**But either way, this is the start of several straight Chapters that I am excited to share, so I will do my best to keep on schedule. Barring any unforeseen disasters in my life, the next Chapter should go up this coming Wednesday. Until then, I hope everyone has a great weekend. Take care of yourselves!**


	42. Chapter 42: Skirmishes

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Forty-Two: Skirmishes

.

**Fulton's Folly…**

Prathus was practically seething as he stalked through the halls of the ground floor, moving from room to room, looking for any shimmer, blur, or vague trick of the shadows that might indicate the presence of someone hiding beneath a tactical cloak. Of all the innumerable possibilities that he had considered finding at this facility, running into Salik's handiwork hadn't been one of them. It had been so long since they'd seen any sign of the salarian, he had actually assumed the traitor had found a way off-planet and would never be seen again. He almost hadn't believed the marine that came to inform him of the situation.

There were no signs of the salarian's presence when he finished his sweep of the level, so he boarded the elevator and headed up to the next floor. While he had originally opted to stay near the entrance due to the lack of light and the fact that he had no night vision, he was sure that now, they would be engaging the lights on every floor they searched. Prowling around in the darkness would only make a tactical cloak that much more effective. At least in the light, the vague blur of the cloaking field was sometimes more visible.

When the elevator door opened, he found himself facing the working end of an assault rifle, held by the same marine that had come down to fill him in just a short while earlier. The man had been standing watch, it seemed, and obviously the door opening had startled him. Prathus's own weapon came up reflexively, and after a moment, they both lowered their rifles. He wasn't surprised that the situation had people on edge.

"We've got bodies all over this level," Zaeed informed him, emerging from a doorway adjoining the hall. "Most of them in Alliance uniforms and the majority executed with single gunshots to their heads. A few were burned. McSween is trying to hack the one door that was sealed."

"Any chance Salik will be hiding inside?" Prathus asked. He hoped so, but doubted the salarian would be so careless as to corner himself in a sealed room.

"The rest of the men are with him just in case. But what the hell is Salik doing here?" Zaeed wondered. "What would bring him to a random place in the mountains? I'm the only man left from his team, so it's not like he needs to clear his comm system of the Reaper interference. I don't see any point to his coming here."

"Does it matter?" Prathus shrugged. "It's a chance to finally corner and kill the bastard."

"We've gone over this before," Zaeed muttered. "He doesn't do anything without a goddamn plan. So what's the endgame here?"

The mercenary might have said more, but at that moment, a large crowd of people began filing into the hallway from one of the doors adjoining the corridor. There must have been thirty all together, and they were led by McSween, and flanked by the other marines. Prathus's eyes widened, and he waited for someone to explain what was going on. There were men, women, and children. Some were bruised, a few wounded, but most only seemed frightened and exhausted. He even spotted a turian face in the crowd, and his brows rose.

"Get these people downstairs an' see them secured in a room there. We'll need to post a guard too," McSween suggested.

Zaeed and Prathus exchanged glances, and the turian could tell what the mercenary was thinking without him saying a word. He tapped the arm of his fellow turian as he walked by, instinctively trusting one of his own people to give him the most direct answers.

"I'm Prathus," he introduced himself. "And it's good to see a face with familiar features," he added with a chuckle. "What are you doing here?"

"The name is Klarius," the turian introduced himself in turn. "I'm an engineer working for a tech company in the city called Alderak Tech Solutions. When the Reapers hit, everyone in my division was drafted by the Alliance for a special project. They evacuated us from the city."

"And brought you here?" Prathus was mystified.

"This is all fascinating," Zaeed cut in, "but it doesn't help us right now. Did you see a salarian here?"

"Yeah," Klarius nodded. "He rounded us up and locked us in that room. He was asking about the communications filters. He…" the turian glanced at some of the others that were filing by and lowered his voice, "he killed a few of us to get more information. But we didn't have access to it. The Alliance said it would be distributed only to resistance fighters and Alliance personnel."

"Is one of these people Atwell?" Prathus asked, watching the group dwindle as they were ferried downstairs in groups on the elevator.

"I already asked about 'im," McSween answered before the civilian could. "He was wi' the Alliance personnel on the upper floors somewhere."

"Alright," Prathus nodded to the turian. "But I have to ask one more thing. I haven't eaten in four days… Please tell me there's a store of dextro-based food here…"

"Of course," Klarius was quick to answer. "There's a lounge and cafeteria one floor up. The selection isn't great and it's all flash-frozen, quick-prep stuff, but there's plenty up there."

Prathus felt a tremendous surge of relief. Facing the very real possibility of starvation, this was the best news he'd received all week. And he was sure it would be a huge relief to Neela as well, if the quarian survived. He extended a hand, which his fellow turian shook. "Thanks. Go on and get downstairs."

"So he's 'ere for the same thing we are," McSween said once the last of the civilians had been sent down in the elevator. "A way to clear his communications."

"Maybe," Zaeed didn't seem convinced. "But if so, then why kill anyone? Why not just lie until he got the information, and then leave? And once he started killing people, why spare the civilians? He left them alive to give information to whoever rescued them. He's smarter than that."

"Unless feeding misinformation to rescuers was the point," McSween suggested. "He asks a bunch o' questions that mean nothing to 'im, and then locks them up so they can innocently misdirect whoever finds them…"

Prathus remained silent while the other two speculated. He didn't care what the salarian's motives were. He intended to find the traitor and make sure he couldn't do any more harm to the _Sileya's_ crew or the people of the colony.

When the elevator returned to their level, they all filed aboard and rode the lift to the next level up. Almost at the same instant the door opened on the third level, however, the distant echo of a gunshot reached them. Everyone in the group raised their weapons, and a hush fell over them while they scanned the chamber ahead for signs of danger. The sound had definitely come from somewhere on that floor. It hadn't been muffled enough to have originated another floor up.

Prathus and Zaeed took the lead, spreading out and moving toward the archway on the opposite end of the small chamber into which the elevator had deposited them. Zaeed took up a position near the doorframe and trained his rifle upon the corridor beyond, and once he had it covered, Prathus advanced into the hall, pausing at the first door he reached to trigger it and quickly search the interior. The marines were opening other doors along the hallway and searching the other rooms. Their search proceeded in this fashion until they'd cleared the first two corridors, with someone always covering the hallway while the others did a room-to-room search. There were no further sounds of gunfire or signs of disturbance while they worked.

Their search was fruitless until Prathus triggered the door at the very end of the second corridor, which led into one of the shuttle bays that flanked the facility. To his surprise, the massive bay was not empty, but instead held an Alliance shuttle, parked near the exterior bay door. He stood in the doorway, trying to decide what to make of the discovery.

"A shuttle?" McSween stared at the vehicle in amazement. "I did'na think we'd find any workin' vehicles 'ere."

"I've had a lot of questions about this place since we got here," Zaeed shook his head. "Did any of you know this was an Alliance facility before we started finding Alliance bodies?"

"Not me," McSween shook his head. The marines all did the same.

"At least we've got transportation to get out of here," one of the marines chuckled as he stepped into the hangar. However, he hadn't taken more than a few strides before there was a deafening explosion. The force of the blast flattened everyone gathered in the doorway.

Prathus's ears were ringing as he lay upon the deck plating, staring at the ceiling overhead. Others were rising somewhat unsteadily to their feet around him, and the turian could tell from the looks on their faces that the detonation had cost them a member of their team. One of the marines was swearing angrily. Prathus sat up slowly, staring at the mangled mess that had once been an Alliance marine. The body was lying on the edge of a sizable cone-shaped blast scar on the floor.

"Proximity mine," Zaeed guessed. Prathus could barely hear him over the ringing in his ears. "I didn't see the damned thing on the floor though," he added. "Must have been placed on the inside of the doorframe."

"The 'angar is definitely booby trapped," McSween frowned. "God only knows how many bloody mines are hiding in there."

"We should be able to spot them if we're careful, shouldn't we?" a marine asked as he scanned the room.

"Proximity mines are traps," Prathus reminded him. "They work best if you put them where they won't be seen until it's too late. We're just lucky we didn't run into any before now."

"We can come back to this place," Zaeed suggested. "I say we leave one man here to guard the hangar, and the rest of us move on."

"Aye," McSween nodded. "I'll stay 'ere an' watch the door. Maybe I can rig the sensors in my omni-tool to detect the mines."

"You're on guard then," Prathus nodded to the human engineer.

As they turned to leave however, he was starting to be concerned with the loss of manpower they were suffering. Their group had consisted of himself, Zaeed, McSween, Benner, and four other marines when they started. They'd lost one man in the city to a grenade, and another one now to a proximity mine. With a third marine downstairs guarding the civilians and McSween outside the hangar, they were left with a four-man team. He hoped it would be enough to deal with the salarian. He refused to underestimate Salik.

The shuttle wasn't the last surprising discovery they made in their search. Halfway down the central corridor, there were two large doors facing one another. The first led into what looked like a cafeteria and lounge. The windows they had seen from outside spanned the length of the far wall of this room. As soon as they found it, Prathus hurried inside and loaded his pack with as much dextro food as he could carry, despite Zaeed's insistence that they could come back for it. He refused to risk having Salik destroy it somehow once the salarian found out he was still alive.

It was the door on the other side of the hall, however, that had them all standing in the doorway, once again staring at the sight laid out before them. What the massive room might once have been was hard to say, but it had been converted into an automated assembly line. The machinery and the conveyors that wound back and forth through the room had an unmistakable purpose. Upon the assembly line were dozens of half-finished missiles. At the back of the chamber, a dozen completed rockets were lined up along the wall.

"Those are Thanix missiles," the accompanying Marine, a man Prathus knew as Anson, murmured with awe. "I never heard anything about a munitions assembly line on Terra Nova."

"Me either," Benner shook his head. "Maybe it's not military."

"The Alliance is all over the site," Zaeed reminded him.

"I think I know what he's getting at," Prathus chimed in. "This is a remote site. Could have been mercs or arms dealers that decided to take over the facility and make some weapons to sell. If the Alliance got wind of it, they might have seized it for their own use, either before the Reapers hit, or after the invasion started."

"Or maybe the Alliance set this up themselves since the Reapers arrived," Zaeed suggested. "With a dedicated team of engineers, that assembly line could have been put up in a few days. Then all they would have needed was to fly in some parts, and they could start working to manufacture some extra firepower here."

"If that's true, why would they bring civilians into a top-secret facility? There were women and kids on the floor below," Prathus reminded him.

"Would you turn away desperate civilians if you had a safe place to hide them?" Anson asked.

"Why they're here doesn't concern me," Benner cut in. "If we can reestablish communications, we can get these missiles to our people to use them against the Reapers."

The young marine started to go into the room, but Prathus was quick to grab his arm and jerk him back into the corridor. Benner was obviously annoyed by the sudden tug and opened his mouth as if to say something, but Prathus shook his head before the marine could say a word.

"Proximity mines, remember?"

Benner's mouth slowly closed, and he glanced into the room.

"They booby trapped the shuttle bay," Prathus reminded him. "Makes sense that they might leave a surprise in any area with useful tech that people would be drawn to investigate." Now that he was thinking about it, he considered himself lucky that the door to the lounge hadn't been trapped. His eagerness to claim some food could have killed him.

"There could be mines in any room in this place," Benner frowned. "It's hard to search a facility where you might get blown up in any room you find. How are-"

The resounding echo of a gunshot interrupted the marine's question, and this one was much closer than the last one they'd heard. Prathus's mandibles twitched in agitation. The fact that there were still people in the facility to execute meant that there were some still alive, but every gunshot they heard was the end of another human's life. He turned and headed down the corridor in the direction from which the sound had come, eager to find Salik and prevent him from hurting anyone else.

At the end of the hall they found a locker room, and when Prathus first peered inside, he immediately spotted a delicate human hand protruding from a doorway in the left-hand wall. He warily scanned the room for signs of a cloaked individual as he crossed to the doorway. Lying just beyond the door in a pool of fresh blood was a teenage girl. She had been shot once in the head, like most of the other victims they'd discovered. But this was the first non-adult they'd found slain.

He was just about to advance further into the room when a dark object struck the floor just a few meters away from him… and then another an instant later. Both objects leapt into the air, held aloft by small thrusters on their undersides, and within moments, he was being pelted by short bursts of gunfire. The first few shots were deflected by his shield, and he staggered back through the door and into the locker room, taking cover behind the doorframe.

"Sentry turrets!" he warned the others, who had taken cover behind lockers and benches throughout the room.

A moment later, the glowing orange orb of a combat drone drifted through the door, discharging an electrical burst against the turian's shield that almost collapsed it. He scrambled away from the device and dove behind a bench while the other members of the group opened fire on the drone. He had never before seen a combat drone that packed such a significant punch against a kinetic barrier.

The drone drifted toward Anson, and Prathus saw an arc of electricity flash out against the human's shield. It managed to get off another burst a second later, and Prathus spotted the telltale shimmer around the marine indicative of his shield failing. The sustained fire upon the drone from the others disabled it an instant later, but just when the holographic body of the drone shimmered and started to fade, there was a resounding explosion from its heart. Anson collapsed, writhing on the ground and howling in agony. Prathus and Benner started toward him to drag him to safety, but just when they began to move, another sentry turret was tossed from the adjacent room. It landed right next to the injured marine and activated, spewing a stream of flame over the wounded man. Everyone else scrambled for cover.

Prathus scowled as he opened fire on the turret. They were down to three men now. And he was sure this was only the beginning of the battle to come…

* * *

**Outside Fulton's Folly…**

"Is that it?" Jay asked, surveying the valley below through the scope of his rifle.

Illitha shook her head and shrugged. She had no way of knowing for sure if they had finally stumbled onto the site of this Fulton's Folly place or not. She wasn't native to the planet. The only evidence they had to go on was a new transmission that morning, which she had been able to track to a point somewhere north of their position, much like the first one. The signal had been too short to get a precise fix on its origin. She was just thankful that they hadn't seen any more harvesters after the first day of travel. Danny's death was still weighing heavily on her mind, and she hoped that she wasn't making another bad decision by leading the rest of her team here.

She studied the facility below, which was embedded in the mountainside, looking for any sign of activity through the bank of windows that dominated the visible portion of the structure. Something struck her as odd about the facility, but she couldn't quite put her finger on the source of her misgivings.

"L-Let's head down and see… there must be a way in," Illitha suggested.

Rachel passed the task of supporting the asari off to Elliot, readying her rifle and taking the point position for the walk down the trail to the valley. Illitha leaned upon the teenager, feeling guilty for burdening her team. Her knees ached horribly, but the worst of the pain had faded during their two-day hike into the mountains. It seemed that their plan to keep as much of her weight off of her feet as possible was working.

The only sound accompanying their walk down into the valley was the whistling of the wind, and the occasional scuff of a foot over uneven terrain. It was actually a little eerie, and as the team reached the bottom of the path, Illitha could detect signs of nervousness in the posture of everyone around her. She was feeling it as well. A part of her brain was screaming at her to suggest that they turn around and leave this place behind.

The entrance was well-hidden from the path above, and when they finally discovered the archway leading into the mountain, Illitha immediately went to work, activating her omni-tool and tapping into the door's security encryption. It took her only a few seconds to recognize the bits of Reaper code in the system. After the tremendous amount of time she'd spent in the city hacking Reaper devices, it was unmistakable. She frowned to herself. Either the Reapers had invaded the facility, or there was someone else with access to Reaper technology in the building. She supposed it could have been any indoctrinated agent the Reapers had gained since invading Terra Nova, but her fear was that it was the salarian. Her heart sank at the thought.

_If the salarian is still alive and wandering around Terra Nova, then that means my friends must be dead. He would never have left them alive and risk that they might discover his complicity in the Reaper invasion…_

The young engineer's shoulders slumped, and despair crashed over her in a wave. She was so demoralized by the thought that she stopped working on the Reaper code entirely. Rachel stepped closer and put a hand on the asari's shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

"T-The facility's original security coding has been deleted and a Reaper security lockout uploaded in its place," Illitha whispered. "I am… I… It could be the salarian… which would mean…" she trailed off, yanking off her helmet and wiping her eyes when she felt them fill with tears.

"Your friends," Rachel nodded in sudden understanding. "But… This code could have been uploaded by the Reapers themselves. Or anyone they've indoctrinated."

Illitha knew that the blonde was trying to raise her spirits, but it wasn't working. If her friends were dead, she wasn't sure she would have it in her to keep fighting the Reapers. Just the thought of Neela and Prathus being dead… even Selura, though she had known the scientist for a far shorter time… She felt like her heart was breaking.

"We don't know who is in here or how this Reaper code got uploaded," Rachel said softly. "But you have to believe your friends are still alive. And if that salarian bastard is really in here, then this could be our chance to deal with him once and for all…"

Illitha nodded slowly, but the blonde's confidence was, in her view, sorely misplaced. With the examples of tech she had seen in the data downloaded from Salik's omni-tool, they would be hard-pressed to deal with him, even if they outnumbered him. The fact that most of their group was unarmored and had no kinetic shielding was a further mark against them. It took a great deal of willpower to resume her work in hacking the lock, and she noted when she did that while she had been feeling sorry for herself, the Reaper code had entirely rewritten itself, forcing her to begin anew.

When she did manage to finally hack through the encryption and the door opened, she felt almost nauseous. For some reason, the possibility of facing the salarian, and knowing what he might have done to her friends, terrified her more than anything since she'd been a captive of Cerberus. She tried to convince herself that Rachel was right, and that this could simply be the work of some other Reaper agent, but her heart refused to believe it.

"T-There is a chance that an enemy in here has a-a tactical cloak," she warned the others. "Be very attentive of your surroundings."

The majority of their group was down to a single thermal clip each, which thankfully had been given ample time to cool during the day since their last fight, but Illitha was still worried. No matter what danger awaited them in the facility, she knew they had extremely limited firepower and that they were ill-suited to combat because most of them had no defenses. Logic dictated that they needed as many shooters as possible with them if things turned ugly, but after Danny's death, Illitha was having trouble with the idea of putting her people in danger again. She turned to Jay and Elliot, the two members of the group that didn't even have a makeshift vest.

"I w-want you two to stay down here and guard the exit," she informed them. "We need to make sure our escape route stays clear."

"Won't you need us for the fight?" Jay protested. "The extra guns could be a big help. And you know I'm a good shot…"

"And if we get trapped in a building again and cut off from escape?" Illitha countered.

The two brothers glanced at one another, and Jay finally nodded and took a position just inside the door. Elliot stepped around behind the lobby's reception desk. The rest of them started down the corridor, but when they started moving away, the exterior door suddenly closed and the holographic trigger turned red, indicating that the portal was locked. Illitha knew that it was likely only an automated response, but being suddenly locked inside the complex still seemed somehow ominous.

Very little turned up during their sweep of the ground floor… until they reached the elevator. The closest door to the elevator was locked, and Illitha decided it would be best to hack it and take a look inside. After all, they couldn't risk the possibility that Salik could be inside, since that would leave the salarian on the floor with the two most vulnerable members of their team. The locking mechanism was not Reaper-augmented, however, and thus she bypassed it very quickly.

When the door opened, she found herself confronted by an Alliance marine, whose weapon immediately came to rest upon her. Beside her, Rachel and Jack both raised their weapons in turn, training them upon the soldier. The others in the room were all civilians, and there were many startled gasps and worried murmurs from the group. Illitha disengaged her pistol and secured it to the maglock at her hip, raising her hands in a gesture of surrender.

"E-Everyone calm down," she suggested, "Rachel, Jack… lower your weapons. We are all on the same side here."

Her friends did as they were told, and thus did the lone marine in the room also hesitantly lower his weapon. Illitha felt significantly relieved when the human's weapon was no longer trained upon her.

"M-My name is Illitha," she introduced herself. "W-What are you doing here? Is the facility secure?"

"Private Walton," the marine introduced himself after a pause. His eyes were upon Rachel, and Illitha could tell that he was uncertain as to whether he should trust them. "The rest of my team is securing the site as we speak," he finally added. "Y-You're with the Alliance?"

"She's a Spectre," Jack spoke up.

Illitha shot an angry glare in his direction. After she had confessed the truth to her team, she had thought the fiction of her Spectrehood would have been behind her. Now one of her people had just thrust her into the role again. The marine immediately snapped to attention and saluted her, most likely out of respect, to judge from his expression. And unfortunately for the asari, the almost reverent murmurs that ran through the crowd quashed her desire to immediately tell the truth. She didn't want to deprive scared civilians of the hope they undoubtedly felt… even if it was false hope.

"Where is your team now?" Illitha asked, trying to suppress the intense nervousness that filled her with the eyes of a few dozen humans upon her. "D-Do you know how much of the facility they have searched?"

"The second floor is clear," Walton answered, much more readily this time. "They should be deep into exploration of the third level by now."

"I-I am afraid that there is a dangerous operative in the facility," Illitha told him. "I h-have two men near the entrance that can come in here to guard these people. You… I… Uh, we will need you with us on the upper floor."

"As long as these people will have protection," the marine nodded.

"They will," Illitha smiled. "Jay and Elliot may be civilians, but they have been working with me for days. I fully trust them to keep these people safe."

Jack ran back to retrieve the brothers, and when the two arrived, she quickly explained the situation to them. She left the siblings to defend their fellow civilians, and was pleased to note that both young men appeared much happier now that they had a more meaningful task than simply watching the exit. She boarded the elevator with Rachel, Jack, and their new Alliance ally. They opted to bypass the second floor entirely, heading straight up to the third level.

No one said anything on their trip up to the third floor of the facility. As a result, when the elevator doors opened on the next level, they could clearly hear the distant sounds of gunfire. Illitha's lingering melancholy was pushed from her mind by the commotion. She drew her pistol and activated her tech armor, moving swiftly down the hallway in search of the source of the fighting. Judging from the amount of gunfire they could hear, there was a serious battle taking place... which might have meant that the team to which their new ally had referred was in serious trouble.

When they rounded the corner at the end of the first hall, Illitha was surprised to see a familiar figure crouched in a doorway at the end of the second corridor. McSween was one of the very last people she had expected to find in this place. The engineer spotted her when she began to hurry up the hall toward him, and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Illitha?"

"McSween," she nodded in greeting. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask ye the same thing," the engineer shook his head.

"What is going on?" Illitha asked, glancing down the adjoining hallway toward the sounds of gunfire. "Why are you standing here?"

"I'm the bloody rear guard," McSween frowned. "But it sounds like all 'ell 'as broken loose down there."

Illitha would have loved to ask more questions, but her conscience wouldn't allow her to sate her curiosity while other people were in danger. She needed to go and help out the rest of McSween's team. She turned to Jack.

"You stay here with McSween," she told him, activating her tech armor. "Rachel, Walton and I will go lend a hand."

"Careful, lass," McSween cautioned her. "We're almost positive that salarian is 'ere."

Illitha only nodded. She no longer had any doubt. She led the way down the hall, with Rachel and Walton close on her heels, until they reached the end of the corridor. There was an open door on the left-hand side of the hallway, and the flashes and the ring of gunfire made it clear that it was the source of the commotion. However, as they were approaching, the door on the opposite side of the hall opened. Illitha and her escorts came to a stop, waiting to see who would emerge.

Illitha spotted a faint distortion in the doorway. Rachel's weapon suddenly came up at almost the same time; the blonde had obviously seen it too. At that same moment, there was a flash from the doorway and the thunderous ring of a hand cannon echoed through the hall. Beside her, Rachel staggered backward, and Illitha was quick to erect and expand her barrier to defend them all from any follow-up shots. A salarian figure shimmered into view, and was already darting back through the open door on the right to take cover. However, much to Illitha's surprise, it didn't seem to be Salik. While the salarian was wearing a helmet, and so she hadn't seen his face, this one was significantly taller than she remembered Salik being, and the armor was a completely different color and style than Salik had been wearing. Rachel took a few shots at the salarian, but none of them connected; their foe was already out of sight. Illitha dropped her barrier and hit the trigger on an adjacent door. Everyone ducked inside.

"Are you alright?" Illitha asked, glancing at the blonde.

"That shot went right through my shields," Rachel grimaced, gesturing to the hole in the shoulder of her armor. "Has to be phasic rounds. My shields are still active."

"How bad are you hurt?" Illitha demanded.

"I'll be fine. I think our timing was actually pretty good. That bastard was apparently trying to flank McSween's pals. If we hadn't been in the hallway, he could have walked right up and shot them in the back."

"I didn't even see him," Walton sighed. "You two have good eyes."

Illitha nodded, peering out into the hallway, watching intently for any sign that the salarian would make another attempt to cross the corridor. He hadn't yet reappeared, but it seemed clear to her that they needed to get into the room where all the fighting was taking place so they could watch the backs of their allies.

"That wasn't the salarian from the holo journal," Rachel pointed out. "I saw him in Mivian Heights. This one's armor was a whole different color."

"I know," Illitha nodded, chewing on her lower lip.

"So where'd he come from?" Rachel asked. "Salik was alone."

Suddenly Illitha's thoughts flashed back to the final entry in Salik's holo journal. She could hear his words as clearly as if the recording was playing in her ears at that very moment. '_Three of us have survived this debacle._' Salik may have been operating independently for the assault on the Prothean ruins, but there were two other indoctrinated salarians with him when he went to contact the collectors. His fellows must have been working with him on Terra Nova. Perhaps they had planned to meet on the planet, or perhaps his fellows had been present beforehand, feeding him information…

"It is his friends from the Reaper research project," she told Rachel. "He said three of them survived. They must all be here on the planet."

"Three?" Walton repeated. "The mercs only mentioned one."

"What mercs?" Rachel asked.

"Never mind that now," Illitha cut them off. "W-We need to get into the next room and lend a hand. We can talk to the mercs ourselves once the situation is clear."

Illitha was worried. The situation had just reached a whole new level of danger. She had been less than enthusiastic about their chances of beating Salik alone, but if he had two others with him, all with Reaper-enhanced technology, things were much direr than she had ever imagined. She gestured for the others to follow her and stepped out into the hallway, erecting a barrier dome to defend them while they got into the room at the end of the hall. She knew her barrier would be of limited use against phasic rounds, but it was better than nothing. Rachel kept her rifle trained on the doorway opposite, but there was no sign of the salarian they'd so briefly encountered.

When Illitha stepped into the locker room at the hall's end, she received yet another surprise. She had expected to find Harper, Jonah, or some of the other marines she'd met and sent to Mivian Heights with McSween. But she wasn't prepared to find Prathus among the group bunkered down in the room. An intense wave of relief washed over her at the sight of him. The urge to run over and throw her arms around the former soldier was almost overwhelming. Only the sudden barrage of gunfire against her barrier courtesy of a sentry turret kept her from indulging. She and Rachel quickly took cover behind a row of lockers, while Walton dove for a bench that another marine was using as cover.

Neither Prathus nor either of the humans even seemed to have noticed their entry. They were too busy working together to destroy the turret, leaning out of cover just long enough to fire a few shots at a time, and then quickly withdrawing to safety, with no two ever exposed at the same time. The asari turned her attention to the door behind them, stepping out of cover for just long enough to hit the trigger panel to close it. Then she withdrew to safety, activated her omni-tool and hacked the door's lock so that no one could enter behind them.

The sentry turret finally collapsed beneath the accumulated damage it had suffered, exploding with a brilliant flash. The men throughout the room hesitantly left their cover, warily scanning their surroundings for further signs of danger. It was then that Prathus finally spotted Illitha as she stepped out from behind the lockers. She saw the turian's brows rise.

"T'Zari?"

"Prathus!" Illitha threw her arms around the turian, who cleared his throat uncomfortably and patted her awkwardly on the back.

"What are you doing here?" the turian asked.

"We got a transmission from Simon Atwell," Illitha explained. "We came here for the communications data."

"So did we," Prathus sighed. "But Golash got here first."

"Not just him," Illitha said softly. "There are probably two others in here with him. We ran into one of them in the hallway out there," she gestured toward the door. "He was cloaked and trying to come in behind you all."

"Cowards," the gravelly voice of the human mercenary intruded. The man was eying Illitha with what she thought was an unfriendly gaze. "How do you know he's got two friends with him? There were no other people aboard the ship we arrived on."

"I-I hacked into his omni-tool in Mivian Heights and copied his data. In… He had a holo journal, and talked about two other salarians he was working with. They are all indoctrinated."

"Indoctrinated?" Prathus repeated. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Then that explains why they're here. If they got the transmission that someone figured out how to break through the Reaper jamming signal, they'd take steps to eliminate that data. And their little sentry turrets and drones just cost us another man and a hell of a lot of time," Prathus growled. "I've never seen an automated turret with shields capable of absorbing that much punishment…" his gaze switched to Rachel, "Who's this?"

"This is Rachel. She has been working with me in the city for a while now," Illitha smiled at the blonde. "Rachel, this is Prathus and…" she turned her gaze toward the mercenary, but she couldn't remember his name, "I am sorry. I-I do not recall your name."

"Zaeed Massani," the mercenary introduced himself. "What are you doing up here?" the mercenary's gaze switched to Walton. "You're supposed to be guarding the damned civilians."

"I-I brought a team with me," Illitha spoke up before the private could answer. "I left two with the civilians and another man with McSween. I figured we needed all the firepower and armor we could get to deal with Salik." Illitha noticed the expression on Prathus's face when she finished speaking, which she would have called 'perplexed'. She wasn't sure why he was looking at her like that.

"We have a lot to catch up on," Prathus said softly. "But we don't have the time right now. Let's get moving. We need to figure out where the signal data is stored and get to it before Golash and his pals do."

Illitha nodded her agreement, but her eyes strayed to the charred corpse in Alliance armor on the floor. She swallowed heavily and stepped closer, snapping one of the dog tags free of the chain around the man's neck and dropping it into the pouch she carried that held all the others she had collected. Prathus watched her in silence, but she caught the speculative look in his eyes when she turned around.

"I'll take point," Zaeed muttered, slowly moving up to the door and scanning the area beyond for signs of danger.

"It's good to see you alive and well, T'Zari," Prathus finally said.

"You too," Illitha managed a small smile. "When I found out the truth about Salik, I was afraid he would manage to kill you all. Is everyone else… okay?"

"I don't know," Prathus sighed. "The bastard sure _tried_ to kill us. Shot Selura twice in the gut and disabled Neela's suit and exposed her to the environment. Last I knew, Selura and the captain were recovering from surgery, and Neela's prognosis was… bleak."

Illitha bowed her head. She hoped that Neela would be okay, but somehow, she doubted it. Very few things had turned out in their favor since they first arrived at Terra Nova. She was just thankful that Salik hadn't killed her friends outright. Although, if Neela was really going to die of catastrophic environmental exposure, she thought that perhaps a quick death would have been kinder…

"We're clear. Let's move," the mercenary's voice distracted her from her gloomy thoughts.

Illitha and Rachel fell into line with Prathus, Zaeed, and the two Alliance soldiers as they filed from the room in search of Salik or some sign of surviving civilians. If the salarians were still here, then she assumed that they hadn't yet found whatever they were looking for. Which gave them a chance.

"There's just one thing I have to know," Prathus murmured to the asari as they entered the adjacent room. "Where'd you get the tech armor?"

* * *

**Reaper Facility, Southern Scott…**

An ear-piercing scream startled Aida out of the fitful slumber she had been trying to endure. She bolted upright, wincing at the intense throbbing sensation in her skull, and found the young blonde girl huddled against the wall. Tears were cascading down her face, and she was whimpering loudly. The girl looked terrified, and Aida looked around to see what might have scared her, but there was no sign of danger. She crawled closer to the girl and gathered her into her arms, holding the trembling girl tightly.

"They were zombies! They were zombies!" the girl cried hysterically.

Aida was surprised. She had been the girl's unofficial guardian since their arrival, and this was the first time she'd heard the girl actually speak. She was confused. Was the girl talking about the husks? "What? Who? Who was zombies?"

"My p-p-parents. The m-monsters turned them into zombies! They were ch-chasing me!" the girl sobbed.

Illitha sighed and rubbed the girl's back, trying to soothe her. "Shhh… It was just a bad dream," she murmured. She wasn't surprised the poor child was suffering nightmares. Her own dreams had been rather dark and disturbing, filled with dying family and friends and her childhood neighborhood in flames. Since they were imprisoned in a Reaper death camp, she supposed nightmares and stress were pretty predictable.

The girl was hysterical, and it took a good deal of time and patience to get her calmed down. Once she finally had the child calm enough that she thought she might be able to get her talking, she decided to ask some questions to further take her mind off of the nightmare.

"What is your name?" she asked. "I am Aida."

"Candice," the girl sniffled. "Candice Ulrich."

"It is good to finally know what to call you," Aida smiled at her.

The girl just nodded, resting her head against Aida's shoulder. The asari could tell that the girl was still exhausted, and part of her was hoping that the child would fall asleep once more. She remained silent, rocking the girl gently, and her eyes wandered over the dark room that had been their cell since they arrived. She had already examined every inch of the place for any sign of a way out, but there was very little else to do besides sleep and stare at the walls. Time had become meaningless inside the facility. Aida wasn't sure if it had been a day or a week since they had been deposited into the place.

The room was much more crowded than it had ever been before. Since they had arrived, most of the people present at the beginning had been led from the room a few at a time, and a steady stream of new arrivals had been coming in. Every time the tunnel opened and a new group was herded inside, she anxiously scanned the crowd for blue faces, and had been relieved not to see any so far. She was saddened by the number of human prisoners, but she knew in her heart that the day one of her friends was pushed inside, it would break her.

"I don't wanna sleep," Candice suddenly murmured, breaking the silence. She sounded as if she was half-asleep already. "I have bad dreams," she mumbled.

"I know," Aida whispered. "But I am here. I will not let anything happen to you."

Aida's eyes strayed to Harper and Ubruscia, who were sitting together in a corner on the opposite side of the room. Almost all of the Alliance soldiers had been removed from the room since she arrived, and the two corporals were among only a handful that remained. Both men looked downcast and exhausted. Aida understood. She frequently overheard the civilian captives trading optimistic theories about how they would be used as labor or otherwise spared, but she knew – as did the Alliance soldiers – that none of them was going to be spared. The few that accepted the truth all shared the defeated posture and expression that the two men wore.

A massive door at the left-hand side of the room opened, and a trio of monstrous, twisted brutish creatures stomped in. This happened several times a day, and as always when it occurred, Aida pressed closer to the wall, holding Candice tightly, doing her best not to draw any attention to herself. She had no idea by what criteria the Reapers chose their next victims, but she continuously hoped that neither she, nor the child would be the next one chosen for execution. Most of the humans in the room scrambled to get away from the brutes, and panicked murmurs ran through the crowd.

The creatures were huge and intimidating, and as Aida watched, they did the same as they always did, cutting off a small group of the prisoners and herding them into the middle of the room. However, this time one of the brutes stomped toward her. She felt her stomach tighten into a cold knot of fear at the sight. Candice had been fully roused by all the noise and she started to whimper and cry when the beast came closer. Aida stood up, whispering into the girl's ear.

"I will distract it. I want you to run into the crowd and hide. Stay behind people so they cannot see you."

"No! No!" the girl shrieked. "Don't leave me! Please!"

"If you stay with me, they will take us both," Aida hissed, struggling to disengage the girl's grip and put her down. "You have to go hide!"

"Aida, no… please," the girl begged.

Aida was sure about the fate that awaited them when they were herded from the room. She didn't want to let the girl cling to her and know that it had sealed her fate. And so she forcefully pushed the child away from herself, knocking her to the ground in the process. She hated to do it, but it was much better than the alternative. Then she set to work on becoming the distraction she had promised. If she was going to die, she would die fighting. It was better that way.

Wispy blue tendrils of biotic energy rose around her, and she hit the advancing brute with a biotic throw. The force of the blow barely rocked the creature, but the effect was startling on an entirely different level. The creature stopped dead in its tracks, as did the other two brutes in the room. The one she had struck roared menacingly, planting a hand upon the floor and settling itself. Aida's eyes widened. She had meant to draw the creature's ire, but now that she had it, she found herself regretting it. She hit it with another throw, which didn't even cause it to flinch.

The brute charged at her, and she scrambled to get out of the path, only barely avoiding the wide sweep of its massive right arm. However, in avoiding one, she had stumbled directly into the path of another. A hulking body slammed into her from behind, knocking her flat. She rolled over and started to rise, but only did so in time to see the third beast standing over her, raising its massive fists and leaping into the air. She put everything she had into her barrier, but even so, the creature's brutal strike shattered the barrier and smashed into her chest, driving her brutally into the floor. All of the breath left her lungs in a whoosh, but she didn't think she had broken anything thanks to the barrier's interference. Despite that small blessing, she knew then that her small and rather ineffectual offense was finished. With the three immense beasts around her, she would never manage to get off another throw.

She wasn't wrong. A massive claw seized her and hoisted her into the air, and the beast turned and hurled her toward the wall with incredible force. In a desperate attempt to save herself from serious injury, Aida tried to manifest a new barrier, but she didn't have enough time. Her impact against the wall was brutal. It rattled every bone in her body, and she saw stars. She tried to rise from the floor more out of instinct than because she was thinking clearly. But something slammed into her back and drove her once more to the deck. Then everything went dark.

* * *

**Fulton's Folly…**

Zaeed grabbed a chair from a nearby desk and hurled it through the doorway into the adjacent room. As he had expected, the action triggered an explosion that sent violent tremors through the floor plating, and left his ears ringing. Salik and his compatriots had done an excellent job of creating numerous delays in their pursuit. Everything from hacked locking mechanisms on doors to proximity mines waiting inside of rooms along their path had been forcing them to slow down. The obstructions were frustrating the Alliance marines, and even the mercenary himself was becoming irritated by the delaying tactics, despite the fact that he always did his best not to let enemies get to him.

"Move up," he barked, covering the door while Benner and Walton advanced to secure the room.

Salik knew what he was doing. Zaeed had expected the salarian to have a plan. Now that he knew his former employer was indoctrinated by Reapers, however, many of the questions he'd had about the salarian had been settled. The AI drones, the advanced technology, the reason that the Reapers had frequently fallen back instead of attacking them when he had been on Salik's team… A part of him was angry that he hadn't realized the possibility sooner. But then, Salik had been acting like a salarian agent… cold and efficient.

Prathus and the asari walked past him into the room beyond, and his eyes lingered upon the delicate form of the latter figure. He vaguely remembered her from the discussion that took place in Mivian Heights when Salik was negotiating for added help against Cerberus. The girl had been timid and frightened, unwilling to even risk having to face Cerberus personnel. He had written her off at the time as a cowardly civilian and had given her no further thought.

When she showed up in the locker room, he had been irritated by her presence because he assumed that they had just acquired a new liability. Now that he was watching her, however, he was seeing things in the way she moved and acted that he wouldn't have guessed she had in her. She seemed calm, collected, alert, and focused… There were visible signs of resolve and confidence in her posture and walk, if not her voice when she was speaking. As a career mercenary, he didn't often underestimate people. It tended to be a career-ending mistake. But in her case, he could admit to himself that he had definitely done so. He shook his head.

The last member of their team filed past, and Zaeed slipped through the door after him, turning to watch their rear flank while they advanced. Their progress came to a halt once again at the far end of the room, where the asari was working to hack her way through yet another security lockout on the door. Zaeed stepped close to Prathus, but kept his eyes upon the door behind them.

"This is taking too goddamn long," he muttered. "At this rate, Salik will have the data long before we ever reach him."

"If you have suggestions, I'm ready to hear them," the turian prompted.

"We need to split into two teams," Zaeed suggested.

"Yeah, that's a great idea," Prathus commented sarcastically. "It'll be much easier for Golash and his friends to kill us if we split into smaller groups. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Shut up and listen, Jackass," Zaeed growled. "I was there when Salik met your asari friend. She didn't make much of an impression on me at the time, and I doubt she made much of one on him either."

"Everyone underestimates T'Zari," Prathus shrugged. "What's your point?"

"If we send her and her blonde friend in a different direction, I doubt Salik would consider it worth the delay to deal with them. And if he does, then that means it splits him and his friends up, making it possible for us to perhaps corner one of them."

"Okay, you may have a point," the turian conceded. "But he might also see the two of them alone and decide that it would be quick and easy to kill them and cut a few more people out of the opposition."

"It's a risk, but I think it's one we should take," Zaeed pressed.

"But to what purpose?" Prathus asked. "There haven't been many branches in the path, and the ones we did find were all dead ends or just circled back to the main route at some point."

"Your friend seems pretty handy with tech," Zaeed commented. "I think we should have her find an access terminal somewhere and hack into the facility's systems. We've been so busy trying to keep up, we probably missed at least one in last dozen rooms or so."

"McSween already tried that," Prathus reminded him. "I think T'Zari is probably better with tech than McSween, but she may not have any more luck than he did."

"It's worth a try," Zaeed shrugged. "If she can get into the main security system, it could really help us."

"I see what you're getting at," Prathus nodded. "If she can hack into the facility's mainframe or security system, she could trip up Golash's team the same way he's been doing to us-"

"-and give us a chance to catch up," Zaeed finished for him.

"Prathus," Illitha called to him, crossing the room toward where the two were talking. "I-I just had an idea."

"So did we," Prathus nodded. "I was just about to come tell you about it."

"Listen to mine first," Illitha urged.

"Okay," Prathus nodded.

Zaeed just crossed his arms and waited.

"It is taking too long to hack each door individually," the asari began. She glanced toward Zaeed with a somewhat nervous expression, as if she expected him to get angry with the observation. "I was… I thought… W-Well, if… If I go back and find a place to tap into the f-facility's main computer, I m-might be able to override the entire security grid…"

Prathus started chuckling, which only seemed to confuse the asari. Zaeed snorted at the look on her face.

"We were thinking the same exact thing," Prathus told her.

"Right," Zaeed nodded. "We were thinking you and the blonde could work on that while the rest of us keep looking for Salik."

"Oh," a smile of relief settled over the asari's features, and she nodded in understanding. "I th-thought you were laughing because it was a bad plan..."

"Not at all," Prathus shook his head. "McSween tried it already, but I think you have a better chance."

"What did he say about the security?"

Zaeed turned, leaving the turian to fill his asari comrade in on McSween's discoveries. The conversation no longer interested him. He crossed the room to where the marines had gathered, nudging the blonde to get her attention. When she turned to face him, he jerked a thumb toward where the asari and turian were talking.

"The asari needs your help," he muttered.

The blonde walked away, and Zaeed took the opportunity to glance through door that Illitha had hacked, examining the area beyond. For the first time in some time, the door opened into a corridor instead of an adjoining room. The hallway stretched straight ahead, flanked by several different doors, and eventually reached a junction of some kind. But on the left hand side just inside the door, a staircase wound up to the floor above. When he spotted the staircase, he immediately decided that a modification to the plan was in order.

"Hey asari," he called.

To his surprise, the asari glared at him when he called her. The frost in her gaze lasted only for a moment, but it was yet another sign that she wasn't quite the timid wallflower he had first pegged her to be. She, the turian and the blonde all walked over to meet him. He gestured through the doorway toward the staircase.

"I know we discussed you doubling back," he began, "but when I saw that, I had a better idea. Why don't the two of you head upstairs? That way you're also searching new areas while you pursue your new objective."

"Not a bad idea," Prathus nodded approvingly. "Just be careful up there. If Golash is up there, you need to make sure you see him coming."

"You all be careful too," Illitha looked around at the gathered group.

"You don't have to worry about us," Zaeed assured her. "Might wanna say a prayer for that bastard Salik though…"

"When I get my hands on him, divine intervention is the _only_ thing that'll save him," the blonde marine vowed.

"I'll second that," Prathus nodded.

"Right then," Zaeed gestured toward the stairs. "Get your arses moving. We've already wasted too much time."

The asari didn't argue with him. She simply crossed the room and grabbed a chair from a desk in the corner, and then walked over and tossed it through the doorway. When there wasn't an explosion in response to the sudden movement, she and the blonde quickly retrieved the chair and together they heaved it up the first flight of the stairs.

Zaeed nodded and raised his rifle, taking the lead in advancing along the corridor ahead. The initial skirmish with Salik's toys had been a bit more time-consuming than he would have ever suspected, but he knew very well that there would be a lot more fighting to come. He was eager to finally make good on his promise to help deal with the salarian. Then he would be free to take the Alliance shuttle from the hangar bay. While the shuttle wasn't capable of long-range space travel, perhaps it could get him to the asteroid space station above. He hoped that there might be an intact ship in one of the station's bays somewhere.

With the shuttle in his possession, the only remaining step he would need to take would be to find the last Cerberus team and make one of them talk. Then he could be on his way to finding the Illusive Man…

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* * *

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**Author's Note: Thank you as always to everyone who reads, reviews, favorites/follows or gives any attention at all to the story. It's been a lot of fun to write this for those interested in reading it, and it's always good to know it's amusing a few others. Barring any disasters, the next Chapter will go up Monday morning.**

**Well, if there were any doubts at the end of last Chapter that Salik was involved, I imagine they have now been laid to rest. But I'm curious about how many people saw his allies coming. I had dropped tiny hints all along, from his early references to agents on Terra Nova and sources of information, to the line in the holo journal that was reiterated in this Chapter. But no one ever mentioned it in reviews or PMs, so I'm guessing those clues managed to soar by under the radar :)**

**What does this mean for the story going forward? I can only ask everyone to keep reading and find out! Hopefully I can continue to keep you all entertained. :)**


	43. Chapter 43: Options

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Forty-Three: Options

.

**Isolation Room, Resort Hospital, Mivian Heights…**

Neela tried to ignore the humans that were gawking at her while she got herself settled in the isolation vehicle they had constructed. The idea was ingenious, she thought, but this was the first time she had been exposed to a human that hadn't been nonchalant about her lack of an enviro-suit. The doctor never made an issue of it. The engineers, on the other hand, were openly staring while she got situated on the adjustable surface in the glass box. She could clearly see their eyes through the visors of their helmets, and under their combined gazes, she was starting to feel like a scientific specimen on a big glass slide, being studied under a microscope.

She caught the icy look in Selura's eyes where the asari sat on the other side of the room, and knew that her girlfriend understood how much it was upsetting her to have people staring at her. The asari looked like she was about to leap from her seat and lay in to the trio of engineers.

The surreal fantasy in which they had been living for the past week was over. The nights spent cuddled up with Selura, the hours spent kissing and talking and teasing each other… Despite their respective injuries, the time she'd spent locked in isolation with her girlfriend had been the closest thing to paradise she'd experienced since they were first attacked over Terra Nova. And Neela was intensely depressed that it was coming to an end. But the doctor had informed them a few hours earlier that a harvester had descended upon the landing pad behind the hospital and destroyed their remaining skycab. The Alliance soldiers had destroyed the creature, but its appearance and increasing numbers of Reapers wandering into the gorge had finally prompted Gradian to order the evacuation of the hospital.

Neela shifted position on the seat in the makeshift transport, using her omni-tool to adjust the surface until she was comfortable, and then nodded her head. The engineers immediately set to work on sealing the vehicle against any outside contaminants, and then opened the door to the airlock. She knew that the next step would be for the three men to remove the decontamination system from the airlock and install it into the conveyance. Until then, she had only the air trapped inside the enclosure with her. But the humans had assured her that they would finish their work long before she experienced any difficulties breathing.

She activated her omni-tool once more and experimented with driving the vehicle around in the small chamber. The maneuverability of the thing was far better than she would have expected. While she didn't relish the thought of being trapped in a glass box until she had a new suit to wear, at least she would be mobile. She rolled over to where Selura was seated on the sauna bench, working to meld the flexible under-weave taken from a few suits of Alliance armor into a single garment. Neela smiled at the asari's efforts. Selura was working with painstaking care to finish the suit they had started together. It couldn't have been easy, given the injury to the scientist's arm. The limb was almost healed, she knew, thanks to the remains of the bioplasmic mold that had originally been implanted to help it knit, but Selura complained frequently about it aching.

Neela was struggling with mixed feelings about the idea of being back in a suit. She would be happy to have its protection and to be capable of moving around freely, without fear of contamination. The downside, however, was the knowledge that without tactile emulators, she would be in a shell, completely isolated from everything around her.

They had briefly examined her suit to see if any of it could be salvaged, but the nanites had performed their task well. Omni-tool scans showed that her old suit had millions of microscopic punctures in it, making it impossible to reuse any of it. But Selura had insisted upon saving Neela's helmet, so that she could precisely duplicate its shape and recreate its filtration system. Neela's heart swelled at the obvious care and obsessive attention to detail Selura was putting into every second of the project.

"It must be nice to be mobile again," Selura said softly.

"It will do for now," Neela smiled. "But I've been in this thing for only a handful of minutes, and I already miss having the freedom to kiss you."

Selura glanced up at her words, clearly surprised by her directness. The asari's cheeks darkened with a hint of purple. She slowly returned her gaze to her work, but Neela could tell she'd managed to embarrass her. She grinned.

"At least you can join me when I need to walk now," Selura commented, returning the subject to the vehicle. "Just try not to run over my feet…"

"I am a pilot," Neela pointed out. "Land, air, or space, I'll excel in the control of any vehicle you give me. You can walk, and I'll drive circles around you."

"You forget. I was in the Armanis with you. I know how crazy your piloting can become," she grinned. "I would rather avoid having you circling me. I would really like to keep my toes intact."

Neela glared at her in mock-indignation, which only caused her girlfriend's mischief-filled grin to deepen.

"I think I might _like_ having you locked in there," the asari reached out to tap on the glass. "You cannot hit me for teasing you."

"I could run over your feet," Neela threatened. "As you pointed out already."

"Yeah, but you are likely to do that unintentionally anyway."

"I am going to make a list," Neela announced. "It will include a tally of just how many times I need to hit you when I get out of this thing…"

"Remind me to hack your omni nightly and cut the number in half," Selura laughed. "That way the bruises might number under a thousand when your suit is finished."

Neela laughed. According to Selura, she had left some serious bruises on the asari's thigh in response to her girlfriend's recent and very embarrassing teasing in regard to seeing her shirtless. She could still feel her cheeks burning every time she thought about it. Selura hadn't done it on purpose, but it was still a state in which she hadn't been ready for the asari to see her.

"I have a question," Selura announced, distracting her from her thoughts.

"So ask," Neela smiled.

"How are we supposed to get you into this suit when it is finished?" the asari looked up. "Since we will no longer have access to a sterile environment, you cannot exactly get out of that thing and dress."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Neela assured her. "According to the omni-tool link, there is a pass-through compartment into which items can be placed for decontamination, and once they're sterile, I can retrieve them from in here. How else am I supposed to eat or drink anything?"

"As if there's been anything for you to eat," Selura sighed.

Neela watched the asari brood while she worked. The last of the dextro food had been rationed to her days ago. Since then, she'd had nothing to eat. Selura refused to eat anything until they found some dextro-based rations or protein gel, much to Neela's irritation. She knew her girlfriend was just trying to support her, and didn't want to eat in front of her, but it was bad enough that she was hungry. Seeing Selura go hungry as well was hard.

"Where do you think we'll end up going?" Neela changed the subject. "There can't be many places for us to hide when we get out of here…"

"No idea," Selura muttered. "But I think we should go back to the Prothean Ruins."

"Why? The archive is dead."

"Maybe we could restore functionality to it. At the very least, we know it is hidden, it has power, it has enough working stasis pods to keep everyone in this infirmary safe, and it may have other bits of working Prothean tech scattered through it."

"You should suggest that to Gradian. It's a good idea," Neela smiled.

"Maybe I will," Selura said softly.

Neela fell silent, watching her girlfriend labor over the new suit. The Alliance armor had all the necessary components for full environmental seals, and while the asari was not a suit craftsman or technician, she was extremely intelligent and capable. Neela was sure that by the time Selura was done, it would be a suit she would be proud to wear. She only hoped that they could stay out of trouble until it was ready for use. While her new vehicle was fine for moving around, it was neither armed nor armored, and she was afraid that she would make an excellent target if the Reapers hit the hospital before evacuation was complete. Selura was in no condition to defend her, which left only the Alliance soldiers and the captain.

"I look forward to actually seeing the captain again," Neela commented when she thought about the former commando. "I hope she is recovering well."

"I am sure she is," Selura smiled, but her gaze remained focused upon her work. "She is a strong woman. And I am sure she will be happy to see and talk to you."

"She was never the conversation type," Neela grinned. "It was always business when we spoke. I'll probably have to turn elsewhere for social interaction."

"Oh? You have someone specific in mind?" Selura asked, seemingly engrossed in her work.

"I don't know," Neela grinned at the asari's feigned disinterest. "There's this one asari I have a bit of a crush on," she confided. "She's a bit too fond of teasing me though. Makes me want to hit her sometimes."

"Goddess, she sounds _awful_," Selura shook her head. "Why would you put up with someone like that?"

"Keelah, I don't know," Neela grinned. "But I must say she's an incredible kisser."

She saw the asari's cheeks darken at the comment, and she gleefully chalked up another success at rendering the girl momentarily speechless with embarrassment. And with her companion momentarily on the defensive, she decided to ask the question that had been on her mind since their first kiss.

"So… where _did_ you learn to kiss like that, anyway?"

Selura cleared her throat and held up the newly-bonded section of weave she had been working on. "How about that? Making great progress, am I not?" she grinned.

"Don't change the subject. I want to know."

"I have no idea what you are talking about. Maybe I have good natural instincts…"

"Or maybe you've had a girlfriend before?" Neela pressed.

"What do you think will be the best way to mold a helmet for you?" Selura continued to try to shift the subject. "Maybe we can find an abandoned craft shop with the ingredients to make plaster molds?"

"Maybe you have another girlfriend _now_?" Neela teased. She was pretty sure Selura wouldn't do that.

"Of course not, Celia," the asari was quick to answer. "You are the only girl I love."

"Celia? Who is Celia?"

"I said 'Neela'. I don't know anyone named Celia," Selura looked up, and the corner of her lips curled in the mischievous grin Neela knew so well. The asari was teasing her.

"I'm going to hurt you," Neela warned.

"Not while you are locked in there," the asari giggled, tapping on the glass.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" Neela shook her head. She had asked the question out of a mixture of curiosity and seeing the opportunity to tease her, and she knew that Selura's evasiveness was mostly intended to tease back. But the asari's playful evasiveness now had her wondering if Selura had been involved in a serious relationship in the past. She supposed it didn't really matter, but she would have liked to know.

"You did not answer my question either," Selura pointed out.

"Which question?"

"What do you think will be the best way to mold a helmet for you?"

Neela smiled. She didn't have any good ideas to answer that particular question, but she was glad that Selura was already thinking about it. She was sure that one way or another, the asari would manage to get it all done. She just wished she could help. The sooner she was out of her new chariot, the better. But then, even if the suit was finished tomorrow, it would still be a couple weeks before she could walk on her ankle…

For the moment, she decided to drop the subject of Selura's proficiency with kissing. She was sure that eventually, the time would be right to discuss it more seriously.

* * *

**Fourth Floor, Fulton's Folly…**

Illitha trained her pistol upon the far end of the darkened hallway, watching for any sign of strange visual anomalies while Rachel moved back and forth across the corridor, triggering each of the doors and briefly scanning the rooms beyond from the doorways. Since they both had access to night vision, they had opted not to engage the lights throughout the fourth level of the structure. Illitha was of the opinion that they stood a better chance of sneaking up on the salarians if they didn't announce their presence on that floor by turning on all the lights.

When Rachel reached the junction at the end of the corridor, she waved Illitha forward. The asari left her spot next to the wall and hurried to join the blonde, bringing their chair with her. Since ascending to this floor, they'd seen no sign of any traps or hacked doors, but they were still making a point of throwing the chair through any doorway or archway they meant to pass through, just as a precaution. Their task of finding a way into the main security system or the facility mainframe had ground to a halt, because they needed to first find a promising access point.

"Which way?" Rachel whispered the question.

Illitha looked right and left, but both branches in the junction looked more or less identical. She supposed one was just as good as the other.

"Left," she finally announced, and set off down the corridor while Rachel covered her.

Most of the doors, Illitha had noticed, held a letter and number designation. She was looking forward to accessing the facility schematics so that she could find out what the various rooms were used for. She triggered each one she passed, pausing in the doorway as Rachel had done in the previous corridor, warily scanning the interior of each room for signs of an active tactical cloak. Like the other areas they had explored, however, there were no signs of activity that she could see. She was beginning to think the salarians hadn't yet ascended to this level of the facility.

She reached the end of the corridor, where the hallway turned and continued in a new direction, and she triggered the final door, peering inside. The room looked like a workshop of some kind, filled with tables that were covered with bits of tech, computer terminals, and half-finished projects of all sorts. Her inner engineer was eagerly prodding her to go inside and have a look around. If there was a room in the facility in which she could find something useful, this would be the one. She waved Rachel forward.

"Give me that chair," Illitha hissed as the blonde approached.

Rachel handed it over, and Illitha took a few steps back, tossing the piece of furniture through the door. A thunderous explosion answered the sudden entry, causing Illitha and Rachel both to stumble backward. Illitha's ears were ringing, but neither of them had been injured by the blast. Like most of the others they'd witnessed on the floor below, the charge had been set on the inside of the doorframe, so the explosive force had mostly been directed inward.

"Well, I guess they've been up here," Rachel murmured.

"I want to search through this room," Illitha whispered. "There is a lot of tech in here. Maybe some of it is useful."

"I'll cover the door," Rachel offered, slowly stepping through the blackened archway and settling herself behind a desk with a clear view of the doorway.

Illitha worked quickly to clear the rest of the room, grabbing chairs from behind desks and hurling them down the aisles between work stations. It seemed prudent to make sure the room was clear of any other explosive surprises before she lost herself in examining the work that had been going on in the chamber. Once she was satisfied that there were no further proximity mines present, she activated a terminal and started searching through the recent entries for information on the projects in the room.

"Deep Six Protocol," she murmured aloud as she read through the log detailing recent activity. Whatever the protocol did, it had been activated less than two hours earlier. Since then, someone had accessed the terminal and run the same sort of search she was now running. But it seemed as though large sections of the data on the terminal had been deleted.

"Anything?" Rachel hissed.

"Something called 'Deep Six Protocol' was run on this terminal. I am guessing it was an emergency purge of sensitive data from the system to keep it out of enemy hands. Someone accessed the terminal since, but there is nothing useful left on here."

Illitha deactivated the terminal and quickly looked through the tech that was lying on the table, and then moved on to the next. Every terminal she searched had been purged by the same protocol, however, leading her to believe that when the shooting had started, anyone that had been working in this room had immediately activated their security protocols to protect their data. She was about to abandon her search of the room when she spotted a metallic orb, about the size of a softball, sitting in a tray on the workstation she had just finished accessing. For some reason, it caught her eye. She ran a quick scan of the device with her omni-tool, and found a sensor suite and a secure communications uplink installed in the sphere. So she took a moment to hack the device and link it to her omni-tool. She was wondering if perhaps it was a miniature recon drone of some kind, or a new kind of sentry turret.

When she managed to break the security subroutines and download the operational software from the device, the orb suddenly snapped open at its sides and sprouted legs, blossoming into something very much resembling a four-legged metallic insect. Illitha quickly scanned through the newly-installed data on her omni-tool, and found herself grinning at her discovery. It was an experimental drone of some kind, intended for simple infiltration and fire support. She found a remote camera option, and when she activated it, the holographic display on her omni-tool suddenly filled with her own image, from the point of view of the drone.

"Nice," Rachel commented as she came over to investigate. "A spy drone?"

"So it would seem," Illitha nodded. "According to the software, it has a two-kilometer transmission range, and can tap into local communications systems to extend its operational distance. It has a kinetic barrier and can be uploaded with omni-based combat software. And obviously, I can remotely view whatever it sees."

"So it can function like a combat drone, or a scout," Rachel nodded. "This thing could be useful."

Illitha nodded and uploaded her incineration program to the drone. If she was reading the operational information correctly, the drone would now be able to fire incineration bursts at targets designated as enemies. With the drone armed, she decided to see what sort of use she could make of it. She activated the drone's infiltration routines and sent it off to scout the opposite end of the corridor they had just finished searching. The moment the drone had its instructions, it leapt directly upward, turning over in midair and clinging to the ceiling. Illitha's brows rose. She was assuming that it was using magnetic points of contact or perhaps mass effect fields to enable it to travel on sheer surfaces. The drone scuttled across the ceiling with remarkable silence, scurrying through the door and disappearing. Illitha's eyes turned to the display on her omni-tool, where she could view everything the drone saw.

"I think I like this thing," she announced with a smile.

"Well, let it do its job, and we should keep doing ours," Rachel suggested, gesturing toward the door.

Illitha nodded. They still needed to find an access point for the station systems. The sooner they did so, the sooner they could take the pressure off of the rest of the team on the level below.

* * *

**Reaper Facility, Southern Scott…**

_Aida watched in stunned silence as the Alliance and Reaper forces clashed in the streets below. The Reapers were an unstoppable horde, and slowly drove the Alliance soldiers from position after position, until the entire Alliance line was engaged in a fighting retreat. She intently surveyed the scene for some sign of her friends among the battle, wondering where everyone had ended up. It was only after long moments of frantic searching that she finally spotted a blue face among the crowds below. She turned and ran for the stairs of the old building that she was perched upon, hurrying for the ground floor so that she could reach Illitha before the engineer was too far from where she'd spotted her._

_She dashed through the ruins of the buildings, and eventually found her best friend crouched amongst the shattered walls of a collapsed structure, firing upon Reaper troops with a pistol. The last cannibal fell to Illitha's gunfire just as Aida reached her. She tapped her friend upon the shoulder, and the asari whirled around in alarm, raising her pistol. She was quick to drop the weapon to her side, however, when she saw Aida's face._

_"Aida!" the petite asari cried, throwing her arms around her._

_Aida hugged her best friend fiercely, glad to finally have reunited with her. The young engineer was in tears as they clung to each other, and Aida's own cheeks were wet. They might have spent a lot more time in that embrace, were it not for the resounding rumble of a Reaper stomping toward their position. Most of the Alliance troops had continued to fall back, leaving them vulnerable to being surrounded._

_"We need to go," Aida urged._

_The young engineer nodded, and the two of them set off in the opposite direction from the Reaper, keeping under cover as much as possible. As they traveled through the ruins, they encountered more members of their group… They found Prathus, bludgeoning a fallen Reaper turian with the butt of his rifle. Captain Nisaria saved them from a brute by slamming into the thing with a biotic charge. Selura and Neela were together when they found the pair, fighting off a horde of husks. Aida felt infinitely better once their entire crew was together again._

_"We need to get out of here," Captain Nisaria urged. "I know where we can find a ship to get us off world. We should return to Thessia."_

_"We cannot leave," Illitha protested. "The people here need us. We can help!"_

_Aida understood why her friend was so eager to help the people of Terra Nova, but in her view, the captain was right. They needed to get off world. They had their own homes and their own families to worry about. It was pointless to stay and fight the Reapers here._

_"We need to go, Lith," Aida urged her friend. "The humans can fight for themselves. I need to find my family. You need to find yours. These people are strangers…"_

_"They are _people_," Illitha frowned. "We cannot abandon them."_

_"They are wrong to fight the Reapers," the captain shook her head. "If we do not resist them, they have no reason to destroy us. Fighting them will only get us all killed."_

_Aida spotted a large group of husks passing by, and she and the others quickly ducked for cover… all except Illitha, who took aim with her pistol._

_"Lith, stop!" Aida hissed. "Do not draw their attention!"_

_"We cannot just let the Reapers win," Illitha shook her head._

_Aida darted out of cover. There were too many husks. If Illitha started shooting, they would all be overrun. She tried to grab the pistol from her best friend's hands, but Illitha stubbornly held onto the weapon. The young engineer was shouting about how they couldn't let the Reapers win. They had to fight. Aida tried to quiet her, and the captain and Prathus hurried over to help. But before they could reach the struggling pair, there was a single gunshot. Illitha's eyes went wide, and Aida stared at the shocked and hurt look upon her best friend's face in confusion. Her eyes slowly dropped to the weapon in her hands, the barrel of which was pressed against Illitha's stomach._

_She saw the rapidly-expanding bloodstain upon the engineer's shirt, and a horrified realization dawned._

_She had just killed her best friend…_

Aida sat up with a cry, only to have the sudden movement wrench a second cry from her lips. Her whole body was throbbing, but the pain was worst in her back. She stared at the dark walls around her, illuminated only by a dim red light from above, struggling to bring her surroundings into focus. She could feel the stickiness of drying blood upon the side of her face, and she raised a hand to her head, probing her scalp crests gingerly. Sure enough, she found a cut on her scalp. The bleeding had stopped, but such wounds tended to bleed profusely when they occurred, as evidenced by the blood that coated the left side of her head.

_Why did they leave me alive?_

The medic sighed. Of course she wanted to live, but she didn't want to endure her injuries for a couple days only to then be executed by the Reapers. She would have much rather been killed on the spot for causing trouble. Unfortunately, it seemed that fate had other ideas in store for her. Her thoughts returned to the awful dream she had just experienced, and she saw once again the shocked look of betrayal on her best friend's face. She closed her eyes and shook her head.

She would _never_ kill her best friend. She knew that. But would this war really come to such a horrible point? Where her best friend… the sweetest person she had ever known… might be killed because of the Reapers? The thought saddened her beyond all measure. She carefully settled her back against one of the walls of the windowless cell that was apparently now her home, trying to dispel the image of her friend's shocked expression from her mind.

The sounds around her didn't help. She could hear muffled cries, distant screams, the wailing of terrified children… She drew her knees up to her chest and started humming, desperately trying to block out the sounds of misery and concentrate on something else. _Anything_ else.

_Goddess_, she prayed. _Please let there be an Alliance rescue in the works. Please get me out of here…_

* * *

**Third Floor, Fulton's Folly…**

Prathus heard the rhythmic clank of approaching footsteps long before their enemy stepped into view. He and Zaeed immediately took cover behind a pair of desks in the office area, training their weapons upon the door at the far end of the room. The two marines did the same, and within moments, there was a veritable firing squad awaiting the arrival of the approaching force. Within moments, a Loki mech strode through the door with a pistol in hand. Prathus resisted the urge to laugh at the sight. Even when others shambled into the room on the heels of the first, he wasn't particularly worried.

"Loki mechs?" Zaeed snorted from nearby. "Where'd they dig up those things?"

"Target acquired," the synthetic voice of the lead mech announced, and the mechs opened fire.

Prathus responded with return fire, as did the others in the room. The commotion was over in seconds. The combined firepower of their team was more than enough to quickly reduce the mechs to piles of twisted metal. Prathus was the first to leave cover, quickly crossing the room to make sure none of the Lokis was still operational. He put a bullet through the head of the only one he found that still had intact arms, just to be sure it was no longer a threat.

_Not that it really was to begin with,_ he added with a shake of his head.

"They must be getting desperate," Benner suggested. "The Alliance doesn't use Loki mechs. These things must have been left over from when this was a mine."

"We've certainly encountered enough proximity mines," Walton pointed out. "Maybe they've finally run out."

"Or at least are running low enough that they'll save them for better opportunities," Prathus nodded.

"Let's keep moving," Zaeed muttered. "Still got a lot of ground to cover."

They all started toward the door, but just when they were drawing close, the portal suddenly slammed shut and locked. Prathus activated his omni-tool to make an attempt at hacking the door's lock since they were now without any actual engineers, but no sooner had he activated his omni than the door's lock suddenly turned green and the door opened.

"That was fast," Benner muttered.

"It wasn't me," Prathus shook his head.

The portal closed again, and the lock reengaged.

"What the hell…" Prathus growled. Even as he watched, the door's trigger mechanism turned green, then red, then alternated back and forth several more times.

"I guess this means your asari friend has managed to get into the security system," Zaeed suggested. "Looks like a digital tug of war to me…"

Prathus nodded. It was clear to him that there were two people working to override one another's control over the door. But until someone had a clear upper hand, they couldn't proceed. He glanced at Zaeed, and saw the impatience in the mercenary's eyes. They were both becoming more than a little irritated by the constant delays in their pursuit. He was sure there wasn't much area left on this floor that they hadn't searched, and was eager to find Golash and deal with him.

The door finally opened once again and remained that way. Prathus quickly stepped through, followed by Zaeed and the other members of the team. Just as he was stepping into the hallway beyond the door, however, a ping from his omni-tool alerted him to an incoming message. He hit the trigger for the first door in the corridor, taking cover in the doorway before activating his omni.

"_Prathus? D-Do you read me?_" Illitha's distorted voice greeted him.

"Barely, T'Zari. Good work with the door."

"_I am uploading a schematic for the facility to your-"_ the transmission cut out briefly. _"-think I have found where the remaining survivors might be located. I have updated your map with a nav-" _the signal faded again. "_-has been disabled there. The salarians would not have been able to override it."_

Prathus activated the map that Illitha sent to his omni-tool, scanning the schematic for the facility. He had been correct about the percentage of the facility that still needed to be searched. By his estimate, there was one small wing ahead of them, and then the floor above. But the nav-point that Illitha had sent along highlighted a room that the schematic labeled as the 'coring room'. It was a short distance from their current position, adjacent to another shuttle bay.

"We copy, T'Zari," Prathus assured her. "We'll get there and check it out. Watch your back."

_"I am trying to contact anyone who may be alive in there, but-_" the transmission faded into digital distortion, "_-will continue to try."_

Prathus disengaged his omni-tool after uploading the schematics to the remainder of the team. Then he raised his rifle and set off down the corridor, taking the lead in reaching their destination. They couldn't afford to bypass rooms without checking them, so they continued to perform quick searches of the chambers flanking the hallway, but now that they had a specific destination, Prathus felt like they were being much more productive.

The second shuttle bay was just around the corner from the coring room, but to their disappointment, it was empty when they opened the door and looked inside. Prathus frowned at the sight. He'd been hoping that there might be more shuttles waiting for them there. Now their only hope was that McSween would find a way to detect the explosives in the first bay so that they could use the Alliance shuttle for transport when they departed.

"Come on," Zaeed nudged him. "We're almost there."

When they rounded the final corner along their path and the massive blast door with the words 'coring room' painted upon its surface came into view, the turian smiled in satisfaction. He was guessing from the intact portions of Illitha's message that the door's controls had been disabled, but it would only be a matter of time before they could repair the door's interface; the door was far too massive to try cutting through. He was just starting toward the door when he saw a dark object hit the ground in his path and then leap into the air.

"Sentry turret!" he shouted a warning, scrambling away from the device.

The sounds of gunfire filled the corridor, and the four of them retreated toward the turn in the hallway. They were forced to take cover behind the supports that lined the tunnel, as there was nothing else to use for concealment. Prathus took cover at the corner they had just rounded, ignoring the sentry turret for the moment and looking instead for any sign of who had thrown it. He hadn't seen which direction the object had come from. He had only seen it hit the ground.

A resounding shot rang out over the cacophony of assault rifle fire as the turian was looking around, and Prathus saw Walton, who had taken cover behind a support opposite him, collapse against the wall. The man was bleeding profusely from a neck wound. From the position of the wound and where the man had taken cover, he realized immediately that the shooter hadn't been ahead of them. He whirled around and scanned the hallway behind him, and spotted a vague, almost unnoticeable shimmer darting across the hall at the far end of the corridor from which they'd come.

"Sniper!" he heard Zaeed warn.

The two of them fired upon their enemy at the far end of the hallway while Benner worked to deal with the sentry turret. Prathus saw a flash when their enemy took another shot, and much to his surprise, the round sheared cleanly through the metal of the support he was using as cover, impacting with his shield. A second shot followed an instant later, and he dove into the open when the shot collapsed his shield and buried itself in the wall an inch from his head. A third shot tore through the collar of his armor as if it was made of paper, but fortunately for him, the bullet didn't actually strike flesh. It had passed right in front of his throat.

Zaeed fired upon their enemy to give him time to scramble for new cover, but cover was difficult to find with a sentry turret covering the hallway ahead and an enemy shooting at them from behind. To insulate himself against one of them, he was exposed to the other. He pressed close to the wall behind another support in the hallway, hoping that Benner would bring down the sentry turret soon so that they could have a little breathing room.

"Bastard's armed with a Black Widow," Zaeed muttered. "I'd recognize the echo of that thing anywhere."

"We have to keep pressure on him until his sentry turret is dealt with," Prathus urged, leaning out and firing a quick burst toward their foe. He caught a brief glimpse of the salarian… a helmeted figure in bronze-colored armor, but the shimmer of a tactical cloak reengaging prevented him from getting a clearer look. Even though he knew right where the salarian was when his cloak engaged, he quickly lost sight of him. It was frustrating.

"He's withdrawing!" Zaeed called out. "I saw him go 'round the corner!"

"Let's get on his tail then," Prathus hissed, leaving his cover behind and limping toward the far end of the corridor as fast as he could manage.

Prathus heard Zaeed telling Benner to deal with the sentry turret and secure the coring room, and then the mercenary's bootfalls were right on his heels. It was dangerous to follow any of these salarians with such a small group, given the tactical cloak and their demonstrated advancements in technology, but he refused to see them slip from his grasp now.

When he reached the corner at the end of the hallway, he briefly leaned out to see if he could spot their quarry. His appearance was answered with an immediate gunshot, which struck the metal of the wall right next to his head. Fortunately for the turian, while the round bit deeply into the plating, it didn't pass all the way through. He quickly ducked back, and then darted across the hallway, drawing two more shots from his opponent.

_It's only a matter of time, you bastard_, he thought to himself as he leaned out and sprayed the corridor ahead with bullets. _Sooner or later, we'll corner you. So just keep stopping to shoot at me._

* * *

**Resort Hospital, Mivian Heights…**

Julisa limped down the hallway outside of her room, looking for some sign of the lieutenant in charge of the facility. The evacuation order was in full swing now, and the few sentries in the building were hastily packing supplies in crates, filling bottles with filtered water from the building's faucets, rigging up the stasis pods with portable power units for transportation of the critically-injured patients, and so forth. The former commando was doing what she could to help, but given her injuries, her usefulness was limited. While the ten days since she had regained consciousness had provided her with some time to heal and she was fairly mobile thanks to the support brace on her leg, she was still in no condition for heavy lifting.

"Where is Gradian?" she asked one of the guards as she passed him.

The young man was loaded down with an armful of water bottles, and he just nodded his head toward a nearby door and continued on his way. Julisa headed for the indicated door, and found the lieutenant inside, hurriedly stuffing a few spare pistols and a bunch of thermal clips into a canvas bag. The room had been serving as a supply room, it seemed, as a number of tables were pushed up against the walls and all sorts of containers and tech were neatly laid out upon them.

"Give me one of those pistols," she demanded without preamble. She knew that the recoil of firing a pistol would be painful with fractured ribs, but she might not have a choice if the Reapers attacked again.

Gradian never argued. He simply reached into the bag and handed the weapon over, then went back to stuffing things into the sack. Julisa quickly surveyed the room for anything that looked useful, finally spotting a dirt-crusted rifle of some kind. She picked it up and turned it over in her hands. She'd never seen anything quite like it.

"Where did you get this?" she asked.

"Someone said your turian brought it in," Gradian shrugged. "Doesn't work though."

"If I did not know better, I might say this is Prothean," Julisa said softly. It seemed to be built from materials reminiscent of some of the artifacts she'd seen in museums on Thessia. She set the weapon down and activated her omni-tool, looking for an access port where she might be able to get to the inner workings of the device. The Protheans had constructed some of the greatest examples of technology ever discovered, and she had to believe that having a working Prothean rifle could be an asset.

"Sir," a voice from the doorway interrupted any further conversation.

"Report," Gradian said without turning around.

"We have the decontamination system transferred to the quarian's buggy," the human at the door announced. "We're ready to evacuate. I don't think we can carry much more. Especially not with the injured on hand."

"Where is my pilot?" Julisa turned to face the young soldier.

"Waiting near the front entrance."

Julisa nodded and turned back to her work. She was eager to see the quarian and confirm that she was recovering well, but she wanted to devote just a few more moments to her efforts to get the Prothean rifle working. As a former commando, she was intimately familiar with rifles in almost all forms. With an access panel discovered and now removed, she looked at the interior components, and saw no signs of corrosion or damage. She also saw no signs of ammunition, and assumed from the array of emitters lined through the length of the rifle that it was an energy weapon of some kind. If so, it was a fortunate turn of chance for her, since an energy weapon wouldn't have much kick, and thus it might be easier for her to use while injured.

She finally decided to tap the power systems of her omni-tool into the weapon's power cell, to see if she could jumpstart its internal battery. The drain on her omni-tool was significant, but much to her delight, a soft green glow started in the weapon's power cell and then spread through the line of emitters. She snapped the access panel back into place. The Protheans constructed their technology to last, it seemed. She was eager to test the rifle and see if it worked, but with no idea what it would do, she didn't want to fire it at a wall. She would wait for an enemy target.

"I don't want you carrying more than you can handle in your condition," Gradian addressed her, "but please, take as much as you can comfortably carry. We move in five," he added.

Julisa nodded and grabbed a small case from one of the tables, stuffing a few datapads, some rations, and anything else that looked particularly vital into the interior. Then she tucked the rifle under her arm and limped from the room, setting off in search of the human doctor. She finally found the woman in the pool area, overseeing the loading of patients onto a series of makeshift motorized beds. The Alliance engineers had clearly been hard at work, cobbling together tech for the evacuation. The beds in question held two patients each, one atop the other, like compact bunk beds, but didn't even have proper tires. Instead, their wheels had been carved from wood. She gave the humans credit for improvisation.

"Doctor," she called to the woman. "Where is my armor?"

"Your armor?" the human repeated.

"I was wearing it aboard my ship when I lost consciousness," Julisa nodded. "What was done with it after you removed it for my surgery?"

"You weren't wearing any in the stasis pod. Your crew had stabilized you before putting you into stasis. I imagine they left it on your ship."

Julisa frowned. She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised, but she had hoped that her armor had made the trip with her. She nodded and turned away from the human woman, leaving her to her work. It was time to go and join her pilot at the front entrance. She was eager to see Neela, though perhaps less so to see the scientist she knew would be with her.

When she strode into the lobby of the resort building, she found the majority of the sentries and patients already gathered there, waiting for the orders to move. Neela's buggy was positioned in front of the doors, and Selura stood beside it, conversing with the quarian. The captain's eyes went to the slender figure inside of the glass conveyance, however, and her lips curled in a rare smile at the sight. Neela was wearing a brace on one ankle, but otherwise looked none the worse for wear. She walked over to the pair, studying the quarian through the glass as she approached.

This wasn't the first time she had seen a quarian without the suit. It had only been about three hundred years, after all, since the quarians had a planet of their own. Julisa had been to Rannoch once in the years prior to the Geth rebellion. In looking at her young pilot now, however, she remembered how beautiful she'd thought the quarian people were back then. She'd all but forgotten what Neela's people looked like under those suits.

"How are you feeling, Neela?" she asked, drawing the quarian's attention for the first time.

"Captain!" Neela grinned at her, pressing the palm of her hand against the glass that separated them.

Julisa reached out and pressed her hand against the opposite side of the glass, smiling at the pilot. Her gaze transferred to the young scientist, Selura, and she nodded a greeting to her as well. "Selura," she murmured. "I understand I have your company's technology to thank for saving my life."

"It was not my idea," Selura shook her head. "Neela was the one that thought of using it to save you," the scientist smiled at the quarian.

"Only because Selura shared her information with me," Neela protested. "I'm glad you're okay, Captain."

"I am glad that _you_ are well," the former commando countered. "Your condition when I first woke was not promising. I am glad you managed to fight your way back to health."

"Me too," Selura was quick to add.

Julisa glanced up at the young scientist, who was gazing adoringly at the quarian. She still wanted to have a few words with the younger asari about her intentions toward Neela, but this didn't seem to be the time or place for that sort of discussion.

"Captain, what is our plan after the evacuation?"

"We need to find the rest of the crew," Julisa didn't hesitate to inform them. "While I hate to leave these men and women after all they have done for us, my first priority has to be the recovery of my people."

"But… we're in no condition to wander the countryside looking for them," Neela protested. "Selura had a good idea to get us started. Maybe you could talk to Gradian about it…"

"What idea?" Julisa's gaze fixed upon the scientist.

"Well," the asari shrugged, "I was just thinking that the Prothean ruin is not far from here. We already know the layout of the upper level. The ruin is underground and remote. If we fell back to it and set up a new headquarters there, it would give us a staging point for whatever came next."

"That is a good idea," Julisa nodded. "I assume that the ruin is where Prathus found this rifle too. Perhaps there is an armory somewhere in the facility."

"And maybe I could get the archive operational again," Selura added. "I can promise nothing, given the thorough work that the nanites did on Neela's suit, but if I could get it working, the Prothean VI might be able to give us information that could help us beat the Reapers…"

"Prothean VI?" Julisa repeated. "You saw a working Prothean VI?"

"I talked to it," Selura nodded. "It gave me the information that Salik wanted," she frowned.

"What information was he after?"

"A signal analysis. Some sort of indoctrination control signal," Selura answered. "Cerberus's troopers are implanted with Reaper tech. I think they were looking for a way to prevent the Reapers from controlling them. The VI said that with sufficient time and research, a countermeasure might be developed… Salik is indoctrinated. Maybe he was trying to determine how Cerberus planned to break the hold of the Reapers."

"The salarian is indoctrinated? You are sure?" Julisa asked.

"The Prothean VI said it detected an indoctrinated presence right before the bastard shot me," she nodded.

Julisa was silent for several moments, trying to digest this information. Aida hadn't been able to tell her much about what happened at the Prothean ruin. This was the first she'd heard of most of it. But it still seemed clear to her that their best bet might very well be to head for the Prothean ruin. With any luck, they could get the archive running again, and she could speak to this Prothean VI herself.

"We will be moving out at any moment," she told the pair. "I will go find Lieutenant Gradian and see what he has to say about your idea. I think it might be worth checking out."

"Thank you, Captain," Neela smiled.

Julisa turned and limped off in search of the human. Unless the lieutenant had a better destination in mind, she was sure he would agree with the young scientist's idea. A hidden ruin was a promising possibility for setting up a new base of operations. Then it would just be a matter of hunting down the rest of her crew.

Unfortunately, with no idea where any of them had gone, she knew that the search would be time consuming. And there was still the matter of transporting all of the injured patients out of the gorge and getting them as far as the ruins. Hopefully their luck would hold for the time being…

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: I must say, as I do every Chapter, how much I appreciate everyone who has read, commented, favorited/followed or otherwise given any attention at all to this story. If the numbers are any indication, I seem to pick up several new readers who have read every Chapter each month, and have several wonderful readers who have been with me from the beginning. Whether you're new to the story or have been following for a while, it really makes me happy to know I can entertain you all. So thanks go out to all of you for the support. I can't say it enough. :)**

**I don't have a lot to say about this Chapter other than to mention the Prothean Particle Rifle. A certain reader PMed me about it last Chapter, asking what happened to it. Well, now you know! Even though it was Prathus that originally found it, I always had other intentions for its use, and finally, at long last, they are coming into play. It's so hard sometimes to set things up that don't come to fruition for another 15 Chapters! But I hope I'm doing a good job of getting to all the seemingly loose ends... eventually.**

**Barring any disasters in my life, the next Chapter will go up Saturday morning. So until then, I hope everyone has a great week!**


	44. Chapter 44: Outmaneuvered

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Forty-four: Outmaneuvered

.

**Fulton's Folly, Third Floor…**

A resounding clang erupted from the surface right next to Zaeed's head as a result of a bullet impact, and he reflexively jerked away from the noise, leaping and rolling to the opposite side of the corridor. The motion drew two more shots in rapid succession, each of which missed him by only a hairsbreadth. Even as the mercenary moved, however, Prathus lobbed a grenade down the hall to the far corner. The turian was doing his best to give him a moment to find new cover, and Zaeed ducked into a doorway just as the thunderous detonation of the grenade rolled up and down the corridor. They had doggedly remained on the trail of the salarian sniper, following vague blurs and barely-heard footsteps. Each of them had wasted several grenades; any time they threw one, the salarian simply started running again. Fortunately for them, their quarry stopped frequently to take a few more shots at them, or they might have lost track of him by now. However, the longer the chase went on, the more Zaeed's instincts warned him that they needed to break off pursuit.

"He went through the door on the right," Prathus announced, leaving his cover behind and starting down the hallway.

"I think we need to let this go," Zaeed grumbled. He took up a position behind and to Prathus's right, covering the other doorways ahead of them.

"Yeah," the turian muttered. "I've been starting to think the same thing. He could have lost us easily by now. We're being baited."

"Glad we agree," Zaeed nodded.

"But we left McSween at that shuttle bay up ahead," Prathus pointed out. "If we don't warn him, he may never see the sniper coming."

Zaeed activated his omni-tool and opened a comm channel to the engineer, but the signal was distorted beyond use. He glanced at Prathus, who activated his own omni and performed a quick signal analysis.

"This isn't the Reaper jamming signal," the turian shook his head. "This interference is internal to the complex."

"Salik," Zaeed guessed. "He's trying to keep us cut off from one another. If we can't warn McSween by radio, let's cut straight ahead to his position," Zaeed suggested. "Stop following this salarian bastard and get ahead of him."

Zaeed saw the turian nod, and the two of them paused at the doorway through which the salarian had disappeared, quickly scanning the room beyond for signs of the sniper. Seeing nothing at a glance, Zaeed hit the trigger to close the door, and the two of them pressed on down the corridor, heading for the end of the hall, where the rooms connected to their destination. Prathus paused beside one of the doorways and motioned for Zaeed to take the lead.

The veteran mercenary stepped through the door and quickly swept his weapon across the room, looking for signs of danger. They had already been through all of these rooms, so he was hoping that Salik and his friends hadn't had time to go back through them and set up some proximity mines behind them. They didn't have time to pause at every door to check them for booby traps if they wanted to reach McSween before their enemies did. He just hoped that if any of the doors _was_ trapped with explosives, his armor and kinetic shielding would be enough to save him.

They cut through several rooms, until they emerged into a conference room adjacent to the corridor where McSween would be waiting. The conference room was dominated by a large central table, and was separated from an identical room next door by a glass wall. Movement on the other side of that wall immediately caught Zaeed's attention; Salik was standing with his back to them, facing an active bank of terminals built into the conference table in the next room. His omni-tool was active, and he was busily tapping away at the holographic keys.

Zaeed and Prathus both raised their weapons and fired, apparently coming to the same conclusion: Giving the salarian any warning was too dangerous. However, the bullets from both of their weapons impacted against the glass and were stopped dead. The material was thick and impact-resistant, like many transparent surfaces in military installations. The salarian never even lifted his head, but his voice issued through an intercom into the room.

"Disappointed in you, Zaeed," the salarian announced. "Was under the impression that I was your employer. Yet despite the implications of such an arrangement, you failed to terminate the turian as instructed. Can only assume you instead seized the opportunity to eliminate the vorcha."

"I'm not a fan of double-crossing allies," Zaeed muttered. Prathus was rushing for the door at the far side of the room, but the mercenary noted that the trigger panels to all of the exits from their room had turned red.

"Failure to anticipate that reaction was foolish on my part. You even informed me as to the circumstances under which your employment to Cerberus ended. Would your willingness to deal with the turian have increased had you known that the asari betrayed us first?"

"You're a liar," Prathus spat, pounding his fist upon the door in anger when it refused to open.

"Deception has served my goals in the past, but on this matter, it is an unnecessary embellishment. The asari encrypted the data recovered as part of our agreement. And to great effect, I must add," the salarian finally turned to face them, regarding them through the impact-scarred glass. "Her improvised security input has proven remarkably difficult to breach."

"Since you shot her the moment you had the data, you had it coming," Prathus growled.

"Indeed. Prematurely terminating the asari may have resulted in unintended complications. However, your presence here is an additional irritant that should never have come to pass. Mistakes. Never would have made them a few years past."

"What do you want, Salik?" Zaeed demanded, growing tired of what seemed to be a pointless conversation. It seemed more like a delaying tactic.

"Your services were appreciated, human," the salarian regarded him calmly. "Worth every credit spent to secure them. Wanted to offer you a chance to return to the victorious side in this war. Terminate the turian now, and my colleagues and I will welcome you into our team. Would vastly prefer to have you as an ally. The Reapers have all but conquered Terra Nova. Siding with the doomed is a foolish decision."

"And if I refuse?" Zaeed glanced at Prathus, who was regarding him warily.

"Now that I have confined you both to a single chamber, executing the pair of you will be simple. You have the intelligence to adapt and survive, Massani. Take the opportunity to return to my employ."

"Go to hell," Zaeed growled. "If you really believe siding with the Reapers is going to end well for you, you've lost your goddamn mind."

"And you'll have to open these doors to kill us," Prathus added. "When you do-"

With greater speed than Zaeed would have ever expected from the salarian, Salik grabbed his Carnifex from the maglock at his hip and raised the weapon, firing two shots that cleanly sheared through the glass. Zaeed saw the turian stagger backward and hit the deck, and he immediately went into motion, sliding across the table between his position and where Prathus fell. Several more shots rang out, one of which was deflected by his shield as he landed beside the turian. He grabbed the collar of the turian's armor and dragged him behind the conference table and out of the line of fire. It was apparent to the veteran mercenary that Prathus had forgotten about Salik's armor-piercing ammo mods.

"Underestimating an intelligent enemy is a mistake unworthy of an experienced soldier or mercenary," Salik commented. "Will return to deal with the two of you shortly. In the meantime, since the two veteran combatants in the facility are now neutralized by confinement, it seems the time has come to eliminate the remaining Alliance forces and the cowardly asari."

"This isn't over, Salik," Zaeed warned as he examined the turian. Fortunately, Prathus was conscious and didn't seem to be seriously injured. There was a hole in his armor at the shoulder, but judging from the position of it, Zaeed was sure it would be a minor wound, and perhaps only a graze.

"I'm fine," the turian assured him. "My barrier absorbed most of the impact. It's just a flesh wound."

"We've got to get out of here," Zaeed hissed. "McSween has no idea what's coming, and the asari and her friend are alone on the upper floor somewhere."

"Would all of our grenades combined breach one of these doors?" Prathus asked as he struggled to his feet.

"Not a chance," Zaeed shook his head. "They're reinforced security doors. But they might be enough to shatter that security glass…"

"Then we'll blast our way out," the turian pulled out a pair of grenades and peered over the tabletop.

Zaeed risked a quick look as well, and noted that the salarian had left the adjacent room. Prathus clicked the activation triggers on both grenades and rolled them across the floor to a spot within inches of the glass. Both of them took cover and waited.

The explosion was deafening in the confines of the sealed room, but mixed in with the ringing in his ears, Zaeed could hear the crystalline sound of the security glass scattering across the floor. When he raised his head and took a look, he was pleased to see that a significant portion of the barrier had been shattered by the force of the explosion. However, though they'd successfully gained access to the second conference room, which was a mirror image of the first, he wasn't getting excited yet. He sincerely doubted that Salik would have lacked the foresight to consider their plan. He was almost sure that the salarian would have hacked the locks on the other room as well to be sure they were contained.

Judging from the way Prathus started swearing when he limped his way over and got a look at the holographic trigger to the door, he wasn't wrong. The turian activated his omni-tool, apparently trying to hack the lock. Given Prathus's free admission that hacking was not his forte, however, Zaeed frowned at the sight. It looked like they might be there for a while.

* * *

**Gorge Trail, Mivian Heights…**

Julisa hobbled slowly along the trail through the mist that shrouded the bottom of the gorge, with the Prothean rifle at the ready. She was flanked on both sides by human soldiers, as the three of them were acting as scouts to lead the others out of the gorge. They had too many wounded to transport, and couldn't afford to stumble into enemy lines with the injured close at hand. No one had been very happy with Julisa's insistence on being part of the scouting line, but she was by far the most experienced combatant in the entire group, and she'd refused to be dissuaded. She was injured, true, but if she resisted the instinct to use her biotics and concentrated on the rifle alone, she was sure she wouldn't aggravate her wounds any.

The silence in the gorge was oppressive. The lingering mists from the geothermal vents and the surrounding foliage seemed to swallow all sound, and the heat that permeated the area was even more oppressive than the high temperatures that seemed to dominate the planet naturally. Julisa tested every step she took with care, making certain not to make any noise that might give away their position to enemies lingering in the area.

The human on her right suddenly twisted to his side and raised his weapon, freezing in position. Julisa followed his gaze, peering intently into the fog, looking for some sign of movement. She saw nothing for several moments, and the human slowly lowered his rifle. Julisa was slower to relax, however, as her instincts told her there was an enemy lurking nearby. When she finally spotted a bloated, bipedal shadow moving in the mist, her finger immediately tightened upon the trigger of her rifle.

A green beam leapt from the barrel of the rifle, the initial discharge accompanied by a sound that reminded her of an air-filled rubber ball hitting a wall. She kept the beam focused upon her target, and noticed that after a few seconds, the energy output of the weapon seemed to increase. The creature on the receiving end of the attack dissolved into a whitish-green ash. Her gaze fell to the weapon in her hands, and she stared at it in amazement. The rifle's discharge had almost no kick, no recoil, and the energy buildup in the target led to its disintegration. She'd never seen a Prothean weapon in action before, and she wasn't disappointed by their achievements in warfare technology.

"Holy shit!" one of the humans exclaimed. "Where'd you get that thing?"

"One of my crew found it," she shrugged. "It's Prothean."

The human looked like he was about to say something else, but at that moment, gunfire erupted from the trees ahead of them. The humans scrambled for cover, but Julisa knew she didn't have that luxury. Any sudden, violent movements might reopen the wounds from her surgery. She called upon centuries of training and experience to remain calm, trusting in her barrier for protection. She walked over to a position behind a tree, using the growth for cover while she leaned out to scan the mists ahead for a target. The humans were firing into the mist, but given the fact that she didn't see a target anywhere, she was assuming they were firing blind.

Husks suddenly dashed out of the mist, and Julisa immediately fired upon the closest one to her, reducing its emaciated frame to whitish ash residue within moments. Several more husks fell to the humans' weapons, and Julisa turned her attention to the bloated figures looming out of the mist behind the human corpses.

This was the former commando's first taste of Reaper ground forces, and she was surprised at how quickly the creatures fell to the Prothean rifle. Given the reputation of the Reapers, she had expected their shock troops to be a little more difficult to deal with. But one after another dissolved into ash under the Prothean particle beam, and within moments, silence descended over the scene. Barely a shot had been fired at her.

"Move up," she gestured. "Secure the area ahead."

Neither of the humans argued with her order. She closed her eyes and concentrated on what she was feeling, trying to determine if any of the excitement or movement thus far had resulted in her reinjuring herself. She felt nothing but the residual pain she'd been experiencing for days, however, and she nodded in satisfaction. She was eager to make use of her skills to assist her allies, but she refused to do so at the price of increasing her recovery time. If she thought she might be making her condition worse, she would be forced to step back and let someone else take her place in the scouting party.

"All clear?" a voice inquired.

She raised her head to see the young human she knew as Mills standing near a tree several meters back, regarding her curiously. He was the relay man between the advance team and the group that was bringing up the wounded.

"Clear for now," she nodded. "Tell Gradian we ran into a small skirmishing group. We are moving on to secure the path ahead."

"Roger that," the marine turned and headed back into the mist.

_So far, so good,_ the captain thought to herself. _If the resistance remains light, we should be able to get out without any casualties._

She raised her rifle and started up the path, listening for sounds of commotion in the mists ahead. Her arm and leg were both aching already, and she hoped that she wouldn't slow down the group in the journey ahead. As she understood it, the walk to the Prothean ruin would take a couple of hours at least. With any amount of luck, their destination would still be clear of Reapers when they arrived.

* * *

**Fulton's Folly, Fourth Floor…**

Illitha was frowning at her omni-tool as she worked to reestablish some measure of control over the internal security systems throughout the facility. She had been lulled into a false sense of confidence by her early success against the other individual active in the system. She had been able to clear the way for Prathus and the others, as well as to determine the location of remaining survivors. However, she hadn't realized that her success was due to a split focus by her digital enemy, who was busy uploading a few surprises to keep her busy. Now the system was polluted with complex Reaper access restrictions and encryption, and she was having limited luck in hacking through it.

Rachel was pacing back and forth nearby, tapping her helmet against the thigh of her armor. The distracting sounds of her footfalls and the tapping of the headgear against the plating covering her thigh did nothing to help the young engineer to concentrate on the task at hand. Illitha cursed herself for the hundredth time for being foolish enough to believe she had greater skill than a former STG operative. Her ego had blinded her to the additional code that was accumulating in the system.

"Anything?" Rachel asked impatiently.

"I… If I can just…" Illitha trailed off, trying to keep ahead of the shifts in the Reaper code so that she could regain access to at least a small portion of the system. Her fingers danced across the holographic keys.

Rachel watched her work in silence, apparently realizing that interrupting with questions would be counterproductive. Finally, Illitha managed to disable the restrictions on the internal security feeds, and she lowered her arms with a sigh, rolling her head back and forth in an attempt to loosen the tension from her neck.

"I have reestablished a link to internal surveillance," she announced. "But I have had no luck yet in b-breaching the security controls," she sighed.

"Keep at it, Spectre. You can do it," Rachel smiled at her. "I'll see what we can see in the meantime," she added, activating her omni-tool to view the internal security feed.

Illitha nodded wearily and returned to work, trying to hack into the main security lockout so that she could once more take control of the interior locks and emergency alarms. It was the most useful thing she could access via the security controls, and as a result, the salarians had surrounded it with the heaviest encryption.

"We have a problem," Rachel suddenly warned.

"W-What is it?" Illitha looked up at the blonde in concern, and frowned when she saw the worried look on the girl's face.

"McSween and Jack are in trouble," the blonde shook her head, her eyes upon the holographic display of her omni-tool. "Jack seems to be injured. He and McSween are bunkered down in that hangar, but they've got a combat drone and two salarians working together to flank them."

"M-Maybe I can clear comms enough to guide Prathus and Zaeed to him," Illitha suggested, shifting focus instead to accessing the internal communications suite.

"No good," Rachel's voice brought her up short. "The two of them are trapped in a conference suite. It looks like they broke through the security glass to get from one room to the other, but the doors seem to be sealed. They're trying to cut through the doors themselves now."

"T-Then we have to go help," Illitha deactivated her omni-tool and turned toward the door.

"Illitha…" Rachel shifted uncomfortably. "By the time we get down there-"

"We have to try," Illitha cut her off. "We cannot just abandon them."

She was just turning toward the door again when she spotted a vague movement near the doorway… like a shift in the shadows. It took her mind a precious few moments longer than was ideal to realize what she was seeing. It was the distortion caused by a tactical cloak! She focused her biotics and tried to extend her barrier to defend them both, but a shot rang out before she could accomplish the feat. She heard Rachel cry out behind her, and saw a salarian figure materialize near the door.

"Rachel? A-Are you alright?" she called out as she took cover behind a desk. She did her best to keep her eyes upon the salarian so that she wouldn't lose him, but every time she peered out from behind her cover, a shot ricocheted off of the surface within inches of her head.

"It's not bad," Rachel finally answered, though her voice was thick with pain.

Illitha exhaled a sigh of relief, and was just about to suggest spreading out to flank their enemy when something landed upon the desk she was using as cover with a loud clunk. Her instincts screamed at her to get away from it, but her first reaction instead was to climb under the desk and shield her head with her arms.

There was a dull boom and a sound like static, and electricity arced over every surface in sight. The electrical assault was too much for Illitha's biotics to handle; her barrier collapsed, leaving her vulnerable to painful jolts from the lingering field. She cried out in agony, feeling her muscles spasm from the current running through them.

"Get out of there!" she heard Rachel shout. The command was followed by several pistol shots.

Illitha lurched out from beneath the desk and stumbled toward the table Rachel was using for cover. She hadn't gone two steps before a shot struck her in the back. The round seemed to have been stopped by her tech armor, but the impact still caused her to stumble and fall. She crawled behind the table and pulled her pistol from the magnetic holster at her side, wincing when a shot hit the tabletop above her.

"Wh-What was that?" she demanded.

"Arc grenade," the marine growled. She rose from behind the cover to fire a few shots, and then quickly ducked out of the line of fire once again. The blonde wasn't wearing a helmet, and Illitha frowned at the sight.

"Where is your helmet?" she demanded.

"I dropped it when the first shot hit me," the blonde sighed. "My own fault for taking it off."

Illitha turned and peered out from beneath the table, spotting the blonde's helmet on the ground a few meters away… in an open area of the room where there was no cover. She didn't dare try to retrieve it, even if Rachel covered her for the attempt, and she didn't like seeing the marine exposing herself to potential fire without protective gear for her head.

"Stay down," she urged the blonde.

"Screw that. Just figure out how to beat this bastard," Rachel countered. "You're the one with the inspired plans. What do we do?"

Illitha was at a loss. Their salarian opponent had entrenched himself by the door. He had a tactical cloak, some type of electrical grenade, and impeccable aim. It was only a matter of time before he managed to incapacitate or kill one of them. He only needed them to expose themselves for a second or two. The asari frowned, glancing over at Rachel. The plating covering the blonde's left arm was shattered and her forearm was covered with blood.

"Make a decision, Spectre!" Rachel shouted, rising for just long enough to activate and hurl a grenade toward their foe.

Illitha had no ideas and was about to admit the fact. She simply kept her head down and waited the few seconds for the detonation of Rachel's grenade. Perhaps it would force the salarian out of cover and give them an opening. However, just an instant before she expected the detonation, the sound of something hitting the tabletop caught her attention. The object rolled off of the table and landed on the floor between herself and the blonde. It was a grenade. Time slowed to a crawl.

_Did he just catch that and throw it back?_

The asari acted purely on instinct; there was only an instant to act. She scrambled away from the device, and even as she did so, a biotic orb formed in her hand. She hit Rachel with the biotic throw, propelling the girl out of cover and into the wall some five meters distant. The floor beneath her feet shook violently when the grenade exploded, and the force of the blast knocked her over. She felt sharp little pains erupt across her entire body, but she was still mobile enough to scramble to her feet. A shot ricocheted off of her tech armor, and she dived across a desk just in time to avoid a second shot.

"Rachel?" she called out. There was no answer.

The engineer felt tears flood her eyes. She was apparently alone now in dealing with their enemy, and she had no idea what to do. She glanced down at herself, and noted that her armor was marred with hundreds of shrapnel impacts, many of which had small bits of metal sticking out of them. The latest grenade had obviously not been another arc grenade; she was now sure the salarian had hurled Rachel's grenade right back at them. Judging from the stinging spots in her upper arms and across her abdomen, some of the shrapnel had penetrated her armor. Fortunately, the armor's systems seemed to have released some medigel in response.

"Further resistance is pointless, asari," a nasal voice called out to her. "Surrender to me now, and I promise a quick and painless death."

Illitha rolled to a crouch and pressed up against the desk, closing her eyes. _Goddess… what do I do? I cannot see a way to survive this without some additional firepower. I am on my last thermal clip. I only have a dozen shots before my pistol becomes useless. If only someone could hit him from the door… it would force him out of position…_ Her eyes widened. _That's it!_

The engineer activated her omni-tool, tapping into the feed for her new spy drone. The little insect-like drone was still performing a grid search of the far end of the level. If she recalled the device to her position, she could use it to hit the salarian from behind and force him out of cover. The drone could walk right in on the ceiling without her enemy ever seeing it. He would never be expecting a new source of attack, and especially not one that would hit him from above. She watched the screen on her omni-tool, tracking the progress of the drone briefly, and then she manifested a new barrier and rose from behind her cover, firing a few shots with her pistol to make the salarian think twice about leaving his place.

"Rachel?" she called again, praying that the marine wasn't dead. As before, she got no answer. But she didn't expect one. This time, her call for aid had one purpose: to keep the salarian's confidence high.

Her spider drone was making rapid progress through the complex, but Illitha was still feeling the pressure. She kept rising from cover to fire a shot or two in an attempt to keep the salarian in place, but she was forced out of cover more than once by her enemy, once by a grenade, and twice when she found herself suffering direct hits from incendiary drones. Maintaining her barrier was becoming increasingly taxing. Worse, the salarian was slowly driving her into the far corner of the room, where there would be no more places to hide. Several shots hit the front of the desk that was currently serving her as cover, and she glanced at her omni's screen in desperation, hoping that the drone was almost in place.

Luck was with her. The display showed the room she was in from the drone's point of view just inside the door. She quickly highlighted her position and Rachel's and designated them as friendly forces, and then designated the salarian as an enemy. Once the drone was updated, she crouched behind the desk and waited for the fireworks.

A startled cry from the opposite side of the room was her cue. She rose from behind the desk and took aim with her pistol. The salarian had shifted position to cover himself against fire from the drone, and was shooting at the device as it scuttled across the ceiling. Illitha's finger tightened on the trigger, and she pelted the salarian with gunfire. Her enemy quickly turned toward her and returned fire. She saw the shimmer around him as his shield deflected her shots, but his shots passed right through her barrier, one hitting her tech armor and another few striking her chest plate, but failing to penetrate. However, while the two were firing at each other, the drone discharged another incendiary burst upon the salarian, forcing him to break off his attack run for cover.

Illitha gave him no such luxury. She hurled a singularity into his path, cutting him off from the desk he was sprinting toward. He skidded to a stop and turned to fire upon her, but she was already hurling a biotic throw into the heart of the singularity to destabilize the field. There was a blinding flash and a resounding explosion, and she saw her enemy stumble and fall. The drone promptly discharged another burst of fire upon him, and the salarian rolled around frantically on the floor, howling in pain.

Illitha ensnared the salarian in a singularity, and felt her entire body shake when the field hoisted him into the air and held him immobile. Relief flooded through her. The salarian tried mightily to bring his pistol to bear, but the pull of the gravitational field was too much for him to make use of the weapon. The drone discharged another incineration burst upon the salarian, and Illitha scrambled to deactivate the drone before it killed her prisoner. His face was already scorched, and he was in obvious pain.

Illitha caught the drone as it dropped from the ceiling, linking it to her omni-tool to recharge it. And then, while she had her prisoner immobile, she took the opportunity to stumble over to where Rachel had fallen. She knelt beside the girl and examined her anxiously.

There was blood in the blonde's hair, and she was unconscious, but she seemed to be breathing. Illitha closed her eyes in relief, seating herself on the floor and resting her head against her knees. She couldn't be certain, but she had a feeling that the head wound was her fault, and not the salarian's. The throw she'd hit Rachel with to save her from the grenade had propelled her headfirst into the wall.

"Am I to be your prisoner?" the salarian's pain-filled voice startled her out of her premature rest.

Illitha raised her head and turned to look at her ensnared foe. Her singularity wouldn't hold him for long, so she needed to figure out what she would do with him before it collapsed. She struggled to her feet, feeling exhausted after the exertion of the fight, and approached him. As she did so, she activated her omni-tool and scanned through the security feeds to see how her allies were faring. She found Zaeed and Prathus still working to cut their way out of the conference room, and was glad to see they were safe. Benner had secured the hallway outside of the coring room, but it looked like Walton was either severely injured, or dead. When the security feed from the hangar came up on the screen, Illitha's breath caught in her throat.

Two salarian figures were standing next to the Alliance shuttle, seemingly engrossed in conversation. And there were two bodies lying near the door in pools of crimson. Tears slid down her cheeks.

"Make a decision, asari," the salarian prompted. "Your biotic field cannot persist indefinitely."

Illitha turned her tearful gaze upon her prisoner. The knowledge that this salarian's friends had killed someone she cared about was almost unbearable. Anger filled her. A part of her soul that she had never known existed was screaming at her to take vengeance upon her prisoner… To claim payback for Jack's and McSween's lives. She raised her pistol.

_He deserves to die… He would never have shown us mercy. His friends killed Jack. They killed McSween. If he lives, he will just try to find new ways to help the Reapers…_ She closed her eyes and tried to force herself to pull the trigger. _My father would never let him live…_ she told herself.

"Do it," the salarian urged.

She opened her eyes, regarding the salarian with shock. He regarded her without fear or regret. In fact, he looked eager, if anything, for her to pull the trigger. In her mind, she could hear her father's stories of glorious battle, and of foes that he had vanquished in his youth. She heard the salarian's voice promising her a quick death. She took a deep breath…

…and lowered the weapon.

_I am not my father. And I am not a heartless Reaper slave. I am not a murderer…_

A single shot rang out. The sound scared the hell out of the asari, who whirled around and brought her pistol to bear, half-expecting to find Salik or the other salarian had entered the room behind her. Instead, she found Rachel standing unsteadily just a few meters away, with her pistol in hand.

"Rachel!" she lowered the weapon and ran to the blonde's side, slipping an arm around her to support her. "Are you okay?"

"My head hurts," the blonde mumbled, lowering her weapon.

Illitha's gaze returned to the swirling vortex of the singularity, where the salarian's corpse floated serenely, his eyes wide and staring. There was a bullet hole squarely in the middle of his forehead. The asari bowed her head, feeling sick. Killing Reapers was one thing. But she hadn't been able to pull the trigger on a sentient being. Even one that was a slave to their enemy.

"He was our prisoner," she mumbled, unable to look at the suspended corpse any longer.

"He would have tried to kill you again when your black hole thing vanished," Rachel countered. "He deserved it."

Illitha shook her head. She didn't want to argue about it, and the blonde was barely able to stand. "Come on," Illitha said softly. "I need to get you down to the coring room."

"Where are the other salarians?"

"F-Forget about them," Illitha muttered. "I will find Prathus and Zaeed and we will go deal with them once you are safely with your fellow marine."

"Marine?" Rachel repeated. "Just one?"

"I am sorry," Illitha said softly. Their time in this facility had been costly. It was true that one enemy was dead, but the damage done in return was immense.

Illitha headed for the door, more carrying the human than supporting her. However, just as they were stepping into the hallway, she heard a loud thud in the room behind her. Her singularity had collapsed. She had no particular wish to look at the salarian's corpse, but she knew that she couldn't afford to pass up on the opportunity to claim a few more grenades, a pistol, and perhaps some extra thermal clips. She helped Rachel to a seat on the floor, and then went back to loot the body, feeling a tremendous wave of self-loathing as she did so.

* * *

**Third Floor, Fulton's Folly…**

Prathus was livid by the time he managed to cut through the internal bars in the conference room door. Omni-tools may have been intended for repairs and diagnostics, but they were never intended for cutting through reinforced security doors. He felt like he'd been working to sever the internal latches that held the door closed for hours, though in reality he'd probably been at it for no more than twenty minutes. Still, they had been trapped for far too long. Prathus knew that by now, it was too late to warn McSween, and possibly Illitha as well.

When the last of the latches finally gave way, Zaeed was quick to jam his combat knife between the halves of the door, using it to lever them far enough apart for Prathus to get his fingers into the space. Then the two of them together forced the door open. Once their exit was clear, however, both of them lingered in the conference room, intently staring through the gap in the doorway, looking for any sign of a sniper, sentry turret, or drone lurking in the hallway beyond. Only silence and stillness greeted them.

"Looks clear," Zaeed muttered.

"Yeah, but with tactical cloaks available to the enemy, that doesn't mean a damned thing," Prathus growled.

Zaeed was the first to step out into the corridor, and Prathus was right on his heels, turning his rifle to the right and then the left, ready to fire at anything that even resembled movement. However, much to his surprise, the corridor was empty and quiet. He had figured that given the time it had taken for them to escape their confinement, Salik and his compatriots would have set up a deadly trap outside the door. The two of them advanced along the corridor in silence, pausing when they reached a corner in the hall. From there, they had a clear view of the shuttle bay's doors.

"The shuttle bay is sealed," Prathus pointed out when he saw the closed door at the end of the hall.

"McSween wouldn't have set foot inside there without clearing it of explosives," Zaeed hissed.

"Unless he had no choice," Prathus added.

"Well, if he sealed those doors, then he's safe for now," Zaeed advanced toward the shuttle bay doors, pausing at the far corner in the corridor and quickly aiming his rifle down the next length of hallway. Apparently, he was satisfied that there were no lurking threats, because after a moment, he stepped out into the open, regarding the door to the bay warily.

Prathus hit the trigger for the bay door, and was not surprised when it failed to work. Whoever had taken refuge inside had disabled the physical triggers. Illitha or Neela might have been able to hack their way through the door, but Prathus knew that his expertise wasn't sufficient to overcome a serious security lockout.

"We'll never be able to cut through this," Prathus muttered. "Whether McSween is in there or Golash and his companions have taken control of the bay, we'll never know. With communications down, the bay is an unknown."

"Salik and his mates have had plenty of time to ambush McSween," Zaeed pointed out. "We have to assume that he's dead, and the salarians control the bay."

"Agreed," Prathus muttered. It gave him no pleasure to make such a grim assumption, but he was a realist. Salik had the advantage of better tech and a good tactical mind. All he would have needed was to find the engineer during a moment of inattention. "So we head back to the coring room?"

"If anyone is left alive, that should be where they are," Zaeed nodded. "Although with only Benner holding the hall, the salarians might have finished him too."

Prathus raised his rifle and took the lead, reversing course and heading back to the spot where their chase had started. The path was becoming somewhat familiar to the turian, and he barely had to glance at his omni-tool to verify his position on the schematics. He kept his mind focused on his surroundings instead of the unmitigated disaster that the visit to the facility had become. As would have been the case with McSween, a moment of inattention could cost him dearly.

When they reached the corridor leading up to the coring room, Prathus came to a stop, assuming that if anyone was left alive, they would be watching the hallway for signs of intruders. It was a bottleneck – the only available approach to the coring room – and that made it an excellent position from which to keep the coring room secure.

"Benner?" he called out. "Friendlies incoming."

"Slowly," the human's voice called back.

Prathus allowed himself a small, satisfied smile. The fact that the Marine was still on station meant that Salik and his team hadn't been able to find a way to approach and deal with him. He raised his rifle over his head and slowly stepped out into the open, where he found himself facing the young human soldier, who had entrenched himself behind a support in the wall. Benner lowered his weapon when he and Zaeed were in view, and the human waved them forward.

When the turian reached the end of the hallway and turned the corner toward the coring room, he received a welcome bit of relief. Illitha was present as well, just around the corner near the coring room door. She was kneeling in front of an open access panel, trying to restore the coring room door to working order, he was guessing. The blonde human female was sitting against the wall near the engineer, but Prathus found himself thinking that the human had looked better. Her hair was matted with dried blood, her face was pale, and her left arm was wrapped in a blood-stained field dressing. She was intently watching the display on her omni-tool.

"What is our status?" he asked as he approached the coring room door. His eyes drifted to the massive portal. The doors were at least ten meters high and half again that wide.

"W-Whoever is in there sabotaged the door's hydraulics to keep everyone else out," Illitha explained without glancing up from her work. "I am making progress on returning them to working order, but it… it will take time."

"We don't have time, T'Zari," Prathus frowned. "Every minute we spend here is a minute that Salik can use to figure out how to deal with us."

The asari paused her work and turned to regard him with a look of consternation that he'd never before seen upon her face. The engineer she'd been aboard the _Sileya_ would have meekly agreed and promised to do her best. Now, the message he was getting from her eyes and her expression was that she was well aware of the danger and didn't need to hear him pressuring her. Her gaze almost dared him to press the issue. His brows rose slightly. She never said a word. She just returned to work.

He had always known that Illitha had more nerve and will than she ever gave herself credit for. He was glad to see that she was finding some of that confidence and self-assurance. He'd seen changes in her since her arrival, but this was the first time he'd spotted such an obvious and drastic change. Now that he had the time to really pay attention, however, he saw other signs of change in her. She was working calmly despite the lingering threat of the salarians. And he had seen her grimly taking charge of identification tags from a fallen marine when she first joined them. And on a physical level, even though it had only been a few weeks since he'd last seen her, he saw a small but noticeable increase in the musculature of her arms. She'd obviously been getting a fair bit of exercise during her time in the city.

"Son of a…." the blonde suddenly blurted out, "Uh… We have a serious problem here."

"What is it?" Prathus asked, and was amused when his words were echoed by Illitha's voice.

"The salarian has come up with a new plan," the blonde growled. "He's in the manufacturing area, and he's powering up the completed Thanix missiles. I think he means to detonate them."

"Damn it," Prathus swore. He'd known that the salarian would come up with another way to accomplish his objective.

"C-Can the warheads do enough damage to kill us?" Illitha asked. "There are a lot of walls and doors between the manufacturing area and our position."

"Thanix warheads pack a lot of destructive force," Prathus shook his head. "We have to stop him. The blast itself wouldn't kill us from here, but if he detonates multiple warheads in there, this entire structure might come down on our heads." He turned to leave, intending to grab Zaeed and Benner and go deal with the problem.

"I am coming," Illitha's voice brought him up short.

"T'Zari, we don't have time to argue right now."

"Then do not argue," she snapped as she struggled to her feet. "Y-You need me. I am the best chance we have to hack the controls and shut down the missiles."

Prathus noted for the first time that the front of the asari's armor was riddled with shrapnel. Yet she showed no signs of letting the injuries she must have suffered get to her. It was yet another sign of the changes the timid engineer had undergone in the past weeks. He finally nodded and turned, shouting out to the others stationed in the hallway.

"We have a problem. The salarian is preparing to detonate the Thanix missiles in the manufacturing area. We have to stop him. Now."

"Son of a bitch," Zaeed growled. "I knew that bastard would find another way to screw us."

"A-Abandon this area," Illitha chimed in. "Benner and Rachel will evacuate to the ground floor. Get the civilians out of the complex as a precaution. If we cannot stop the detonation, at least we can save those people from the effects."

"I'm coming with you," Rachel announced, struggling to rise.

"No you are not," Illitha shook her head. "Y-You are going to help get the civilians to safety. Jay and Elliot know you. You have the b-best chance to get them to open the door and listen without argument."

"Illitha…"

"No arguments!" Illitha urged. "We do not have time."

"You heard the lady," Benner barked, grabbing the blonde by her uninjured arm. "Let's move out!"

There was no more time for discussion or musings. Prathus, Zaeed and Illitha all headed toward the manufacturing area of the complex, which was located near the shuttle bay. The two marines headed for the elevator to get to the ground floor and evacuate the civilians. Prathus kept his eyes upon his surroundings as had been necessary throughout the search, but for the first time since he had been informed of Salik's presence in the facility, he didn't actually expect to run into the salarian. Once Salik had rigged the warheads for detonation, he and his team would undoubtedly evacuate to the shuttle and leave the facility behind.

They reached the manufacturing line quickly enough, but as they approached the door, everyone in the group came to a halt. If the salarian had any proximity mines or explosives left, he would have certainly used them to prevent anyone from getting inside and stopping the destruction of the warheads. Prathus was just about to suggest that someone go find a chair to throw through the doorway when an insect-like drone scuttled past him and climbed up along the doorframe, disappearing into the room.

He turned to ask where the drone had come from, but before he could say a word, he spotted Illitha looking at a holographic display on her omni-tool. He moved to stand beside her, watching while she directed the drone to find and destroy anything that looked like an explosive device. Sure enough, the drone's remote feed allowed them to spot several proximity mines hidden among the equipment, and they used the drone's weapons to destroy them all.

"Clear," Prathus called out, and led the way into the room. His weapon immediately came up to firing position, and he performed a quick sweep of the area, looking for any signs that one of the salarians might be lurking within the chamber. He saw nothing that led him to believe a cloaked figure was hiding in the room, but he did find that the consoles throughout the chamber had been smashed.

Illitha was already working on her omni-tool, trying to hack into the processors in the missiles and disable the devices. Prathus would have helped her if he could, but while he had some knowledge of communications technology and weapon systems, he was sure that when it came to hacking, he would do more harm than good.

"How much time?" Zaeed asked.

"N-Not enough," Illitha said softly. Prathus could see the worry in her expression. "H-He uploaded Reaper encryption to the guidance systems in the missiles," she explained. "I may be able to disable one. Possibly two. But all of them are active."

"Then forget them," Prathus grabbed the asari by the arm, dragging her toward the door. "We need to get out of here. Now!"

"Wh-what about the communications filters?" Illitha asked, stumbling along behind him.

"Forget the goddamn filters. How do we get out before the missiles blow?" Zaeed demanded.

"Those windows we saw from outside are in the room across the hall. Hit them with every grenade and bullet you've got!" Prathus urged.

The turian led the way into the room across the hall, and Zaeed hit the triggers to close the doors as they passed through them, no doubt to put additional barriers between the blast and the exterior windows. Immediately upon entering the lounge, Prathus opened fire on the central window in the opposite wall, peppering the impact-resistant glass with bullets. Everyone else in the group did the same, and Zaeed lobbed several grenades at the clear polymer surface. Biotic orbs and incineration drones streaked past them to join the assault. Impact-resistant as the glass might have been, it couldn't stand up to the combined onslaught of all the bullets, explosions, thermite and biotic throws. The clear polymer finally shattered, and everyone ran for the breach.

It was only when Prathus stumbled outside onto the ledge that the flaw in his plan became apparent. It was a sizeable drop to the ground, and the mountainside below the windows was almost sheer. They could jump, but they would almost certainly suffer injuries in the process. Climbing down was possible, and definitely safer under normal circumstances, but he was sure none of them wanted to be clinging to the rock face when the missiles detonated. Jumping would probably be the better choice. He saw no other options. He stepped up to the edge and was about to leap when the massive shutters that protected the windows started to close. The vibration in the ledge beneath his feet startled him, and he staggered and almost pitched over the edge. Only Zaeed's sudden grasp upon his arm kept him from falling.

_The shutters might actually protect us!_ Prathus realized, stepping closer to the edge to get clear of the track in which the massive metal doors moved.

"Good thinking, T'Zari," Prathus nodded. "Now we just have to hope the interior doors and these shutters are enough to contain the blast."

Their little group huddled at the outside edge of the ledge, watching as the massive metal shutters closed behind them. When the protective doors finally met with a resounding clunk and locked in place, Prathus pressed his back against them and lowered himself to a sitting position. Everyone else followed his lead, waiting anxiously for the chain of explosions that would be coming at any moment.

"I c-can create some singularities below for us to jump into," Illitha offered. "If you do not think the shutters will hold…"

"I think we'll be okay here," Prathus assured the asari. "There are several reinforced walls, a few meters of solid metal, and a fair bit of distance between us and the warheads." It was true. Even though the devices were only two rooms away, they were two very _large_ rooms, and they were seated at least a hundred meters from ground zero.

Illitha stood up and started hurling singularities at the mountainside below despite his assurances. Prathus was tempted to say something, but decided against it. He was sure she'd done it just as a safety net, and he certainly didn't mind having a contingency plan. Although he wasn't sure he'd ever heard of anyone using a singularity to stop their fall before…

A violent series of tremors rocked the surface beneath them. Chunks of stone and a hail of grit tumbled down the mountainside, raining over them as they sat huddled against the blast doors. The tremors were followed by an even more violent rumble, and Prathus watched as a cloud of dust formed around the base of the mountain below where all the debris was landing.

He was just relaxing and thinking to himself that he had expected far more damage from the detonation of the missiles when there was a resounding crack and the metal surface of the ledge shifted inward, startling him. Illitha never waited to see what would come next. Even as he watched in astonishment, she shouted "jump!" and leapt off of the ledge. His eyes followed her as she plummeted into the field of one of the singularities and was dragged to a stop, floating serenely in the swirling gravity well.

The carved stone above him cracked and several large chunks fell around him, prompting him to follow the asari's lead. With a cry, he leapt out into open air, plummeting down into the waiting fields. He could hear a shout from Zaeed as the mercenary joined him. Then all of the other sounds were drowned out by a tremendous rumble.

When the singularity finally collapsed and dumped Prathus onto the jagged rocks a few meters below, the turian could scarcely believe he was alive. He groaned and struggled to his feet, turning to regard the mountainside behind him. His eyes widened in awe. The peak had collapsed in upon itself, and had no doubt crushed the majority of the complex in the process. He bowed his head, rubbing his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"So much for clearing our communications," Zaeed muttered.

"Where is the rest of the team?" Prathus asked. "And the civilians? They should have been out here by now."

"Goddess!" Illitha exclaimed, and dashed toward the ground-level entrance of the complex.

"T'Zari? What's going on?"

Illitha didn't answer him. She simply sprinted to the door leading into the complex, activating her omni-tool as she closed the last few meters. However, with the complex destroyed, there was no power to the doors. The asari pounded her fist against the door in frustration, and then activated her omni-tool's cutter function, setting to work on breaching the portal.

Prathus watched in confusion at first, and then recalled the way the exterior door had sealed itself when they first entered the complex. They'd sent the marines down to the ground floor to evacuate the civilians, but without someone on hand to hack through the Reaper code in the door's security system, the entire group would have remained trapped inside. He activated his omni-tool and joined Illitha in her task, praying that at least some of the marines and civilians had survived the collapse of the facility. With any luck, the outlying portions of the complex had remained intact.

"This'll take a while, right?" Zaeed asked.

"Too long," Prathus answered. "Why?"

"I'm gonna see if I can find a way into that sentry nest up above. Maybe there're some useful supplies inside. Besides, I want to confirm that Salik didn't leave one of his mates up there with a sniper rifle to watch this place."

Prathus nodded and continued to work on the door. A part of him hoped that the salarians _had_ taken up a position in the sentry nest to be certain that no survivors escaped. It would give them another chance to corner and eliminate the traitor. However, he also knew that with an entrenched position and higher ground, it would be a nightmare to try to reach them if they had done so.

"Ch-Check to see if there is a tunnel or something in there when you get inside," Illitha suggested.

Prathus could hear a tremor in her voice, and his instincts told him that she was just barely keeping it together. He understood completely. Judging from what little he'd seen of the asari's interaction with the blonde human, the two had become close. And Illitha had a good heart, and cared for the welfare of people in general. The possibility that everyone else had been killed in the facility's collapse was undoubtedly a source of intense anxiety for the engineer at the moment. The fact that she was managing not to fall apart was yet another testament to how much she'd changed.

"What makes you think there will be a tunnel inside?" Prathus asked.

"L-Look at the schematic I uploaded of the facility. There… The coring room is listed, but the majority of it is not shown in the plans. Only a main shaft that runs the entire height of the facility on this end. If… If there is a serious concern for security that requires a sentry nest, would there not be a way to reach it without sending your guards outside?"

"It would make sense," Zaeed nodded. "Sending sentries out and admitting them later creates a potential method of infiltration."

"Then why didn't we find a tunnel when searching the ground floor?" Prathus asked. "Why would they link the sentry nest to the coring room?"

"It was j-just a thought," Illitha's voice dropped to the almost-inaudible level Prathus knew so well.

"Can't hurt to look," Zaeed shrugged. "It would explain why the people ran to the coring room to begin with. If they knew about a tunnel, it would give them an exit from the facility."

"But Golash would have anticipated that," Prathus pointed out. "I'm sure he or one of his friends would have gone outside to access the nest and make sure there wasn't a back door out of the facility. He's too smart not to think of it."

"I… It is worth checking," Illitha said softly. "I-If I am right, maybe the data… Maybe it is still intact. Survivors in the coring room might have it. If we can just get in…"

"Let's hope so," Prathus murmured. They'd lost good men in the facility, and possibly a large number of civilians as well. If they didn't at least leave with the data they'd come for, the losses would all be for nothing. Unfortunately, he had too much respect – grudging though it might have been – for the salarian's intelligence. Salik would certainly have downloaded the facility's schematics and noted the lack of details about the coring room. He would have taken steps to assure himself that there wasn't another exit from the facility.

"I'll signal you once I've scouted whatever bunker is up there," Zaeed promised. "Keep your comms open."

Prathus nodded and returned his focus to the task of breaching the exterior door. Zaeed headed off, and soon the sound of his footfalls faded. In the virtual silence left behind by the mercenary's departure, the turian found himself thinking that the situation really couldn't have gone much worse. He hoped that Zaeed came back with good news. But given how badly everything else in the facility had gone, he wasn't optimistic about their chances of finding what they wanted. Even if there had been a tunnel leading out of the facility, he doubted it was still intact.

_At least I grabbed some food when I could,_ he thought sourly. It was one small blessing among a multitude of disasters.

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* * *

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**Author's Note: My sincerest thanks and appreciation go out to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited/followed or otherwise given any attention to this story. Your support and interest has done wonders to keep me motivated and working for months now, and it shows no signs of slowing. :)**

**While a lot has happened this Chapter, I don't have a whole lot to say about it. I think the events pretty much speak for themselves. Salik and his cohorts, I hope, have demonstrated themselves to be a dangerous trio... or now duo. One enemy lost in exchange for almost an entire Alliance team. Bleak, but I imagine most of my readers expected that it would be a tough outing for the cast...**

**Sorry this went up about an hour later than usual. I was editing last night and just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. So it had to be finished this morning. Barring any unusual changes in my life, the next Chapter will go up Thursday morning. So have a great weekend!**


	45. Chapter 45: Captives

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Forty-Five: Captives

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**Sentry Bunker, Fulton's Folly…**

Zaeed crouched in an archway high up on the mountainside, watching the swirling holographic display of his auto-hacker while it worked to breach the door. It had taken a good deal of time to find the exterior entrance to the sentry nest, and he had been forced to climb up a very steep incline to reach it. Because there was no marked path or carved staircase granting access to the door, he'd come to believe that the asari had been correct. There was a tunnel from the facility to the sentry post. The door he was trying to breach seemed more like an emergency exit than a regularly-used entrance.

The soft beep of the auto-hacker drew the mercenary out of his thoughts, and he watched as the holographic door trigger turned green. He nodded and reached out to snap his device free of the door, and then hit the trigger to open the portal. If Salik had been here, he hadn't installed Reaper code into the door lock. He was pretty sure an auto-hacker wouldn't be able to bypass the Reaper encryption. He quickly stowed the hacker a compartment in his armor and raised his rifle, advancing into the bunker. The fact that he'd managed to get in surprised him.

Since he was alone, Zaeed took extra time and care as he performed a room-by-room sweep of the bunker, making absolutely sure to stop and examine every archway and door he approached for signs of explosives. He also paused frequently and held his breath to listen for any sound that might suggest someone else was present. He discovered a four-bunk sleeping area and all the basic necessities of a prolonged assignment to a sentry post: a small kitchen, a rest room and lounge area, and a simple control center for the bunker. When he found the actual sentry perch, he briefly glanced out through the high window to check on the welfare of his allies, and saw the asari and turian far below, still working to breach the door to the main facility.

He turned and headed through the control center toward the one door he hadn't yet checked, pausing as he neared the central console to activate the holographic interface. He quickly brought up the archive of recent activity. Much as he had anticipated, there were several recent entries in the change log. Someone had accessed the system and run a search for communications filters, downloaded a bunker schematic, and then accessed the internal communications system. Zaeed repeated all three actions, to find out what the previous user might have learned. There were no results on the search, but when he brought up the bunker schematic onscreen, he found that there actually was an underground tunnel leading into the main facility. He also noted that there was a medical suite and armory inside of the bunker on the next level down. The door to which he had been headed opened into a staircase.

He activated the internal communications system last, uncertain as to who might be receiving him or what their circumstances might be. Without knowledge about who would be on the other end of the transmission, he decided to be cautious and refrain from identifying himself or his position… at least until he was sure they were allies.

"Is anyone receiving me on this frequency?" he asked. "I repeat: Is anyone receiving this transmission?"

Only silence answered his transmission. After waiting several moments, he turned to leave, intending to investigate the lower floors of the bunker and the tunnel at the very bottom of the installation. He was almost to the door when the speakers flared to life.

"We are receiving you," a male voice broadcast into the room. "Identify yourself." The transmission was curiously free of the distortion plaguing communications elsewhere on the planet.

The mercenary returned to the console, trying to bring up any video display the system might have offered. However, every link to a camera he found resulted only in a blank image and the words "no signal". He still had no information about who he had contacted, so he decided to take things very slowly. He didn't want to hand information to Cerberus or to one of Salik's companions.

"I am part of a recon team," Zaeed opted for vagary. "What is your name and location?"

"Are you with the Alliance?" the voice asked, ignoring the question.

"This isn't a secure transmission," Zaeed responded. "I can't answer questions like that until I can verify who I am talking to."

"I can see that your transmission is originating in the sentry bunker. But the cameras throughout the facility are disabled, so we can't see you," the voice admitted. "A hostile force tried to contact us once from that console already. How can we be sure you're not an enemy?"

Zaeed's expression hardened. Apparently, he and the person to whom he was speaking had the same problem: Neither of them wanted to give information to a potential enemy. If they were going to make any progress, one of them would have to take a risk. He decided to see if he could get a little more information about relatively innocuous details of the facility.

"I can't convince you that I'm not an enemy at the moment," Zaeed admitted. "All I can do is suggest that you trust me a little. I am looking at a schematic of this bunker. Is the tunnel from here to the main facility still accessible?"

"No," the voice answered. "The hostile force I mentioned tried to access the pressure door at that end of the tunnel, and when they found we had disabled it, they used explosives to collapse the passageway."

"Is Simon Atwell still alive?" Zaeed asked. "His transmission was what originally drew us to this location." He waited to see if the speaker might be willing to trust him with that information.

"I can't answer that," the voice finally said. "Not until I am sure this isn't a trick."

Zaeed shook his head. He was done trying to play nice. He didn't have the time for it. "Look, you can either trust me or not, I don't care," he coldly informed the stranger. "But the main facility has been destroyed, and the tunnel, you tell me, is collapsed. So wherever you are, you're trapped. You can either help us by dropping the suspicion and we can try to get you out, or we can write this mission off as a loss and leave you there to rot."

"What? You can't just leave us here…"

"Why not? You're not doing anything to help us get you out of there… You won't even tell us enough to confirm that you're allies."

"Okay, okay," the voice finally gave in. "There are sixteen of us trapped down here in the mining supply depot. We barricaded ourselves in the coring room when the shooting started."

"What about Atwell? Is he alive?"

There was a pause. "I am Simon Atwell."

"I am working with the Alliance," Zaeed told him. "Are any Alliance soldiers in there with you?"

"No," Atwell informed him. "They were busy trying to defend the facility."

"What happened?" Zaeed asked. "How did this mess get started?"

"An Alliance shuttle arrived at the facility about six or seven hours ago," Simon began. "We got word that it was incoming, but there were no scheduled Alliance contacts. Everyone thought it was because things were getting worse in the city, and the Alliance needed our communications modifications. I tried to contact Alliance command in the city when I first got the communications cleaned up, but the command center in the Walters Center was not responding. The Alliance commander here didn't want to risk broadcasting our countermeasure to the Reapers, so we put out a call asking allied forces to come here."

"That was the call that drew us here to begin with," Zaeed nodded. "So what happened with the Alliance shuttle?"

"I'm not sure," Atwell admitted. "I wasn't there when it landed. But the shooting started just after we heard the exterior bay doors close. A facility-wide broadcast warned that hostile salarian agents had infiltrated the base. A bunch of us ran for the coring room because the doors here were the thickest, most impenetrable things we could think of."

"We found the assembly line and the Thanix missiles during our sweep. That was an Alliance initiative?"

"Yeah," Atwell answered. "When the Reapers invaded, the Alliance gathered a bunch of materials from one of their supply depots in the capital and evacuated it all to this facility. We were tasked with setting up a production facility to manufacture missiles for use against the Reapers. We have been working around the clock since the attack started. The system was finally up and running the night before last."

"Alright," Zaeed nodded. "We're gonna try to figure out how to get you out of there. But I need to be able to contact allied forces. We need the filters to clear our communications."

Silence reigned after his last announcement. He wasn't sure whether his request for the communications data had fueled further suspicion or if Atwell was merely uploading the data, but he waited patiently for the transmission to resume.

_The question is, how are we gonna get them out of there?_ Zaeed wondered. _It'll take too long to dig them out. We can't spare the time to wait here while we get it done. And unless the civilians survived the facility collapse, we can't do it at all. Me, Prathus and the asari aren't enough…_

"What is your name?" Atwell's deep voice returned. "You never introduced yourself."

"My name is Zaeed Massani. I am working with a small recon team allied with the Alliance."

"So you yourself are not Alliance," Atwell said slowly.

"Does it matter?" Zaeed asked. "At a time like this, there are only two sides to worry about. There are Reapers, and everyone that's fighting the Reapers. I'm part of that second group. And we need to be able to communicate with one another. You offered your modifications to allied forces. That's us."

"Point taken," Atwell said. "We've had no word on the war since we lost contact with Alliance command in the city. How bad is it?"

"The capital is completely under Reaper control," Zaeed was blunt. "The Alliance has been driven out of position after position. With no way to communicate, even we don't know how bad the complete picture is, and we can't coordinate any sort of counter-offensive. We need you to transmit your communications filters to us."

"How do you plan to get us out?" Atwell asked.

"Not a goddamn clue," Zaeed admitted. "The main facility collapsed in on itself. There's too much over there to try to move. With the tunnel at this end collapsed, we'll have to figure out how to clear the obstruction." Zaeed found himself wishing he still had access to the Cerberus mining drones from the Prothean ruin.

"We felt the quake when the facility was destroyed," Atwell sighed. "When we investigated, we found the upper levels of the coring room collapsed in on the lower levels. We tried to get up there and see if there was a way through, but it was too unstable. Is there any chance that mining equipment can be airlifted in?"

"We haven't got a shuttle," Zaeed informed him. "You're in a mining supply depot. Aren't there any mining charges or lasers down there?"

"This place was supposed to be a mine when it was constructed, but when the owner was indicted, all of the mining equipment was sold off to help settle debts to investors," Atwell explained. "It's true that this room was a supply depot, but right now it's basically just a big, empty chamber with good, solid doors."

"Understood," Zaeed nodded. "Maybe, if we can contact Alliance forces, we might be able to have some mining equipment flown in. But you may be stuck there for a while."

"I'm sending the communications modifications to the bunker computer now," Atwell told him. "But you can't broadcast them on unsecured channels. You need to pass them to trusted forces and tell them to pass them on. If the Reapers intercept the data, they could adjust and render our filters useless."

"Understood," Zaeed nodded. He'd already figured that much anyway. And he didn't want to broadcast the data to indoctrinated Alliance soldiers.

"Listen… We don't have a lot of supplies down here," the engineer added. "We need help soon."

"We'll do what we can," Zaeed promised and terminated the transmission, waiting for the filters to be uploaded to the computer. When the new files appeared, he immediately downloaded them. Then he opened a channel to Prathus's omni-tool.

"Prathus here," the turian answered almost immediately.

"I've made contact with the survivors in the mining area," Zaeed told him. "I have a copy of the communications filters. I'm uploading them to your omni. Pass them to the asari."

"Done," the turian said after a moment.

"Your friend was right about the tunnel from here, but the salarians found it first and collapsed it."

"Damn it," Prathus swore. "I knew Golash would have thought of it. We're making progress on the doors down here. We should be through within the hour."

"We have to figure out how to get the people out of the mines. They're trapped and running short on supplies already."

"W-When we get the survivors out of here," the asari's voice joined the channel, "we can convince them to help us clear the tunnel on your end. I-It would be to rescue their friends and co-workers. I am sure they would agree."

"The tunnel would be the best bet," Zaeed nodded. "We can't dig them out from under the whole goddamn mountain. And if there are no survivors?"

"There are," Prathus answered. "We have been receiving distorted fragments of transmissions. We haven't been able to clear them enough to understand what is being said, but there are definitely survivors trying to contact us."

"Maybe the filters will help," Zaeed muttered. "Try contacting them again. I'll finish searching this bunker and gather any supplies left here. The schematics say there is an armory and medical bay on the floor below."

"Finally, some good news," Prathus enthused. "Let's hope there are some decent meds in there."

"I'll finish up here and then meet you down there shortly."

"Copy that," Prathus responded. "Out."

Zaeed disengaged his omni-tool and raised his rifle, moving toward the staircase he had been headed to earlier. Keeping careful watch on his surroundings, he crept down the stairs to salvage whatever he could from the armory and med bay. With luck, he would find a decent cache of supplies that the salarians hadn't yet picked over. But he wasn't going to count on it. Salik and his comrades had definitely been inside the bunker, so he was sure they would have taken or destroyed almost everything of value. It was just prudent planning.

Sure enough, when the door to the armory opened, he found the room filled with wrecked weaponry and debris. It was obvious that explosives had been used to destroy much of the equipment that had been stored in the room. As he picked his way through the shattered racks and lockers, gathering the few thermal clips and mods that looked like they were intact, he frowned at the salarian's foresight. The Reapers had certainly found themselves a useful tool in indoctrinating Salik. Zaeed would have liked to see how much better Terra Nova would have been faring if the salarian was on their side…

* * *

**Dig Site Theta-129…**

Neela's transport rolled slowly through the tall grass, approaching the clearing that had once been a Cerberus camp around the mine entrance to the Prothean ruin. She was filled with a deep sense of disquiet. Returning to the ruin was like returning to the site of a near-fatal accident. It brought unpleasant memories and a lingering sense of dread to her mind. The last time she had been present in the Prothean ruin, she thought Selura was going to die, and had been facing near-certain death herself. She glanced over at her girlfriend, and noted that the asari looked every bit as uncomfortable as she felt. She wished that she had the ability to reach out and take Selura's hand. They both could have used that sort of contact at the moment.

They had performed a quick search of Mivian Heights as they left the gorge behind. The town had seen significant damage, and they had encountered a few lingering Reapers among the buildings. But the search had been worthwhile. They had picked up some intact crates of Alliance armor and a few datapads from among the scarred and abandoned buildings. The captain was wearing one of the armored suits, and Selura had claimed another.

Her eyes went to the captain, barely visible through the tall grass to her right. The former commando was wincing with every step she took now. It had been a long and slow journey, and her captain was obviously struggling with the pain of the fracture in her leg. It was fortunate that they hadn't seen any sign of danger since leaving Mivian Heights, because she didn't think the captain would be able to take much more exertion. She worried that the former commando was going to reinjure herself if she didn't get to rest soon.

She was similarly worried about Selura. While her wounds were bound and had been healing nicely, the scientist was obviously suffering severe discomfort. She had been on her feet far longer than was ideal for someone in her condition. Unfortunately there hadn't been much choice.

The Alliance soldiers advanced at Gradian's command, quickly searching the clearing that surrounded the mine entrance. Neela and her crewmates lingered at the edge of the clearing, waiting for the human soldiers to give them a signal that it was clear to proceed. Once the marines had secured the exterior camp, one of them turned and waved his arm. Gradian ordered the rest of the group to proceed into the clearing, and Neela rolled forward.

"I hate being back here," Selura admitted in an undertone. "It gives me the creeps."

"I know," Neela nodded. "At least this time we won't have to deal with Cerberus goons or salarian traitors," she tried to sound optimistic despite the cold knot of fear in her stomach.

Selura smiled and pressed her hand to the exterior of the glass. Neela's hand pressed to the opposite side of the surface, and she smiled at the asari. She hated being unable to feel the warmth of her girlfriend's hand against her own, but she supposed she should get used to it. Even after Selura finished building her a new suit, she would still be isolated from enjoying such feelings. She sighed softly.

"Secure the entrance," Gradian called out from nearby.

Neela watched as the Alliance soldiers advanced into the mine entrance with their weapons at the ready. Those soldiers that remained outside, including Gradian, started working to settle the wounded in the Cerberus prefabs on the south end of the clearing. Neela noted that many of the Alliance personnel were looking at the sabotaged Cerberus shuttle parked near the prefabs with a mixture of suspicion and hope. It was unfortunate that the shuttle's engine had been significantly damaged to prevent Cerberus from using it. They could have used the transportation now.

Neela drove her transport around the small camp with Selura at her side. As hesitant as Neela was to reenter the Prothean ruin, she was looking forward to helping Selura find a place to finish work on her suit. Once she was capable of getting out of the glass box she currently called home, it would be a dramatic improvement.

Gradian and one of the engineers returned from the prefabs and climbed into the disabled shuttle, and Neela rolled closer to see what they were discussing, just to occupy herself while the Alliance secured the facility. It seemed that they might have to explain why the vehicle had been left behind. The quarian found herself wishing that Illitha was with them. Even though the damage to the shuttle's engines had been significant, she was sure that the shy engineer would have been able to repair it in a day or less.

"No good, sir," the Alliance engineer was saying as she rolled to a stop outside of the shuttle. "Whoever disabled the engine knew how to make it stick. Without the necessary parts to replace all these ruined components, this thing is basically an oddly-shaped prefab and that's it."

"My apologies," Selura spoke up, drawing the attention of both men. "When we attacked this place, we wanted to make sure that Cerberus couldn't escape aboard the shuttles. I damaged all the most difficult components to repair when I cut the engine apart."

"At the time, it was the right thing to do," Gradian shrugged. "It's just too bad the shuttle is of no use to us now."

"Maybe we can find some materials in the ruin to patch up the damage?" Neela suggested. "If this place remains secure, we may have the time to do the repairs."

"Perhaps," Gradian nodded. "How large is this facility? My team should have been back by now."

"There is a sizeable complex down there," Neela told him. "I only got to explore a little of it. I… wasn't moving around well at the time."

"Private," Gradian turned to the engineer. "Take the remaining sentries and find the recon team. Help them to clear the upper floor of the structure. Keep off the comms until we know we're secure here."

"Aye aye," the human saluted and hurried off to find the other men.

"Once we are secure here, what is the plan?" Selura asked. "Can we get in contact with surviving forces from Mivian Heights?"

"I'm not sure yet what our next course of action will be," Gradian admitted. "Non-alliance personnel were declared unwelcome at the new Alliance position. So we can't take you all there. But I'm not sure we should rejoin them to begin with. Bringing the wounded in close proximity to a fighting force again only imperils the operation."

"Maybe turning this place into a new shelter for civilians and wounded would be a better course of action," Neela suggested. "If it is kept secret and secure, it would give us a place to hide non-combatants and would leave the soldiers free to fight without having to worry about protecting the injured."

"I had been considering it," Gradian nodded.

Neela smiled, glad to hear that the lieutenant had been thinking of a similar plan to hers. She turned her vehicle and looked around the camp, noting that the captain had taken a seat against the frame of a portable Cerberus barricade and was resting. It was an unusual sight for the quarian, to see her captain looking so vulnerable. Prior to their evacuation from the _Sileya_, she had almost never seen the captain looking anything but completely confident and intimidating.

"_Sir," _a distorted transmission to Gradian's omni-tool caught Neela's attention. "_The ruin is secure. You can bring the rest inside._"

"Can you show me the areas of the ruin that you're familiar with?" Gradian asked.

Selura glanced at Neela, and the quarian nodded her head. She'd almost forgotten that Selura had been in stasis when they left the ruins the first time, so she probably wasn't aware that mining drones had cleared a path to a stairway leading to the lower levels of the complex. Neela steered her conveyance toward the mine entrance, and she could hear Gradian urging the doctor to remain outside with the wounded until they could find a room to use as an infirmary.

Neela, Selura and Gradian traversed the exterior mine tunnel and entered the Prothean structure, and Neela could see the wonder upon the lieutenant's face when he first entered the ruin's interior. She remembered how amazed she had been by the feeling of walking the halls of a Prothean building, and understood something of what the human was experiencing. She smiled and glanced over at her girlfriend, who was likewise staring around at her surroundings in wonder, despite having been there once before.

Unfortunately, the wonder was quickly dashed. They were passing through the third room when the door ahead of them suddenly opened, and they found themselves facing a trio of Cerberus troopers with rifles trained upon them. Gradian started to raise his rifle, but froze mid-motion. Neela, glancing in his direction, saw that more troopers had apparently stepped out from behind the columns they'd passed as they entered the room, and one of them had a rifle pressed to the back of the lieutenant's head. The other troopers quickly confiscated Gradian's and Selura's weapons, and the lieutenant's omni-tool. Neela closed her eyes and sighed. Without any weapons or armoring on her conveyance, she could do nothing to help any of them. They had been captured.

_I hope the captain realizes something is wrong and can save us,_ she prayed. _And I hope they don't try to remove me from the vehicle…_

"What is this thing?" the distorted voice of a Cerberus trooper demanded, tapping on the glass of her conveyance with the barrel of his rifle.

"An isolation chamber," Selura spoke up. "She is carrying a highly-virulent disease."

Neela turned to stare at Selura, struggling to hide her admiration for the asari's quick thinking. Perhaps if they believed she was a danger to everyone around her, they'd be more likely to leave her in isolation and unmolested. Of course, if it occurred to them that anything she might be carrying was unlikely to be a danger to them due to the difference in species, the bluff would be pointless.

"We need her omni-tool," one of the troopers stated.

"How are we supposed to get it without opening that thing?" another demanded.

"Let her keep it for now, I guess. Just watch her carefully," the first suggested.

"All of you… move," the trooper ordered. "And you," the soldier tapped on the glass again, "turn your omni-tool off. If you activate it again, we execute your friends."

"The omni-tool is used to steer the vehicle," Neela explained. She could understand why an enemy would want to confiscate her omni, but she couldn't have used it against them anyway. Not without exposing herself to the environment around her.

"Then limit yourself to steering," the soldier ordered. "If you speak one word with that omni-tool active, or if you do anything that suggests hostile action, we will kill these two," the trooper gestured to Gradian and Selura with his rifle.

Neela glanced at Selura, feeling a tremor of fear run through her at the threat. She _couldn't_ see her girlfriend injured like that again. She nodded meekly, unwilling to do anything that might prompt the Cerberus troopers to harm the others. She had briefly been considering opening a channel to the captain and just leaving it that way so that the asari could hear what was going on, but she didn't dare risk that the transmission would be detected.

The three of them were herded through the remaining rooms on the upper level and into a staircase, where they proceeded down. Neela was thankful that the Alliance engineers had incorporated large wheels and such a sizeable wheelbase into her conveyance, because otherwise she would never have been able to steer the small vehicle down the stairs. It was a rough ride as it stood, but she was somehow certain that if she hadn't been able to proceed on her own, Cerberus would have simply executed her. Their sympathy toward non-humans was not exactly legendary.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they were guided down a hallway and into the main archive chamber, where the rest of the Alliance soldiers were kneeling in a line with their hands behind their heads. All of them had been stripped of their armor and weapons. A variety of Cerberus troops were spread through the room. Neela had seen figures like some of them before. There were slender female figures dressed all in black like the sniper she'd confronted on the hilltop, and a few black-armored males carrying around portable turrets on their backs. Others she had never before seen. There was a male figure armored in silver, yellow, and black standing off to one side next to a woman dressed in silver armor who was carrying a sword. Several of the other Cerberus troopers were wearing heavier armor and stood out from the crowd. A few were even leaning upon large shields. She sighed. The soldiers Gradian sent in to secure the ruin had been horribly outnumbered. It was no wonder they had been captured.

A man in civilian clothing walked over to meet the three of them. He was a middle-aged gentleman with salt-and-pepper hair and sharp features, and his eyes roamed from Selura to Neela with obvious disdain, and then finally to Gradian. As he regarded the lieutenant, the look of distaste faded from his features.

"Lieutenant," he nodded to Gradian. "It grieves me to have to take Alliance soldiers prisoner, but unfortunately, you and your fellows consort with the whores and beggars of the galaxy," he glanced at Selura and Neela with this last statement.

Neela felt an almost overwhelming urge to use her transport to run the man over. She'd been called a beggar before, and was able to ignore the insult, but by process of elimination, she was forced to assume that the human had been referring to Selura with the term 'whore', and that filled her with fury. _No one_ talked about Selura like that…

"And who are you?" Gradian asked.

"My name is Michael Pavv," the human introduced himself. "I was briefly among the civilians in Mivian Heights. I was able to get my hands on a good number of Alliance intel reports while I was there. So I am aware of your position and reputation. I trust we can count on your cooperation, in order to keep your men and the alien bitches safe."

"What is Cerberus doing here?" Gradian asked. "And why would you capture us? We should all be working together to fight the Reapers."

"Cerberus has its own plans to combat the Reapers. Unfortunately, the Alliance is too worried about working with the galaxy's trash to ever understand that the true path to victory is for humanity to do it alone. The Illusive Man will save us all. And in doing so, he'll crush the lesser races."

"None of us has the strength to defeat the Reapers alone," Gradian shook his head.

"You'll see the truth in time," Pavv shrugged. "But now is not the time to discuss our plan. You and the asari both need to remove your armor. Now." At the last word, several of the nearby troopers raised their weapons, aiming at the two.

Neela knew that neither of her companions could afford to disobey. Gradian quickly divested himself of his armor as instructed. Selura, on the other hand, struggled to get free of the protective gear. The girl was a scientist, and Neela knew that she wasn't accustomed to the multitude of catches and maglocks that held the gear in place. By the time her girlfriend was free of the equipment, Neela could see the impatience in their captor's eyes. She decided to divert his attention.

"If Cerberus knows how to beat the Reapers, then tell us!" she demanded. "We all need to defend our people!"

"Even if I was privy to the full strategy, I wouldn't share it with you, suit rat," the human sneered. "The galaxy is better off if worthless races like yours are wiped out. Consider yourself lucky that I don't shatter that canopy and watch you die of infection just for the satisfaction of it."

"She's carrying a virulent disease," one of the troopers spoke up.

"Don't be an idiot," Pavv shook his head. "She's a quarian without an isolation suit. That contraption is the only thing keeping her alive," his gaze drifted to Neela's omni-tool. "And even if she _were_ infected, diseases don't cross the species barrier. I assume this lie was the reason you allowed her to retain a working omni-tool?" he demanded.

Neela regarded the human steadily, trying not to show her disappointment over the fact that Selura's bluff had just been called.

"It steers that vehicle," the trooper answered. "Without it, we couldn't have brought her down."

"Kill her," Pavv snapped, stepping away from the vehicle.

"No!" the asari cried.

Panic engulfed Neela, and she brought her hand up to her omni-tool, preparing to try running. All around her, troopers raised their rifles. However, before anyone could do anything, Selura quickly put herself between the troopers and the isolation pod. Neela saw the asari's hand press against her abdomen as she stood in the way, and realized with a sinking feeling that she might have reopened one of her wounds. Of course, if the troopers fired, it wouldn't matter…

"Hold your fire!" Pavv called out, turning to regard the asari. His expression was unreadable.

Neela didn't touch her omni-tool for fear that it would prompt the troopers to start shooting. The fact that Selura had placed herself in harm's way in an attempt to save her was sweet, but something told the quarian that it had been a mistake. She saw something in the human's gaze as he regarded Selura... She couldn't be sure, but it seemed almost like he was pleased.

"Deactivate your omni-tool and toss it to the bottom of your pod, near your feet. Do it now, or the asari dies," he warned, watching her intently.

Neela did as she was told, deactivating her omni and tossing the device to the bottom of the pod, out of her reach.

"What do you want from us?" Gradian demanded, drawing Pavv's attention.

"From you? Nothing," Pavv shrugged. "You stumbled into this complex at a bad time, and we had no choice but to take you and your men prisoner to keep you from interfering in our assignment. However, the last report we received from our team here said that a group was assaulting their position. The report said the enemy included an asari, a quarian, a turian, a salarian, a vorcha and a human. Coincidentally, an asari and a quarian just walked into our grasp together, and both show signs of recent injury." He regarded Neela with a menacing glare. "Where are the others from your little assault team?"

"They were traitors," Neela's tone was icy. "They betrayed us when the job was done."

"You're lying," Pavv frowned, pulling a pistol and aiming it at the glass of Neela's vehicle.

Neela felt her heart skip a beat, and she almost fainted when Selura once again put herself between the pistol and its target.

"She is not lying," Selura spoke up in her defense, her tone sounding almost desperate. "We were betrayed and almost killed."

"Then you admit to being part of the team that hit our position," Pavv didn't lower his weapon. "I should execute you both."

"Please," Selura's voice broke. "Please do not hurt her."

Neela closed her eyes and bowed her head. Selura's love meant everything to her, but it killed her to see their relationship become a weapon in the hands of their enemies. Everyone in the room must have realized by now how Selura felt about her… her actions said it all. And in so knowing, they would use it as leverage.

"Step away from the quarian's pod, asari," Pavv said evenly. "If you do not, I will shoot you once in each knee, and force you to watch while we drag the quarian from that pod, shoot her in the stomach, and let her bleed out."

Selura turned to glance at Neela, and the quarian could see the terror and desperation in her eyes. She watched as her girlfriend stepped away from the pod, her shoulders slumping in defeat. It was torturous to be trapped inside of the glass box, watching while she was used as a tool to manipulate the girl she loved. If looks were capable of killing, the venom in her gaze as she watched Pavv would have struck him dead.

"The archive is offline," Pavv announced. "Our scans show that tiny holes have been bored into the circuitry. How did you accomplish it?"

"The salarian that organized the attack," Selura answered immediately, her eyes upon Neela. "He had a pistol that fired capsules filled with nanites. He used it to destroy the archive after he had the information he wanted."

"How do you know that?" Pavv questioned.

"He used the same weapon to disable Neela's suit. And the armor and weapons I was carrying at the time. I saw him fire it at the archive."

"Interesting technological concept," the human commented. "I'll have to mention it to my superiors. Could be a great advantage in the hands of our troops." He regarded Selura speculatively. "Some of the Alliance soldiers I spoke to when I was posing as a civilian in Mivian Heights mentioned an asari scientist that had been there. I hope for the suit rat's sake that they were talking about you."

"Yes," Selura quickly volunteered. "I am a scientist."

Neela saw the human raise his pistol once again, aiming directly at her head through the glass. She froze in position, praying to her ancestors for some help. The situation was horrifying. Selura loved her too much to ever let Cerberus hurt her. The asari would tell them everything. And she could do nothing to stop it.

"I hope you can repair the damage done by the nanites," Pavv nodded toward the archive. "We will give you three days to get the archive operational again. After that, we pull the suit rat out of this impressive little buggy, we suspend her by her wrists, and we start using her for target practice."

"No!" Neela blurted out. "Selura, you can't cooperate with them! They'll just kill us anyway!"

"Shut up!" Pavv barked.

"Selura, please…" Neela pleaded with the asari, ignoring Pavv. "You _can't_ help Cerberus. Don't do it…"

The human lowered his pistol and fired several shots into the machinery of Neela's transport, and the soft hum of the engine ceased. She glanced up in alarm at the display above her and saw that the filters and seals were still working, but apparently the drive train had been disabled. Selura screamed for the human to stop, and Neela felt her heart break a little when she saw tears spill down the asari's cheeks. Pavv turned his gaze upon Selura expectantly.

"I will do as you ask," Selura whimpered. "But I do not have an omni-tool. Just… Please… Please do not hurt her."

"Give me her omni-tool," Pavv demanded of the troopers.

"I was not carrying one," Selura was quick to inform him.

Pavv stepped closer to the asari, regarding her with suspicion. Finally, he turned to one of the Cerberus soldiers standing nearby. "She had no omni-tool on her?"

"No," the soldier answered.

"Give me yours," Pavv demanded, and the soldier quickly handed it over. The human worked on the device for a moment, and then turned and tossed it to the asari. "Use that. And I suggest you do your work quickly," he added, with a sidelong glance at Neela.

"I am sorry Neela," Selura gazed at her sorrowfully. "I have to do as they ask. I cannot let them kill you."

Neela held the asari's gaze. She understood. While she had truly wanted Selura to refuse to cooperate, she knew that if their positions were reversed and the human had demanded she do something or Selura would be executed, she wouldn't have had it in her to disobey. She had already proven as much on the upper level when they were first captured. She would never have let them kill Selura. Still, to see the love she so cherished twisted into a form of torture was agonizing.

_Please captain,_ she begged silently. _You have to get us out of this…_

* * *

**Fulton's Folly…**

Illitha pulled on the rifle they had levered between the facility doors with all of her might, while Prathus pushed from the opposite side. The door gave way bit by bit, and she could hear the murmurs of grateful survivors from the gap while they worked. Fingers were barely visible on the other side of the thick security door, suggesting that the people trapped within were helping them to force the damaged portal apart. Every inch by which they widened the gap sent a small surge of relief through the engineer. She just hoped that not too many of the people inside had lost their lives because of her oversight. She was the one that had told Rachel and Benner to evacuate the civilians, but she'd forgotten that the Reaper code would keep them all trapped inside. So everyone that died in the facility's collapse would be another death on her conscience. Like Danny's death.

When the gap between the doors was too wide for their makeshift lever to be of any further use, they dropped the bent and ruined weapon and each of them grabbed a door, pulling on them to widen the separation enough for people to get out. When the first civilian stumbled out from inside, covered in dust and grit, Illitha released her grip and collapsed against the archway, breathing a sigh of relief. A steady stream of grateful civilians rushed out into the open air and sweltering heat.

Jay and Elliot stumbled through the door after a few moments, and Illitha was quick to pull them aside, clasping the hand of each of them briefly. While she hadn't known them for all that long, she was happy to see the brothers alive and safe. Neither Jay nor Elliot said anything, but the looks of relief that they wore were all the confirmation Illitha needed that they were happy to see her. She was just about to ask if anyone had died in the collapse when she saw Rachel stumble out of the door, covered in dirt and grit. Relief flooded through her. She left the brothers and ran to the blonde marine, almost tackling her with a hug.

"Whoa! Careful, Spectre!" the blonde laughed. "Someone might think you were worried about me or something."

"I was," Illitha admitted. "I-I was afraid you died in there. It… It would have been my fault."

"No," Rachel shook her head. "It would have been that salarian's fault. He was the one that rigged all the missiles to explode."

"But… I-"

"Stop," Rachel cut her off. "I am not going to hear you try to blame yourself for this. The salarian came here and attacked the place. _He_ killed civilians. _He_ demolished the joint. None of it was your fault."

Illitha regarded the blonde in silence for a moment, and then finally nodded her head. She still blamed herself for forgetting that the door would be an impassible barrier to the fleeing civilians, but she wasn't going to argue with her friend. She managed a small smile, which quickly faded into worry.

"Did the collapse kill anyone?" she asked anxiously.

"No," Rachel answered immediately. "But the rooms closest to the elevator were all crushed. So if you hadn't ordered us to go evacuate the civilians, they all would have died."

Illitha frowned. She knew that Rachel was trying to reassure her that she hadn't screwed up, and maybe it was true that she had saved the civilians with her suggestion. But she wouldn't forgive herself so easily. She nodded and bowed her head, looking around at the milling crowd of civilians uncertainly. Now that they'd freed the majority of the survivors, they had to convince them to go and dig out the rest.

"Prathus, Illitha," Zaeed's harsh voice called out to them.

Illitha and Rachel exchanged glances, and they hurried over to meet the human mercenary, who was walking toward them with his omni-tool activated. Prathus limped over to join them.

"Well, I'm glad we didn't lose the civilians," Prathus began, "but this was a disaster. We have the communications filters, but we lost a lot of good men and a ton of explosive ordinance. All to clear our communications."

"And kill one of the salarians," Rachel added.

"What?" the turian stared at the blonde.

"Illitha managed to outgun one of Salik's friends and snare him with her biotics," the blonde grinned at the asari, who felt herself blushing. "I took it upon myself to execute him."

"So we actually got one of them," Prathus nodded slowly. "I thought they'd all escaped."

"It still was not worth the cost," Illitha murmured softly.

"It's good to hear one of those bastards is out of the picture, but I didn't call you all over here for a tactical recap," Zaeed cut in. "You need to hear this. After I did my sweep of the bunker, I decided to tune in to the Cerberus frequencies we found on their omni-tools. With the communications filters to help clear the transmissions, I managed to intercept this…" the mercenary pressed a key on his omni-tool.

"_Recon team,_" a recorded voice began the transmission, "_An Alliance team was captured at the archive site. We have an asari scientist in custody with them. We are forcing her to repair the archive as we speak. However, concerns persist that additional Alliance forces may be incoming. Perform a sweep of the area for any remaining Alliance personnel."_

"_Understood,_" another voice answered the first. "_Should we take prisoners?_"

"_Negative,_" the first voice responded. "_We'll execute all prisoners when the archive is operational. Eliminate any potential reinforcements you find. Then take the shuttle and rendezvous with the ship. We should be finished here in three or four days at most._"

"They… Are they talking about Selura?" Illitha was shocked. "They have captured her?"

"Sounds like it," Prathus nodded. "Unless there's another asari scientist on the planet. But they mentioned the archive. They've retaken the Prothean ruin?"

"You're both missing the most important thing said," Zaeed muttered. "They mentioned a shuttle and a ship. If Cerberus has a working ship somewhere, we need it."

"First w-we need to save our friend," Illitha glared at the human. While having a ship would be nice, it was far from the most important part of the transmission.

"You're right, T'Zari," Prathus nodded. "But that'll be a tight schedule. He said three or four days. It's a two-day walk to the capital, and then another ten or twelve kilometers to reach the ruins. And the land between here and there is crawling with Reapers."

Illitha frowned. Prathus was correct, of course. The journey would be lengthy, and if they got caught in too many fights, they might not make it in time. Worse, it meant abandoning the people trapped in the coring room. If they waited until the survivors were free, they would never get there in time to save Selura. And somehow, Illitha was sure that if Cerberus had Selura, they had Neela as well... if she had survived the environmental exposure. And probably the captain too. Almost as distressing to the asari, however, was the possibility of facing Cerberus again. She had fought Reapers and managed to keep her fear in check, but just the idea of once again dealing with Cerberus had her on the verge of panic. Only her love for her friends and the knowledge that they needed help was allowing her to push back her fear.

"I've been waiting for my last shot at getting answers out of Cerberus," Zaeed told them. "So I'm with you for the rescue attempt. I suggest we get moving, and we do it now."

"W-We can leave Benner here to oversee the rescue of the people trapped in the coring room," Illitha suggested.

"I'm going with you," Rachel cut in. "I won't stay here."

"I did not expect you to," Illitha managed a smile at the blonde, who smiled back.

"Alright then," Prathus nodded. "We set out right now, and we keep delays to a minimum. Avoid fighting as much as possible, and sleep as little as we can."

"Or not at all," Illitha suggested.

"We can't be exhausted when we arrive at the ruin," Prathus shook his head. "We'll need to have our wits about us. We'll keep sleep light, but we'll have to rest a little."

"And we should swing by the canyon to pick up food on the way through," Rachel added. "I'm starving."

Illitha nodded and sighed. They hadn't had time to scavenge any more food after escaping from the tower in the city. She hadn't eaten anything in almost four days, and there was still another two ahead in the mountains. She wasn't sure she'd be able to walk after another day without food.

"I've got some good news for you both then," Zaeed spoke up, distracting Illitha from her thoughts. "All of the medigel was gone from the med bay-"

"That's not what I'd call good news," Prathus cut in.

"Shut up and let me finish," Zaeed growled. "As I was saying, the medigel was gone, but I found anti-inflamatories, antibiotics, and a bunch of other medical shit. And these," he added, pulling out a box filled with tubes of protein gel.

Rachel snapped the box out of his hands with the speed of a striking snake, and Illitha giggled at the sight. She gratefully took the tube that Rachel offered her, snapping open the top and squirting some of the gel into her mouth. By her count, there were a dozen tubes, which would be plenty to sustain them, especially once they picked up some more food from the canyon.

"Salik and his mates destroyed most of the weaponry, but aside from plundering the medigel, they left the infirmary pretty much undisturbed," Zaeed commented. "Lucky for us."

"Nice find," Prathus said softly. "And the meds will be a great help if we can find the captain. The faster we get her back into the fight, the better off we'll be. So let's get moving."

"I'll fill Benner in on the plan," Zaeed offered, turning and walking away.

Illitha glanced at Rachel, and saw the blonde looking at her with a troubled expression. Her shoulders hunched slightly, and she tried to ignore the girl's stare while she hungrily devoured mouthfuls of her protein gel. She already felt a bit better with something in her stomach, even if she hated the consistency of the stuff.

"Can we talk for a minute?" Rachel asked, nodding for Illitha to follow her.

Illitha glanced at Prathus, who just shrugged and walked away toward the sole turian face in the crowd of civilians. The asari watched him limp off and finally nodded, following Rachel to a slightly more private spot. Once the two were alone, Rachel turned to regard her with concern.

"What's going on?" the blonde demanded. "You looked terrified when you guys were talking about Cerberus. Is everything okay?"

"Uh… W-Well…" Illitha shifted uncomfortably under the intensity of her friend's gaze. "R-Remember I mentioned in the tower that Cerberus was going to kill me not long ago?"

"Oh," Rachel nodded in sudden understanding. "I do remember you saying that. And I'm guessing the idea of facing them again scares you…"

"It _terrifies_ me," Illitha admitted.

"I understand," the blonde said softly.

"I-I cannot stand here and abandon my friends," Illitha murmured. "But I am not sure I will be able to control my fear if things go badly when we try to rescue them…"

"The last time you faced Cerberus, you didn't have me to watch your back," Rachel smiled at her. "You can do this. And I promise… I _promise_," the blonde reached out to grab her hand, squeezing it gently, "I will not let Cerberus get close enough to you to lay a hand on you."

Illitha stared at her companion uncertainly, but something about the intensity and resolve she saw in the girl's eyes was reassuring. She could tell that Rachel was dead serious about her vow. And for some reason, she found that comforting. She was still scared of the idea of facing Cerberus, but somehow, it seemed a little less daunting with the knowledge that Rachel would be there to help.

"I… Uh… Th-thank you," Illitha stammered.

"You don't have to thank me," Rachel grinned at her. "You've only saved my life five times now. The least I can do is to defend you against Cerberus."

Illitha shook her head. She was fairly certain that the blonde was exaggerating. She couldn't possibly have saved her life five times. Still, she had to smile at her friend's cheerful grin. With any luck, by the time they actually reached the ruin and had to deal with Cerberus, she would have found a way to suppress the lingering fear of facing them.

"You should talk to Jay and Elliot and tell them what's going on," Rachel suggested.

The engineer nodded and took two more tubes of the gel from the box in the marine's hand. Jay and Elliot needed food too. With the tubes in hand, she went to find the two brothers amongst the crowd. She noted as she was moving through the milling throng of humans that she was on the receiving end of a lot of stares and softly-spoken, appreciative comments. She found herself shying away from all the attention, and had to remind herself that many of these people believed she was a Spectre. They no doubt credited her with their survival when in fact she felt she had very little to do with it. She'd almost gotten them killed.

"Illitha," Jay hurried over to her when they spotted each other. "What's the next step?"

Illitha looked from the elder brother to the younger, smiling at them. She was glad she'd found them in the canyon. They had both proven to be good people, and she was sorry to be parting company. But she couldn't take two unarmored civilians into a fight against Cerberus, regardless of how good a shot Jay was with the rifle. She knew firsthand what it was like as a civilian to be threatened by the terrorist group. She wouldn't subject either of the boys to that.

"Here," she held out the two tubes of protein gel. Elliot snatched one from her hands as eagerly as Rachel had from Zaeed's grasp, and she laughed as he squirted a huge glob of the substance into his mouth. Jay took the other.

"Thanks," he nodded, quickly taking a mouthful of the gel. "So… what's the plan?" he persisted.

"Uh… W-Well… You two will be staying here," she said softly.

"What?" Elliot stared at her. "No way! We're coming with you!"

"You cannot," Illitha shook her head. "W-We have to go save some friends from Cerberus. But without armor, I will not see you two follow us into that sort of danger."

"We can help," Jay insisted. "We'll stay out of the fighting and cover you from a distance if you want. But you have to let us help."

"Not this time," Illitha's tone was firm. "I really appreciate all the help you both have given me. But this is where we part company," she sighed, looking at the two sadly. "Y-You have to stay here with that Alliance soldier, Benner, and help get the survivors out of the coring room. After that, stick with these people. Once we rescue our friends, w-we will contact you all again and we can coordinate for the next step."

"Isn't there anything we can say to convince you?" Jay asked. "We're a team. Teammates don't abandon each other."

"I-I am sorry," Illitha shook her head. "We will see each other again. N-Now that communications are cleared, we can find Alliance forces and join them in fighting the Reapers. S-Stick with the Alliance soldier and the people here. Help them get to the main Alliance force."

"I don't like it," Jay frowned.

"Me either," Elliot was quick to agree.

"I know," Illitha sighed. "I-It is not easy for me either. I am glad to have worked with both of you. But for now, we have to part ways."

"It's been an honor fighting with you, Spectre," Jay said solemnly.

"We'll hold you to your promise," Elliot added. "After you rescue your friends, we expect to see you again."

Illitha had to smile at their obvious disappointment in separating. While she hated the entire war and all the horrible things she'd seen since it started, she was glad that she would be leaving Terra Nova with several new friends. She would never forget the people that had supported and believed in her while she was here.

"Take care of each other, and stay safe," she urged. "If…" she began, and then winced and decided not to express her doubts about facing Cerberus. Instead, she said, "Be careful. I expect to see you both for the next mission."

The brothers exchanged glances, and then both of them grinned and nodded. Watching the two of them, she wondered over the meaning behind that grin. Had she said something the humans found funny? She wasn't sure.

"Don't worry, Spectre," Jay assured her. "We'll be there when you need us. But you should get going. Your friends need you now."

Illitha nodded and smiled at both boys. Then she turned and headed for the gathered group standing at the base of the path. Zaeed and Prathus were talking softly, and Rachel's head was tilted back while she worked to squeeze every last drop of the protein gel out of the tube and into her mouth. It was strange to the engineer how quickly her allies shifted in this war. She'd arrived on site with Rachel, Jay, Jack, and Elliot, and was leaving instead with Rachel, Prathus and Zaeed.

She sighed when she thought of Jack, and from there her thoughts naturally turned to McSween. Both men had deserved better than to be ambushed and killed as they had been. It seemed such a wasteful and meaningless death for both men. She hoped that if she had to die in this war, her life would be given for something meaningful. If she died, it had to be so that someone else could live… preferably so that _many_ others would survive. Perhaps then she might earn her father's respect.

"Come on, Spectre," Rachel called out to her. "We have to go!"

Illitha nodded and hurried her pace, wincing at the residual pain of the pulled muscles in her legs. She'd barely noticed it during the events in the facility due to fear and adrenaline.

_I might as well get used to the discomfort. It is a long walk to the Prothean ruin, according to Prathus._

"How'd they take it?" Rachel asked as the engineer hurried up to the group.

"They… Well, they were disappointed," Illitha sighed.

"That's all?" Rachel smiled. "I would have been _crushed_ if you left me behind."

"As if you would let me get rid of you," Illitha laughed.

"True. You're stuck with me," the blonde grinned.

.

* * *

.

**Author's Note: Thank you all for taking the time to read the story. My heartfelt appreciation also goes out to those of you who have reviewed, favorited/followed, or PMed to let me know your thoughts. The fact that I am managing to entertain some people is an endless source of inspiration, and I really appreciate the attention this little tale has received.**

**Well... Cerberus has once again reared its ugly head. Of course, everyone knew it was coming since a third team was mentioned several Chapters ago, but I've been waiting to get into the upcoming events. I know I sound like a bit of a broken record by saying every few Chapters that I've been excited to get this part up, but it's true! Actually, from here on I'm pretty much excited to get _all_ of it up. :)**

**Unless something extremely unusual happens, the next Chapter will go up on Tuesday morning. Until then, I hope everyone has a great weekend.**


	46. Chapter 46: Coercion

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Forty-Six: Coercion

.

**Dig Site Theta-129…**

Julisa stared up at the sparse cloud cover above her, sitting with her back against a portable barricade of some kind. There was a sense of tranquility to her surroundings that helped to settle her mind and bring her back to a measure of focus. She had been feeling helpless, frustrated and lost since she first regained consciousness on Terra Nova, consumed with worries about her daughter and concerns for her crew. As she sat there and listened to the wind, watching the wispy clouds roll by, she was finally experiencing a sense of inner peace.

Though the human world was wretchedly hot and the days were seemingly endless, the quiet of their remote surroundings was rather enjoyable. For the first time all day, she felt no pain and only a pale shadow of her worries. She activated her omni-tool… the only possession that had come with her from the _Sileya_… and she initiated a playback of the South Serrice Symphony, closing her eyes and focusing solely upon the sound of the illeuth among the other instruments. In her mind's eye, she could see her daughter upon the stage, and her heart swelled with pride.

She was so lost in the melody and the imagined image of her daughter on stage that she didn't even hear the first gunshot. It was only when a second shot echoed across the fields a moment later that her eyes snapped open, and she deactivated her omni-tool, quickly struggling to her feet. She activated the shield generator on her borrowed Alliance armor and scanned her surroundings, looking some sign of the enemy. She saw nothing, but a third shot echoed out from the north side of the dig site, and she heard a cry of pain from among the prefabs. She quickly limped off in that direction, wondering how the Reapers had managed to find them in such a remote spot. As she moved, she reactivated her omni-tool, opening a channel to Neela. She was in no condition for fighting, and they needed assistance.

"Neela, where are you? We are under attack out here. Get the lieutenant to send reinforcements," she hissed. Much to her surprise, there was no answer. "Neela?"

A shot rang out, ricocheting off of her kinetic shield. She dropped to a crouch, wincing at the sharp pain that surged through her injured leg, and her gaze swept across the tall grass, looking for some sign of the shooter. She finally spotted a dark shape rising out of the foliage, and she quickly raised the Prothean rifle, setting her sights on the figure and squeezing the trigger just as the enemy did the same. The enemy's shot shattered her shield, but her return fire staggered the figure, and within moments, she saw the dark shape turn white and crumble into the foliage. She staggered toward the Cerberus shuttle, using it as cover while she waited for her shield to recharge. Warily, she scanned the area for additional threats.

A host of gunshots filled the silence, echoing over the nearby prefabs. There were cries of fear and pain, and Julisa pushed away from the shuttle, intending to go and help the doctor and any other defenders in protecting the wounded. However, just as she was starting to move, some sort of projectile hit her newly-recharged shield, almost collapsing it with a single shot. She hadn't heard anything that resembled a gunshot from nearby. The only sound had been an almost whisper-quiet chirp. She whirled around, and saw a slender, silver-armored figure sprinting across the clearing toward her. The figure had a hand extended, and even as she watched, a flash from her assailant's palm heralded another shot, which sundered her shield once again. She spotted a shining blade in the figure's off-hand, but the power of the palm-installed firearm was too significant to risk remaining at range, especially with her shield down.

_Goddess, I had hoped to avoid doing this until I was recovered…_ she thought to herself as deactivated the armor's shield generator and focused upon her biotics. The artificial barrier generated by the armor was notorious for interfering with natural biotic barriers, and she needed to generate the latter to perform a biotic charge. A protective field of biotic energy blanketed her, and she planted her uninjured foot against the side of the shuttle, launching herself toward her foe.

In an instant, she covered the distance to her enemy and slammed into the slender figure, sending the woman staggering backward. The pain that lanced through her when she initiated the biotic charge told her immediately that she'd reinjured something, but at the moment, she didn't have time to worry about it. Her enemy was already recovering her balance. She brought up the Prothean rifle, intending to blast the woman point-blank. But her enemy cartwheeled to the side, shimmering and fading from view in the process.

Julisa tracked the faint blur that her enemy had become, and when she was sure she had her sights upon the woman, she squeezed the trigger. The green beam of the Prothean weapon struck the cloaked figure briefly, but as they were still in close quarters, the woman was able to quickly duck to the side and then lunge inward. Julisa instinctively executed a brief biotic dash to the side, putting a few meters between herself and her enemy, who shimmered into view and crouched low.

_I have had enough of this…_

Julisa focused her energy, and a biotic orb formed in the palm of her hand. She hurled it at her enemy, intending to tear her to pieces with a warp field. Instead, much to her surprise, the woman raised a hand and formed a barrier around herself, dissipating the biotic effect harmlessly. The asari raised her rifle while the woman was planted and fired, but made only momentary contact before her target flipped to the side. She kept her finger on the trigger, tracking the woman's movements, but her quarry was fast and agile, and despite her best efforts, the particle beam was only intermittently striking the target. Frustrated by her target's mobility, she braced herself for the pain she knew was coming and executed another biotic charge, driving her shoulder into the woman with tremendous force. The silver-armored figure pitched over onto her back, but almost at the same instant that she hit the ground, boosters in her palms and the soles of her boots flared to life, and she was back on her feet.

The woman leapt forward and swung the sword she held, and only by quickly leaping backward did the former commando keep the blade from carving through the flexible padding below the chest plate of her armor. Her enemy spun and brought the sword around for a second swing, but that was just the sort of mistake Julisa had been waiting for.

She closed the distance between them and seized the woman's wrist as she whirled around for the second swing, quickly twisting the captured arm around, turning on her good leg and deftly flipping her opponent to the ground. She maintained her hold upon her enemy's wrist even once she was on the ground, tightening her grip and twisting further, planting a foot on the back of her shoulder to keep her pinned in place. With the leverage of the pressure lock, it was simple from there to wrest the sword from her hand. Once she had it, she promptly plunged the weapon into the base of the woman's neck.

When she straightened, she winced at the sharp pain in her ribs. She wasn't coughing up blood, so she didn't think she'd reopened the internal wounds the surgeon had repaired, but she had definitely worsened the fractures in her ribcage. She cursed inwardly over the fact. She couldn't afford to lengthen her recovery time by reinjuring herself, but it seemed it was too late. She limped toward the prefabs, hoping that their enemies hadn't yet killed the doctor or any of the patients.

She found Cerberus troopers crouched outside of one of the prefabs, and immediately drew down and fired upon them. The Prothean particle beam made quick work of the two soldiers, reducing them both to piles of white ash within seconds.

"On your knees," she heard a harsh voice demand.

The voice seemed to be coming from the opposite side of the prefab, so she crept along the exterior of the building, pausing at the corner to peer around the edge. Two figures in Alliance armor were lying upon the ground just outside of the building, and judging from the amount of blood soaking into the dirt beneath them, she guessed they were both dead. The Alliance doctor was kneeling on the packed earth just a few meters beyond, and a figure in black and silver armor had a pistol to her head. Several other Cerberus troopers were standing nearby. One of them, a man in heavy armor, pulled a grenade from his belt and clicked the activation trigger, pitching the explosive toward the open door of the prefab.

A biotic orb was forming in the former commando's hand even before the grenade left the man's grasp, and she hurled it at the same moment that he tossed the explosive. The orb struck the grenade in mid-air, sending the explosive rocketing off into the mountainside. The Cerberus troopers all seemed to be startled by the sudden interference, as none of them was particularly quick to raise their weapons. Julisa was already in motion, rocketing into the enemy's midst in a streak of bluish purple, driving her elbow into the face of the man with the pistol. The visor of his helmet shattered, and he pitched over backward.

All around her, enemies raised their weapons, and Julisa roughly shoved the doctor to the ground to get her out of the line of fire. Gunfire filled the air, ricocheting off of her barrier even as she focused her energy and hit the soldier in the heavy armor with a warp field. He staggered under the effect of the shifting mass effect field, and she knew that for a few seconds, he was not a threat. She picked a different target and cocooned herself in biotic energy, launching herself toward him. The biotic charges were unpleasant to execute – each one made the pain in her ribs and in her leg worse – but she needed to stay mobile. Her barrier could not hold up to simultaneous fire from four rifles at once. However, each time she shifted the properties of her barrier to alter her mass for a charge, the process naturally shored up the protective field. It was the greatest advantage of a well-executed biotic charge… each charge reinforced the barrier, which in turn protected the biotic until she could focus enough energy to charge again.

When she slammed into her target, he tumbled backward like a rag doll, and she immediately turned and fired at another of them, withering him into ash within moments before turning the beam on the heavily-armored one. The combined fire of the other two soldiers was taking a toll on her barrier, but by the time it was in danger of collapsing, her second target was disintegrating. She reinforced her barrier and launched herself into the midst of the last two, colliding with one of them like a biotic freight train. The second soldier pulled a glowing baton and swung it at her, but she ducked beneath the swing and wreathed her fist in biotic energy, slamming it into the flexible padding over his kidneys. His knees buckled and he collapsed with a groan.

With all of her enemies floored, she turned the Prothean rifle upon each of them to be sure they were no longer a threat, reducing all of the bodies to whitish-green residue within moments. When the last body disintegrated, she lowered her rifle and pressed a hand to the chest plate of her armor, trying to control her breathing and let the pain in her ribs subside.

"Thank you," the doctor murmured with a tremor in her voice.

"Not necessary," Julisa said softly. "Are your patients alive?"

The doctor activated her omni-tool and studied the display for a moment, finally nodding her head. "Thanks to you they are," she said. "If you hadn't deflected that grenade-"

"Move all of your patients into a single prefab," Julisa interrupted. "Then lock the exterior door and disengage the lights."

"You think there will be more raiders in this area?" the doctor asked.

Julisa slowly crouched and picked up the rifle one of the men had dropped, pointing to the insignia engraved on the stock of the weapon. "They are not raiders. They are Cerberus troopers."

"Cerberus?" the doctor repeated. "What is Cerberus doing here? Your friends said that the Cerberus forces that were here were all dealt with."

"Apparently there was another group in the area."

"And you think there are more lurking nearby?"

Julisa glanced toward the mine entrance. Neela hadn't answered her transmission. She knew that communications were spotty thanks to Reaper interference, but her pilot would have given her some sort of response if she were able. It seemed clear to her that Cerberus already controlled the ruin, and had captured Neela, Selura, and all of the Alliance forces that had ventured inside. However, rather than alarm the doctor with that information, she simply nodded.

"Yes. I think there are additional forces in the area."

_The question now is: how do I rescue my crew? I am exhausted from just that brief skirmish. I have not had sufficient time for recovery to engage in strenuous biotic activity. Worse, if they've captured Neela, they might be able to hold her hostage. In attempting her rescue, I may only end up captured myself…_

"You're hurt," the doctor's statement interrupted her thoughts.

"I may have reinjured my ribs," the asari admitted.

"Let me take a look at them. Come inside," the human urged.

Julisa nodded. While she was anxious to save her pilot, she couldn't afford to rush in and fall victim to whatever trap had allowed Cerberus to capture the others. The delay while her injuries were examined would give her time to think. She didn't wish ill on the Alliance soldiers or the young scientist and would happily save them if she could, but their lives were not her primary concern. Neela, on the other hand, was a member of the _Sileya's_ crew. The young quarian was like family. The _Sileya_ might have been gone, but the lives of those who had served aboard it were still the captain's responsibility. She would have to approach this rescue with care.

* * *

**Prothean Ruins…**

Selura paused in her work and pressed a hand to her abdomen, where the fabric was damp with blood and sticking to her skin. A soft sigh passed her lips, and she took the opportunity to sip from the water bottle Cerberus had given her, glancing across the water in the moat to where Neela's isolation pod was resting. The pod was flanked by two Cerberus troopers, and the two were watching every move her girlfriend made. No doubt, since there was a working omni-tool inside the pod with Neela, her guards had been tasked with making absolutely certain she didn't use it.

Selura's gaze fell to the omni-tool in her hands, and she activated the display, scrolling through the installed functions, as she had a dozen times since she'd been set to work. The omni had belonged to a Cerberus trooper before her, and though their captor had deleted all of the combat software from it before giving it to her, she was puzzled by the lack of personal details on it. Her own omni-tool, before Salik's nanites disabled it, had been filled with music files, vids, pictures, games, and dozens of programs she'd installed for personal reasons. This omni had almost nothing on it. The log showed that a few defensive programs had been deleted, the communications suite had been encrypted, and half a dozen files had been purged, but that was it. There were no family pictures or personal logs, no games or amusing videos, no logs of calls to family or friends… It was as if the soldier that had owned it had no personality…

"Your break is finished," Pavv's harsh voice echoed through the room, startling her.

She quickly looked around, and spotted the human in the doorway that led deeper into the complex. She nodded and put her water bottle down, turning and reactivating her omni-tool's welder, getting back to work on cutting the exterior plating away so that she could get to the internal circuitry of the archive.

"If she takes another break in the next two hours, even just to sip from that water, put a few holes in the quarian's pod to let some air in," she heard Pavv instruct the soldiers.

Selura bowed her head. It was agonizingly unfair to have the woman she loved in the hands of such a cruel enemy. She was a slave to Pavv's every desire, because he had the consistent advantage of being able to threaten Neela to force her compliance. She was just happy that the man was so obviously repulsed by aliens, as strange a thing as it was to be thankful for. She knew there was a certain unsavory segment of people in the galaxy that might have been willing to demand more than just labor from her. She was grateful that such a possibility seemed unlikely in this case.

_What am I going to do?_ She wondered desperately. _I cannot fix the damage done to the archive. I do not even need to see the internal circuitry to know that. Neela told me what Salik's nanites did to her cybernetics. They would have done such extensive damage that this archive is dead forever... And I only have three days to make it work._

She frowned to herself as she completed the cut in the plating, and stepped back to let the massive piece of metallic shell crash down on the railing before it slid into the water and disappeared. She had no intention of trying to lift or hold up large and heavy objects with her injuries. She switched to the diagnostic scanner in the omni-tool and ran a scan over the internal circuitry, and was not surprised in the slightest when she found millions of tiny holes bored through every component in the archive. Even if the archive had been an asari-designed server rather than ancient and unfamiliar alien technology, this damage was impossible to repair.

_Captain Nisaria is outside. Perhaps she has realized that there is a problem by now and will come to help…_ Selura tried to maintain a positive outlook. However, when she glanced over her shoulder at the two Cerberus soldiers that flanked Neela's pod, any positivity she'd managed to build was dashed. _No…_ she realized, _even if she does come in here, she is in no condition to save us. She would either be captured or killed, or she might get us killed in retaliation. Cerberus has Neela as a hostage, and I do not think the captain would allow them to execute her. She would surrender to save her._

She knew she couldn't give the Cerberus troopers the impression that she was taking a break, so she immediately went to work on the archive. Without the slightest idea of what she was actually doing, she just started disconnecting and removing components for the sole purpose of looking busy. She had no idea what else to do.

_If only the Prothean VI was still operational, it might be able to at least tell if there is a backup system somewhere…_ she thought with a frown. Then she paused, blinking. She remembered the last words she'd heard the Prothean VI speak: 'Initiating Security Protocol'. _Surely the Protheans would have installed an emergency backup system to save critical data if the archive was threatened… There must be another storage system somewhere…_

This thought gave her a small amount of hope. _I cannot restore functionality to the archive, but if I could at least find proof that the data still exists somewhere in the facility, it might be enough to buy some leniency from our captors. At the very least, it might buy us a few extra days while Cerberus scours the facility to find the backup. Surely they would not kill us before they are certain they do not need us to get into the backup data…_

This possibility gave Selura a renewed sense of purpose, but she was concerned about her ability to actually complete her work. She moved around the side of the archive, out of the sight of the two Cerberus troops, and gingerly lifted her shirt, pulling the bloody bandages away from her stomach to look at the wounds in her belly. As she expected, one of the wounds had torn and was bleeding. The bleeding was not heavy, but she was afraid it might become infected if it went untreated. She had known when she leapt to Neela's defense as a living shield that she had torn something. But she didn't regret it. If it would have saved Neela, she would happily have taken every bullet that the Cerberus rifles had been able to fire at her.

She knew that the Cerberus troopers wouldn't allow her to be out of sight for long, so she quickly pushed her shirt down and activated her omni-tool, cutting through the plating in a new area, so the troopers would find her working. Sure enough, not more than a few seconds after she went to work, one of the troopers walked into view on the perimeter walkway. She paused and regarded the trooper for a moment, debating on whether or not she should say anything about her wound. Finally, she decided it couldn't hurt.

"Sir… I have reopened one of my wounds," she announced, lifting her shirt just far enough to show the bandage, which was stained purple with blood. "It is making it difficult to concentrate on my task. Could I get some medigel or something to seal it?"

"Get back to work," the soldier barked, and then turned and walked out of view.

Selura sighed and shook her head, going back to work on cutting the plating away from the archive. It had been worth a shot. With the possibility of medigel out of her mind, she turned her thoughts instead to determining how the data might have been transmitted if it was moved out of the archive for security purposes. Would there have been a hard line installed for such a transmission? Or would the data have been broadcast wirelessly? She would need to find proof either way if she was going to convince Pavv of the possibility.

"Let me see this wound," Pavv's voice startled Selura after she'd been working for a short while in silence. She whirled to face him.

Slowly lifting her shirt, she pulled the bandage out of the way to show him the injury. Much to her irritation, he reached out and prodded the area around the wounds, drawing several winces out of her. She was pretty sure he had done it solely for the purpose of causing her pain.

"It doesn't look bad," the human shrugged. "Get over it."

"I am trying," Selura glared at him. "But it is difficult to concentrate on what I am doing when every little movement causes pain. Do you want me to succeed at this or not?"

"You had better succeed," Pavv growled. "Your little whore's life depends on it."

Selura's hands clenched into fists, rage flooding through her over the man's chosen title for the quarian she loved. She swung at him without even stopping to consider the consequences. However, she wasn't much of a fighter, and Pavv easily ducked beneath her punch and slammed his fist into her stomach. Pain exploded through her at the strike, and she collapsed to the floor, clutching at her belly. She could feel fresh blood upon her hands… and a good deal more of it than had been there a moment before. She sobbed in agony.

"Fuck," she heard the man mutter, and then he raised his voice. "Get me some medigel and fresh bandages!"

Selura felt a small bit of relief when she heard those words, but it was hard to be happy about the pain she was feeling. Pavv lowered himself to a crouch beside her, and he seized her face with his hand, his fingers pressing painfully into her cheekbones.

"If you do anything like that again, I will have you watch while I drag your whore out of that contraption and skin her alive," he warned. "I will not have alien hands upon me! Am I being perfectly clear, you little bitch?"

Selura managed a nod. She had no one but herself to blame for this. She'd acted without thinking, and she considered herself lucky that Neela wasn't being killed right at that moment for her actions. She wouldn't let her emotions endanger the quarian again.

A Cerberus trooper walked into view with an armful of supplies, and Pavv rose to his feet, gesturing toward her. "I hurt the bitch. Patch her up and get her back to work," he spat.

Selura tried to lay still while the trooper did his work, but the man was making no attempt whatsoever to be gentle with his ministrations. By the time medigel had been applied to her wounds and the fresh bandage was applied, tears were cascading down her cheeks. Unfortunately, she had no time to recover from the pain and rest. The moment the bandage was secured in place, the trooper dragged her to her feet and gave her a rough shove toward the archive.

"Get to work."

Selura wiped the tears from her cheeks and nodded, wincing at the pain in her abdomen when she raised her arm to return to her task. She wasn't looking forward to three days of this…

* * *

**Mountains North of Scott…**

Illitha sighed and shifted position upon the rocky trail, trying to get comfortable so that she could manage to get a little bit of sleep. They had walked for several hours before the sun began to set on another long Terra Novan day, and once the gloom became severe enough that it was difficult to see the trail, they decided to settle down and get an hour or two of sleep before proceeding. Everyone except for Prathus had night vision, so walking through the night wouldn't be a problem, but they needed the rest. Unfortunately, the young engineer found sleep elusive, despite how long it had been since she got any.

Her mind stubbornly lingered upon the people she'd lost in this war. Danny, Jack and McSween were all at the forefront of her thoughts, but most especially Danny. She still blamed herself for his death, as it had been her decision that directly led to the situation in which he died. Guilt over the fact was gnawing away at her, causing her to second-guess every decision she'd made since. She had almost gotten the civilians at Fulton's Folly killed by sending people to evacuate them without a clear exit. She had left Jack with McSween, and then the two of them had been ambushed and slain. Now she'd sent Jay and Elliot with the Alliance… Who knew what danger they might run into as a result of that decision? Her hand strayed to her belt, where the pouch with the Alliance dog tags was secured in a small pocket, and she sighed. She hated this war, and she hated the Reapers for starting it.

Worse were the unknown fates of her friends. Neela might have died from her exposure to the environment, and Aida's location and condition were completely unknown. Illitha had tried to contact both of them when the group bedded down; the communications filters might have made it a possibility. But there was no answer from either one. In Neela's case, it was understandable. If the quarian were alive, she imagined the girl was a prisoner like Selura, and so probably wouldn't have her omni-tool. But the lack of response from her best friend worried her. Aida would never have ignored a communications request from her. She felt certain that she was in trouble. Her inability to help frustrated and upset her.

Her eyes strayed to Prathus and Zaeed, visible only as vague outlines in the darkness, and she shook her head. How did the soldiers do it? The two were still clad in full armor, stretched out upon the rocky path, and both were apparently sleeping like babies. In just a few galactic standard weeks on Terra Nova, she had seen some awful things, and she had a hard time coping with it at times. How did people like Zaeed and Prathus, who had seen such atrocities for years, ever adjust to the horror of it? And if they _did _adjust to such horrors, how did they ever go back to normal life and find happiness?

A ping from her omni-tool startled her, and she quickly activated the display. When they'd decided to get some sleep, she had tasked her new drone, which she was calling 'Crawler,' with the task of watching the path in both directions and alerting her if anything approached. The ping meant something had been detected. She anxiously studied the display, and felt an intense wave of relief wash over her when the only image on the screen was Rachel, picking her way up the path toward their camp. She hadn't even heard the blonde leave, and wondered where she had gone. After instructing Crawler to resume its sentry duties, she grabbed her helmet and slipped it on, engaging the night vision visor, and went to meet the blonde.

"What are you doing up?" Rachel whispered when Illitha came into view on the path.

"I cannot sleep," she said softly. "Where were you?"

"I… I had some business to take care of," the blonde shrugged. "You should be resting."

"Business?" Illitha repeated. "W-What business could you possibly have in the darkness, in the middle of nowhere?"

"It's not important," Rachel muttered. "Don't worry about it."

"Did Jay or Elliot contact you?" Illitha persisted. "O-Or the Alliance?"

"No, nothing like that," Rachel shook her head. "It was just personal stuff. Don't worry about it."

"If it was important, m-maybe I could have helped," Illitha pointed out.

"I had to pee, alright?" the blonde finally snapped.

"You… I… Oh…" Illitha stared at her feet, blushing in the darkness. "S-Sorry," she sighed.

"You seriously need to relax and get some sleep," Rachel said softly. "You're worrying too much. I'm a big girl. I won't wander off in the darkness and get lost…"

"I am sorry," Illitha whispered. "Crawler alerted me to your approach. I-I thought at first that we were under attack," she admitted.

"Forget about it," Rachel shrugged. "You really should be trying to sleep."

"I c-cannot," Illitha sighed. "I keep thinking about my friends. I have already seen so many people die… Jack, McSween… and Danny."

She heard Rachel sigh, and the blonde slipped an arm around her shoulders, giving her a gentle squeeze. Illitha leaned against the girl, drawing a small bit of comfort from the silent support, and she allowed herself a small smile.

"I'm sorry," Rachel said softly.

"For what?" Illitha stared at her uncertainly. She had been the one that was being too nosy for her own good… she wasn't sure what Rachel could possibly have to apologize for.

"I pushed you into the position where you had to make decisions," she said softly. "Because I did, you have too much on your mind, and you're too hard on yourself over it."

"I-I am making the decisions," Illitha whispered. "So I am responsible for the results."

"We've talked about this," Rachel sounded exasperated. The blonde seated herself on the ground next to a large rock and gestured to the spot next to her. "You made some decisions, yes. But you are not responsible for the actions of others… your allies _or_ your enemies. You can't blame yourself for everything."

"In my head, I know that," Illitha admitted. "But my heart-"

"Your heart is better than that of most people in the galaxy," Rachel cut in. "You are kinder and more caring than anyone I've ever met. _Ever_. But that doesn't mean you should have to suffer. You need to let your head get a word in once in a while…"

Illitha sighed and nodded. But she didn't think she could live that way. Her emotions had ruled her actions for her entire life. She had resolved many times to start acting on logic instead of emotion, but it went against her nature. When her head said one thing and her heart said another, her heart always won.

"Do you have any family?" Rachel asked.

"Uh… Y-Yes, of course," Illitha nodded, a little surprised by the shift in subject.

"Have any pictures saved on your omni?" Rachel pulled her helmet off and smiled at her.

"Sure," the asari nodded, pulling her helmet off and activating the omni-tool. Within moments, she was scrolling through the photo files, looking for one that would contain just her mother and sister. She really wasn't in the mood to see her father just then. Seeing him always made her feel worse when she was already feeling bad about herself.

She finally brought a picture up on the display. It was the most recent photo she had of her mother and sister, and had been taken on her sister's first day of school. The child was dressed in an adorable and elegant silver and blue dress, and was holding her mother's hand. The two of them were standing outside of the house in which she had grown up. No doubt her father had taken the capture. She still felt guilty for not being there on her sister's first day of school, but at least her mother had been kind enough to send her a copy of the picture. She scooted closer to the blonde and held up her omni so they both could see it.

"You have a sister!" Rachel sounded delighted. "She's adorable. And I bet she grows up to be just like her big sister."

"Goddess, I hope not," Illitha muttered, her thoughts upon her father and his disapproval of her.

"Why not?" Rachel asked. "You are one of the best people I've ever known."

"M-My father…" Illitha sighed, not sure she wanted to get into it at that moment. "H-He does not approve of me. I would rather my sister not deal with the treatment I grew up with."

"Forgive me for saying, but if your father disapproves of you, then he is a damned idiot. What could he possibly have to complain about?"

"I am weak, timid, shy, indecisive…" Illitha rattled off the list she'd heard from the old krogan so many times in her childhood.

"Kindhearted, intelligent, talented, caring, sensitive, beautiful," Rachel took over the list, and Illitha could feel herself blushing at the praise. "I hope you're not serious about your father. I mean… being shy is some sort of drawback?"

"In his eyes," she nodded.

"So with all the good traits I mentioned, he gets hung up on 'shy and indecisive'… What is he, a krogan?" the blonde laughed, apparently meaning the comment as a joke.

Illitha said nothing. She only bowed her head, sighing softly. In the silence, she could feel the blonde's gaze upon her, and she wondered what the girl was thinking.

"Your dad is a krogan? Seriously?" Rachel finally asked.

Illitha nodded and keyed a few inputs into her omni-tool, bringing up a family photo that had been taken just before she left home. Her sister was just an infant, cradled in her mother's arms. She stood on her mother's right. Her father stood on the woman's left, towering over them all. She didn't think she actually had any captures where she and her father were side-by-side.

"I have always disappointed him," Illitha whispered sadly. "He… He expected me to be like a krogan, and instead he got… me."

"You _are_ like a krogan," Rachel commented.

Illitha laughed bitterly. "I-I am shy and unsure of myself. I am small, even for an asari. And I do not like violence. Exactly how am I like a krogan?"

"Look, I don't know your dad, but it's clear to me that he filled your head with a lot of stupid ideas," Rachel said bluntly. "There's more to krogan than being violent brutes. For six weeks after basic training, I was at a facility doing supplemental conditioning with a krogan instructor, Nax. He was a talker… Lots of stories to tell. And I know six weeks isn't a long time, but I got a good sense of who he was during that time…"

"M-My father _is_ krogan," Illitha muttered. "I _know_ what krogan are like."

"Then you should be able to see the krogan in yourself," Rachel stared at her intently. "You are unswervingly loyal to the people you consider family… or clan, if you prefer. You have a stronger will than you seem to give yourself credit for. You are amazingly courageous… I've seen it. You don't hesitate to put yourself in danger when you feel you have to. You are a survivor. And you demonstrate determination like no one I have ever seen…" the blonde fell silent.

Illitha pondered the girl's words. Her father had always said how un-krogan she was. But she grew up in a home with a krogan, and she knew everything there was to know about her father. Perhaps there was more krogan in her than either she or her father had ever admitted. Because the traits Rachel was talking about were definitely facets that she could call krogan traits… even if it was a little hard to admit that they applied to her.

"Plus, I've seen you fight," the blonde added, her tone a little more playful. "You may not be a hulking brute, but your enemies sure don't fare any better against you than they would against any other krogan… Maybe there's a bit more krogan in you than you realize."

Illitha found herself smiling at the words 'any other krogan'… She wasn't sure her father would ever agree with Rachel, but maybe… just maybe… she could say that she'd inherited a few of her father's better traits after all. She stared at the old krogan's image on her omni-tool, and for the first time in a long time, she didn't feel like a complete failure while thinking about him.

"Here, look at this," Rachel activated her omni-tool, quickly cycling through dozens of captures before stopping at one.

Illitha studied the picture with a smile. Rachel was standing at the center of the photo in her Alliance dress uniform, and on each side of her was a smaller and much younger human girl, both with golden hair and smiles that very much resembled Rachel's. She smiled at the photo.

"Your sisters?"

"Yep," Rachel grinned. "That was the day I went off to basic training. That's Holly on the right… she's thirteen now. And the one on the left is my youngest sister, Jessica. She'll be eleven in a month. Holly is an amazing athlete. She plans to join the Alliance when she turns eighteen. But not Jess. She says she's going to be a colonization engineer. She wants to build whole new cities on entirely new worlds."

"They are beautiful," Illitha murmured. "They both look like you."

Rachel cleared her throat, shifting uncomfortably, and only then did it occur to Illitha that her words had been an indirect admission that she thought the blonde was beautiful. She felt herself blushing. She hadn't meant to embarrass her friend, and she knew that Rachel was not interested in her that way. Before she could stammer out an apology or otherwise try to undo the damage, however, Rachel grinned.

"We all take after our mom," the blonde smiled. "And they _are _unbearably cute, aren't they? Here… I have a bunch more captures."

Illitha smiled, relieved that her unintentional compliment apparently hadn't bothered the blonde too much. She got comfortable beside her, settling in to see more of the girl's family photos and listen to stories about her parents and her sisters. She knew that Rachel must have been worrying about her family on a daily basis, given the fact that they all lived on Earth. In thinking about it, she was ashamed of herself for dwelling so much on her own personal regrets. She was actually quite lucky in comparison to the people of Terra Nova. As far as she knew, her own family was perfectly safe for the moment. The humans here, on the other hand, probably all had family or friends on Earth, and even if they didn't, the home world of their people was being decimated. If the roles were reversed and it was Thessia that was in flames at that moment and her family whose fate was uncertain, she wasn't sure she'd be able to keep it together.

As she listened to Rachel talk, she vowed that she would make a conscious effort not to feel sorry for herself. She had a lot to be thankful for, and she wouldn't let herself forget it again.

* * *

**Reaper Facility, Southern Scott…**

Aida whimpered and pressed her cheek against the cold, hard surface of the wall in her cell, putting her hands to her head and trying to block out the noise all around her. Her head was throbbing, and she felt like she was losing her mind, sitting in the small, featureless cube that had become her prison. Time meant absolutely nothing in the tiny cage. Sometimes she felt like she'd been there for only a few hours. Sometimes she felt like she'd been staring at the walls for months. The shape of the room was playing tricks on her. She could have sworn that the walls tilted inward just the slightest bit. The longer she spent in her cell, the more she got the impression that the room was folding in on her, slowly drawing closer to crushing her beneath its weight.

The screams and cries made it so much worse. There were people calling for help… People sobbing… People ranting angrily… All of the sounds were muffled by the walls around her, but there was no escape from them. Her imagination plagued her with horrible images of her friends in the cells around her, slowly going mad as a result of the horror of the impending doom that faced them all. She imagined the little blonde girl being shoved into one of these cells, and she felt a sob well up in her throat. She had promised the child that everything would be all right. And now…

She turned, scrambling into a corner, and pressed her arms tightly around her head to try to block out the noise. But even then, there was no escape. In the moments when she was able to block out the cries and curses of other prisoners, she felt like there was a voice that whispered to her from the corners. She couldn't make out the words, but she was desperate to hear them. Perhaps the whispers were trying to tell her about a way out. Or a method through which she could convince the Reapers to let her go. Something…

_I have to get out of here,_ she thought desperately, feeling trapped. She stared up at the walls, tilted inward so subtly, and she felt her panic increase. _I need to get out of here. I have to get out!_

She was on her feet in an instant, ignoring the pain in her back. She dashed across the room and threw her shoulder into one of the walls. She couldn't even tell which wall held the door in the cursed cell. She rammed her shoulder against it repeatedly, desperately hoping to batter it down, but succeeded only bruising herself and adding an aching shoulder to her list of woes.

"Let me out of here!" she screamed, pressing her hands to her head and turning away from the wall. Another scream followed the first, but this one was a wordless shriek of frustration and fear, and it went on until she had no breath left in her to expel.

She collapsed into a corner, curling up and drawing her knees up to her chest. She lay there, sobbing bitterly, cursing the Reapers and the Alliance and anyone else she could think of that could be held responsible for her capture. And while she cried, she listened to the vague, incomprehensible whispers around her, silently begging the voices to speak up.

_I have to get out of here… I have to get out… I have to get out…_

She repeated the words in a silent chant, as if thinking them enough would conjure a magical portal to safety and freedom. She couldn't bear to stay in that cell for much longer. She would give anything to see open sky and breathe fresh air one more time. Anything to get out…

* * *

**Dig Site Theta-129…**

Julisa stepped out of the night air and into the prefab one last time, stacking the last of the tech dropped by the Cerberus soldiers in a corner. She was still angry over the doctor's confirmation that she had indeed worsened the fractures in her ribs, and was still at a loss as to how to rescue Neela and the others. Unfortunately, while her years as a commando had given her a wealth of experience in combat tactics and a powerful grasp over her biotics, they were of questionable use in helping her deal with a possible hostage situation. If Cerberus had Neela and the Alliance forces as prisoners, any attempt she made to save them might end with Neela held at gunpoint. If that happened, her only choices would be to sacrifice the quarian or surrender. And given her responsibility for Neela's safety as her captain, she would be compelled to surrender.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" the doctor asked. The woman was standing amongst the portable patient beds they had crammed into the structure, and was barely able to move between them.

"I have no choice. A member of my crew is imprisoned down there. I have to try to get in there and have a look around. If there is any way to save her…"

"What about the quarian?" the doctor asked, crossing her arms. "You're not worried about her too?"

"What?" Julisa was perplexed. "Neela is _exactly_ who I am worried about."

"Then… What about Selura?" the doctor seemed confused.

"That girl was a passenger aboard my ship, not a member of my crew. I do not wish her harmed, but my first concern must be my pilot," Julisa shook her head. "And once she is safe, freeing your Alliance allies is my next concern. The girl is… just a scientist. She is of questionable use in assisting in the escape. I intend to save her, but she is my last priority."

"You don't like her much, do you?" Rebecca wondered aloud.

"That has no bearing on the situation," Julisa shook her head, though she couldn't deny that she didn't enjoy having the scientist around. Seeing her face stirred up painful memories. "I must be practical about this rescue. I am duty-bound to see to my crew's safety. And beyond that, I need to free those with the ability to help me fight. The scientist is the least-important person in that complex."

The doctor sighed and shook her head. Clearly the human woman wanted to argue, but she said nothing further, for which Julisa was thankful. She didn't have time to stand there debating the situation. And it wasn't as if she would leave her fellow asari to die down there if she had the chance to save her…

"If I have not returned in one hour, start broadcasting an intermittent distress signal. Use Alliance frequencies and encryption," Julisa reminded the human. "I am only going to probe the complex. If a good opportunity to rescue the prisoners presents itself, I'll take it, but my intention at the moment is only to look around. If I have not returned in an hour, something has gone wrong. In such a case you and your patients will be in danger."

"I understand," the doctor nodded. "Be careful in there."

"And you watch yourself out here," Julisa urged. "These rifles in the corner are all loaded and in working order. If you have to, use them to defend your position. But with any luck, the lack of lights and noise from the prefabs will keep any roving sentries from noticing your presence. Especially now that all the prefabs are locked."

The former commando turned and headed to the door, opening it and stepping out onto the ramp outside. She paused in the doorway and turned to the doctor. "Lock this behind me," she reminded the woman. "I will be back shortly."

She stood outside until she saw the trigger for the door turn red, and then she turned and headed for the mine entrance with the Prothean rifle in hand. She had infiltrated more than a few bunkers and facilities in her career as a commando, and it was always challenging. Sneaking into an unfamiliar structure where an enemy could lie around any corner required a great deal of patience and caution. Doing so while injured would make the caution doubly important. She couldn't afford to have an alarm go up. She just hoped the others would comply with their captors and keep from causing trouble while she was in there. An unexpected lockdown of the facility would complicate things greatly.

.

* * *

.

**Author's Note: As always, my very first order of business is to thank everyone who reads, reviews, favorites/follows or gives any attention at all to my story. It's important to me to constantly reinforce how much it means to me to see that people are reading (and hopefully enjoying) the tale. I only hope I continue to hold everyone's interest for a bit longer. There are still several big things I want to cover, so the story won't be ending _soon_, but sooner or later we'll be coming to the end, and I'd love to keep you all with me for the ride. :)**

**There were a lot of small things I really felt I needed to get into this Chapter... such as a chance for the captain to shine, which I think was long overdue. However, the main thing I've been waiting to get into the open in the story, even though I think it's been demonstrated well in her actions, is my logic behind choosing Krogan for Illitha's parentage. Personally, I think too many people focus on Krogan as violent brutes who "like to shoot stuff". And I've always seen so much more in them than that. Maybe the traits Rachel pointed out are a little less glaringly obvious, but I think they can all be applied to the Krogan race. Hopefully everyone else has been able to see those little facets of Krogan in Illitha over the story, or at least in looking back now, they might be a bit more obvious.**

**Anyway, that's enough out of me for today. Barring any unforeseen disasters in my life, the next Chapter will go up Sunday morning. So I hope the rest of everyone's week is fantastic, and hopefully you'll all be back for the next part of the story! :)**


	47. Chapter 47: Reconnaissance

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Forty-Seven: Reconnaissance

.

**Prothean Ruins…**

Cerberus had an easy task in securing the Prothean Ruins against intrusion. With only a single entrance through which enemies could gain access, it was a simple matter for a competent military unit to ensure that it would be all but impossible for enemy spies to get inside. When Julisa entered the mine shaft, she was able to progress as far as the point where the man-made shaft broke into a natural cavern. Her progress in scouting the facility ground to a halt there, before it could even truly begin. There was a three-man complement of guards stationed at the Prothean-made door that led from the cavern into the structure's interior, and getting past them without raising some sort of alarm would be almost impossible without a happy turn of chance.

One of the three Cerberus troopers held a massive metal shield with a slot in it through which the man could see while remaining behind the bulwark, and the other two were carrying Mattock rifles, like the men she'd fought outside. Julisa crouched in the darkness at the bend in the mine shaft where it broke through into the natural cavern, and she watched the three men with frustration. She needed to get into the facility and have a look around. If there was to be any chance of rescuing her pilot and the others, it was imperative to determine the locations of the prisoners. However, she now realized she might not even be able to get past the front door.

Disabling or killing all three men wouldn't have been too difficult for the former commando, even in her current state, but doing so would not serve her well in the long run. If she started killing the sentries, their absences would eventually be missed, and then the facility would go on alert. She couldn't afford to raise an alarm until she knew where Neela was being held and had a proper plan for extracting the wounded quarian from the facility. With no other choice but to wait, she remained concealed in the shadows and watched the trio, hoping for some sort of opportunity to present itself.

Much to her frustration, during the hour or so that she watched the group, they did not talk, or fidget, or play games on their omni-tools… They didn't sit down or sigh in boredom or clean their weapons to occupy their time. In fact, they showed no sign of distraction from their duties whatsoever. Unless something happened to shift their focus, she had no chance of ever getting past them without engaging in a direct assault.

_So much for my experience in infiltration and sabotage,_ she thought bitterly. _I have no idea what is going on in there, and I have no way to find out… It is an underground ruin. I think it unlikely to find ventilation or waste disposal systems through which I can gain alternative access…_

The former commando was disappointed and angry. She supposed that she might be able to fight her way to the captives and set them free – she'd certainly done her share of guerilla attacks on mercenary strongholds in the past – but Cerberus might simply execute everyone if she initiated an attack. She needed to get additional allies involved. Unfortunately, the doctor was the only unwounded person left to help her, and the human alone wouldn't be enough.

_Perhaps she knows where the other forces from the town would have gone. If I could get a team of Alliance soldiers to assist me, we could infiltrate this place and liberate the prisoners with ease…_

With a sigh, Julisa turned to leave. There seemed to be no choice but to talk to the doctor about seeking Alliance help. She was just creeping around the bend in the mine shaft toward the exit when she heard a transmission echo through the cavern.

"_Bravo Squad, come in_."

She paused and crept back to the bend, watching the trio at the entrance intently. If they were being contacted by their superiors, it might give her the opportunity she needed to slip past them. At the very least, the transmission might give her some information that could help her plan her next move.

"Bravo Squad here," one of the soldiers answered.

"_Contact with Recon Team Alpha is overdue. There has been no response to my attempts to raise them,_" the voice on the radio informed them. "_I am sending Phantom One-One up to join you. Proceed outside and search the dig site for signs of hostile forces. If you find any, get me a prisoner. We need to know how many more hostiles are in the area._"

Julisa turned and crept toward the exit once again. This would be the perfect opportunity to get into the complex, but only if she was willing to risk that the Cerberus troops would find the doctor and her patients. When they found the prefabs locked, they would undoubtedly bring out someone with tech expertise to hack the locks and search inside. Her suggestion that the doctor shut out the lights and seal the doors was only in the hopes of keeping anyone from bothering to investigate. If they did, a locked prefab would be too obvious a hiding spot for Cerberus _not_ to search.

As a former commando, Julisa knew that sometimes conflict boiled down to simple numbers. To save twenty, sometimes ten had to be sacrificed. Just a couple months ago, when they'd been double-crossed by their batarian clients, she had been willing to leave Aida in danger to prevent a group of batarians from boarding their ship and possibly putting everyone else on the crew at risk. It hadn't made her happy at the time to potentially lose Aida, but to save everyone else it would have been an acceptable sacrifice. Now she faced a very similar choice, and made the same decision. She hoped the doctor and her patients would not be harmed if Cerberus found them, but to save Neela, Selura, and eight Alliance marines, it was worth the risk of losing some of them. She concealed herself among some rocks above the mine entrance, ready to slip inside when the Cerberus group came out to look around.

_If I am lucky, Cerberus will capture the doctor and her patients and bring them in with the other captives, rather than executing most of them. If we are _very_ lucky, they will not bother to hack the locks on the prefabs at all…_

Motion from the mine entrance drew the captain out of her thoughts and focused her upon the task at hand. The soldier with the shield was slowly stalking out of the mine, with the two other sentries on his heels. She wondered how the man was even able to hold that shield in place without pausing frequently to set it on the ground. It looked heavy and thick enough to stop a bullet from any firearm that wasn't modded for piercing armor. After those first three figures came a slender female figure in silver armor. Julisa recognized the style of her armor immediately. She'd already had to fight someone what that same gear. Apparently Cerberus called them 'Phantoms,' according to what she'd heard in the radio transmission.

She kept low, hiding amongst the jagged chunks of rock, waiting for a moment when the path would be clear and she could duck inside. She saw the Phantom turn and glance behind her as the team exited the mine, but the woman never actually looked to the rocks above the shaft. Julisa took the opportunity to climb down from her concealment and limp to the mine entrance, darting inside in almost perfect silence. She was well into the tunnel when she heard the voice of one of the troopers.

"Stay at the entrance while the three of us do our sweep," the distorted voice ordered. "Make sure no one slips in behind us."

_Too late,_ Julisa thought with a smile.

The former commando moved as quickly as she was able to the entrance into the complex, pausing at the door to listen for signs of additional sentries in the area. Hearing nothing, she risked a quick glance inside. The room was large and empty, devoid of any features of note save that the wall facing the door was formed of some sort of decorative latticework. She stepped inside slowly, inspecting her surroundings intently for signs of motion detectors or laser tripwires. Progress would be slow, but it was more important that she take her time and make sure not to trip any alarms.

She limped slowly into the second room, where she found columns in the corners, and quickly darted behind them. If anyone walked in from an adjacent room, she wanted to remain out of sight. Any form of concealment would be her friend in this endeavor. She did step over to the wall on her left and try to get a look through the latticework, but the only view she could get was of a series of tall, slender black structures clustered at the center of the room below. The stonework was too thick and the gaps too small to allow her a vantage of what lay below.

She slipped into the third room and was just taking cover behind the closest column to the door when she heard footsteps approaching. She pressed her back up against the stone support, remaining perfectly still to avoid being noticed by whomever was approaching. As the footsteps drew nearer, she could also hear a soft clanking sound accompanying each step. The sounds passed through the center of the room, and the asari risked a quick peek around the edge of the column as the figures passed by, to get a glimpse of them as they left the room. There were two Cerberus troopers, undoubtedly meant to replace the other sentries, and a third figure that was clad in black armor, carrying a large metallic object on his back. The object was tapping against his armor with every step he took.

_Tech expert perhaps?_ She wondered. _If they need to hack the prefab, they will probably bring someone out with tech expertise…_

She couldn't afford to worry about either the doctor or her exit at the moment. She hoped that the Goddess would show mercy to the humans, but she was here for a purpose, and needed to get her task done. If the way out was blocked, she was sure she could hide inside the complex for days if necessary. She silently hobbled to the next column and from there to the door, peering through before darting inside.

The fifth room in the line of chambers was the first one in which anything stood out. One wall had been collapsed at some point, and had since been cleared of rubble and debris, with a new archway installed to shore up the passage. On the right-hand side, a bunch of crates were stacked in a corner. On the left, the latticework that formed the left-hand wall had been shattered. She glanced through the archway to be sure no one was around, and then she crossed the room to the hole in the latticework, wincing at the pain in her leg as she crouched next to it and peered down into the chamber below.

_Neela…_

Several floors below, she could see the quarian's isolation pod parked upon a walkway that encircled the room. It was flanked by a pair of soldiers, and there were several more milling about nearby. She frowned. With so many soldiers in close proximity to her pilot, rescuing the girl would be difficult. Any one of them could turn his gun upon the isolation pod in a heartbeat. The impact-resistant glass might protect her briefly, but all it would take was one break in the surface or one bullet through the filtration system to potentially kill the pilot. Her gaze transferred to the large, slender black structures at the heart of the chamber, and she spotted the lone figure working at their base, pulling pieces out of their interior.

_Selura…_

The young asari scientist was hard at work, no doubt because Neela was being used as leverage. Julisa had initially been surprised to hear about the relationship that had blossomed between the two while she was in stasis. During the trip from the hospital to the dig site, however, she had seen their mutual affection clearly in both their expressions and their behavior toward each other. She was pretty sure any Cerberus agent with half a brain would have recognized it as well… and that they would have used it to their advantage.

She saw no sign of any of the Alliance soldiers, and was forced to guess that they were being held elsewhere. It was imperative that she determine their location if she could. When she tried to rescue Neela, it would be necessary to arm the soldiers and enlist their aid in the task. Without the added firepower, she stood very little chance of succeeding in the rescue attempt. Not in her current state.

She shifted position as she crouched at the hole in the wall, studying the layout of the room below. The walkways were all wide open, and the only cover she could see came from the archive at the room's center. For a commando skilled in the use of biotic charges, that room would become an excellent killing ground if she could find a way to get Neela and Selura into cover behind the archive. She filed the information away for future reference. Cerberus needed the archive, she was guessing. Therefore, they might actually be dumb enough to fall back to that room when violence erupted. She hoped so. It would make the coming fight so much easier…

* * *

**Mountain Passes, North of Scott…**

Prathus crouched behind a protrusion in the mountainside flanking the path, peering out from behind cover and straining to see where the enemy was located. He had known that their trip south wouldn't be without incident, but he hadn't expected to run into Reaper troops on the mountain path in the middle of the night. Their small group was pinned down on a low point in the winding trail, and the Reapers held the rise in the path ahead of them.

The nights on the moonless planet were intensely dark. Without night vision, the turian was only able to spot the Reapers when they fired their weapons. He saw the occasional glimpse of a cannibal when it leaned out of cover to fire, but the flashes from the rifles carried by the two Reaper turians that led their enemies were almost constant. He could see the twisted, partially-metal faces of the former turians illuminated by the muzzle flashes with every bullet the creatures discharged, and it filled him with anger to see his people fighting against him. He was so consumed with brooding thoughts over the Reapers using his people as cannon fodder that he almost didn't hear the metallic clink that issued from somewhere nearby.

"Grenade!" Zaeed's gruff voice shouted in warning.

Prathus only realized after the warning that the sound he'd heard had been a grenade landing near his position. But he wasn't sure exactly where the device had landed, and if he moved, he risked diving directly onto the explosive. Kinetic shield or no, standing over a grenade when it exploded… or lying atop one… would ruin his day. He didn't think he had any choice but to stay right where he was.

A small figure wreathed in an orange glow suddenly tackled him to the ground. Only the glowing panels of the tech armor that surrounded his savior kept him from lashing out at the shadowy form out of reflex. His young asari shipmate was immediately crouched over him, hands extended, and a faintly-glowing blue dome flickered into existence around them. The explosion occurred almost at the same instant the barrier appeared. The force of the blast collapsed the field and knocked the asari flat. Her delicate frame came down upon his armored form, and he winced… not because her weight was significant enough to hurt, but because he knew the armor he wore wouldn't be comfortable to land on. He grabbed her arm and jerked her to the side, quickly scrambling to a crouched position in front of her.

"T'Zari, you okay?" he demanded.

"Fine," she said, but she sounded dazed. "Just knocked the wind out of me…"

Prathus set his sights upon the muzzle flashes atop the incline, and he fired a few shots at his chosen target, only to see his shield shimmer and hear the soft crackling sounds when bullets peppered him in return. Illitha was struggling to her feet, and he shoved the asari forcefully toward the cover he had been using, pressing close to the rocky wall that flanked the left side of the path.

"We're not getting anywhere with this shit," Zaeed shouted from his spot behind a boulder on the opposite side of the path. "The turians are sticking to cover enough to keep their shields up, and the goddamn cannibals are covered in armor plating. I've managed to put down one so far. _One_!"

Prathus nodded. They didn't have a good firing position, and the Reapers weren't trying to advance. The creatures seemed content to simply hold the high ground and grind them out. It was an uncommonly intelligent tactic for the Reaper ground troops, and he had to assume that the defiled turians were possessed of a better tactical intelligence and some form of command position over the cannibals and husks. Prathus was about to suggest a retreat when a ping from his omni-tool distracted him. The sound was repeated by the omni carried by each other person in their group.

"It is a transmission!" Illitha shouted to be heard over the gunfire.

Prathus hit the button to open the channel, wondering who could possibly be trying to contact them. However, the transmission quickly put that curiosity to rest. It immediately became clear that the message was not meant specifically for them at all.

"_Any allied forces on this frequency… My name is Rebecca Tillman. Cerberus troops have cornered me and eight critically injured patients in a prefab at the attached coordinates. We are in need of immediate assistance! Can anyone read me?_"

The transmission came through as clear as could be, and Prathus was impressed over the clarity allowed by the new communications filters. However, his amazement was quickly eclipsed behind concern for the woman. He recognized the name 'Tillman'. The doctor in Mivian Heights had carried the name.

"This is Prathus Ganarius," he announced. "We read you. But we aren't in a position to get to you quickly. What is the situation there?"

"_Prathus?_" the woman repeated. "_I am getting a lot of signal distortion on this end. Did I hear that correctly?_"

"Yes," Prathus nodded, wincing when bullets struck the rock wall just above his head. He leaned out to fire a short burst at the Reapers atop the hill. "We have a situation here, so be concise," he urged. "What is the situation?"

"_We're at an old Prothean ruin. Cerberus troops have assaulted our position and I think they've captured or killed everyone else. The asari captain told me to broadcast a distress call if she didn't return within the hour. That was sixty-four minutes ago. I was going to give her a little more time, but… Cerberus is outside the prefab. I think they're trying to hack the door lock. We need help! I have a stockpile of rifles in here, but I can't fight them off alone!_"

Prathus's mandibles twitched in frustration. The Prothean ruin again. He had expected as much when he heard Tillman's name. The previous transmission they'd intercepted from Cerberus had mentioned the capture of Selura at that location. Apparently the entire hospital had been forced to evacuate and had chosen to go to the dig site for shelter… an unfortunate move, given Cerberus's presence there.

"Doctor, you have to fight," Prathus urged. "We intercepted a Cerberus transmission. They have orders to kill anyone they find." He wished he had better news to give the woman, but he didn't want her to try to surrender, only to then be executed by Cerberus. He leaned out and fired a few shots, waiting for the woman's response.

"_I might be able to hold out for a little while, but not for long,_" the doctor sounded terrified. "_How soon can you get here?_"

Prathus was at a loss. They were days away. They couldn't possibly help the woman. But he wasn't sure that telling her no help was coming was a good idea. Giving the human a little hope wouldn't be the worst thing he could do.

"We'll get there as soon as we can, Doctor," Prathus finally said. "Hold out there as long as you can," he added.

"_Thank you_."

Prathus disengaged the channel, shaking his head in frustration. He hadn't exactly lied to the human, but he had definitely given her a false sense of hope. He only hoped that it would help her in some small way before Cerberus killed her.

"We need to get moving," Zaeed shouted. "We may have to try a charge!"

Prathus was about to agree when Illitha slapped him on the arm to get his attention. He turned to look at her, studying what little he could see of the girl's face by the faint light of the tech armor. She gestured upward, and Prathus followed her gaze. He couldn't see anything in the near total darkness, but before he could ask any questions, she spoke up.

"B-Boost me up! There is a ledge about five meters up. Maybe it will offer a better vantage."

Prathus nodded in understanding. The biggest problem they had at the moment was that the Reapers had high ground, and didn't need to present much of a target to fire on them. If they could get someone in a better shooting position, it could give them an advantage and allow them to advance. But he couldn't get the girl up that high without help.

"Massani!" he shouted, waving the mercenary over.

Zaeed darted out of cover, and Prathus could see the shimmer around the human when he immediately came under fire as he crossed the open space of the path. Prathus gestured upward, quickly explaining the situation while the blonde human girl kept pressure on their enemies. As he expected, the mercenary was quick to agree, and the two of them crouched, forming a basket with their hands for the asari to plant her foot in. Together, they might be able to toss the asari high enough to grab the ledge and pull herself up.

"On three," Prathus urged. "One… Two… _Three_!"

Both he and Zaeed heaved the asari up into the air. Even wearing armor, Illitha was an extremely lightweight individual, and Prathus watched as the orange glow of the tech armor soared upward and then hung motionless in the air. He nodded in satisfaction. Illitha had obviously caught hold of the ledge. He reclaimed his position behind cover and leaned out, firing on the enemy while Illitha got into place. The asari had good instincts and a good eye. Her idea could have been just the thing they needed to deal with the Reapers and get moving again.

* * *

**Upper level, Prothean Ruins…**

There was a pile of crates in the room with the broken latticework. It was these crates that had kept Julisa busy for the past several minutes, while she searched them for any tech that could be useful. She was hoping to find proximity mines or some other form of explosives, but the boxes seemed to hold mostly mining equipment and basic gear. She was about to move on to another room when a voice echoed up from the room below.

"Asari, take a break. Two minutes," a deep voice demanded.

Julisa crept across the room and crouched once more beside the hole in the latticework. In the room below, Selura was slowly easing herself to a seat on the bridge from the archive to the walkway, while a man in civilian clothes spoke to the Cerberus soldiers. She studied the man curiously. He looked to be middle aged, for a human, and the soldiers seemed to defer to him.

_If there was ever a way to force Cerberus into compliance, that man would be the key_, she said to herself. _He is clearly in charge. Perhaps taking him hostage would buy freedom for the others…_

It was worth a try, but she couldn't just charge down into the room below and grab him. She would have to find him somewhere in the complex and grab him in a place where there weren't half-a-dozen troopers ready to kill her pilot. If she could seize him without raising an alarm, she would have leverage. It was the first inkling of a plan she'd managed to come up with. She watched as the human walked out of sight, apparently passing through a door somewhere below her. She couldn't see the portal from her vantage.

"Move," she heard a harsh voice demand. The order had definitely come from the direction of the rooms through which she had already passed.

Cerberus had apparently worked fast, and Julisa assumed the doctor was now a prisoner. She didn't dare try to cross the room to hide behind the crates stacked against the opposite wall. She would be spotted as she passed in front of the doorway. She was left with only one option if she wanted to avoid detection. She quickly climbed through the hole in the latticework. As long as none of the troopers in the room below looked up, she would be able to avoid detection.

Though both of her injured limbs had pressure braces on them, it was both difficult and painful to hold onto the rough stonework with one fractured leg and one fractured arm. Still, she managed to climb through the breach and down just far enough that she was unlikely to be seen if the soldiers glanced her direction as they passed through the room. From her vantage, she could see only feet as they passed, but counted three figures in the group. As the footsteps receded, she felt a small pang or regret. The Cerberus troopers had been escorting someone, but they hadn't brought the patients in with them. It seemed likely that they had executed the injured and captured only the doctor. It was small solace that the doctor still lived.

_Find peace in the embrace of the Goddess,_ she silently prayed for the dead.

She didn't have further time to grieve for the unfortunate sacrifice of the injured. The troopers were escorting a captive into the facility, which probably meant they were going directly to wherever the other Alliance soldiers were being held. She quickly hoisted herself up and back through the hole, and then set off after the group, moving as quickly and quietly as she could manage. She could see the two troopers flanking the human doctor, confirming her suspicions about the identity of the captive. The woman was clutching her ribs in a manner that suggested some level of injury, but Julisa saw no signs of blood upon her coat, so it didn't seem to be a gunshot wound. At least the doctor had survived.

Julisa knew that shadowing the group was risky. Even though the corridors seemed to be mostly dark, illuminated only by an occasional portable lighting unit, she would almost certainly be spotted if any of them turned around. There was nowhere to hide while walking through corridors. However, it was her best chance at getting the information she needed, so she decided to take the risk. Once she knew where the prisoners were being kept, she could begin planning a rescue. Now that she had seen the man in charge, a successful rescue actually seemed possible.

Unfortunately, though she had been lucky to that point, her luck could not hold forever. Just a short distance down the corridor, her targets reached a junction in the hallway. Several other soldiers were stationed at that crossroads, apparently on watch. She quickly crouched in the archway of a closed door, watching the soldiers march the doctor past the junction, and then through the second door on the right-hand side of the hall beyond. Somehow, she doubted that it was the room where the prisoners were being held, since the door hadn't been locked and there were no guards posted outside. She couldn't follow further because of the sentries ahead, so she'd lost her chance at finding the location of the Alliance prisoners.

She glanced back at the hallway behind her, and counted a dozen doors flanking the corridor between the room with the crates and her current position. At least the ruin seemed like a large enough place to allow her to lose herself in the structure. She might be able to find a way around and resume the search given enough time. Cerberus couldn't possibly be using every chamber in the place. It might take her days of searching to find a way to the prisoners, but she was sure that given enough time, she would do it.

All that would remain at that point was the more complicated task of engineering an escape. Even if she grabbed the man in charge, she wasn't sure she would be able to manage the rescue alone. But without reinforcements, she had no other choice.

Watching the troopers ahead to be sure none of them was looking her way, she left her spot in the doorway and reversed course, creeping through the darkness of the corridor to try some of the doors closer to the room with the break in the latticework. She could be patient. As long as Cerberus needed Selura to complete whatever she was doing with the Prothean archive, she had the luxury of time. She just hoped the young scientist would remain docile and compliant.

* * *

**Mountain Passes, North of Scott…**

In the moment when Prathus and Zaeed boosted her into the air, Illitha was terrified. Five meters was a large distance above the ground, and the thought of missing her hold on the ledge and crashing to the rocky trail below flashed through her mind. When her fingertips came into contact with the edge of the ledge, pure fear gave her the strength to hold on. She struggled to pull herself up, but with the weight of her armor and the subtle resistance generated by the tech armor, it wasn't easy to manage. Several bullets ricocheted off of her barrier, adding to the difficulty of the task. Only her determination and her fear of falling allowed her to finally swing a leg up onto the ledge, and from there to hoist herself onto the surface.

She could feel a warm slickness on her lower back, and she realized that she was injured… again. She wasn't sure how bad it was, thanks to the nerve damage in her back, where the wound was apparently located; she felt no pain. She put all thoughts of her injuries out of her head and rolled over, gazing along the ledge. There were several small breaks in the surface, but it seemed to run along the nearly-sheer surface of the mountainside almost to where the Reapers were entrenched. She smiled to herself and thanked the Goddess for her favors while she deactivated her tech armor, so that the glow of the defensive barriers wouldn't give away her position.

Below her, she could see flashes from the discharge of weapons, both from her allies, and from the Reapers atop the rise in the path. She hurried along ledge, leaping over the few breaks in the surface with ease. When she reached the point where the ledge narrowed and vanished altogether, she paused, surveying the path below.

From where she stood, she had a clear line of sight to one of the Reaper turians, and could see the other one when he was in cover. When he stepped out of cover to fire, she lost sight of him behind the tall rock formation he was hiding behind. She could also see several cannibals where they were crouched behind protrusions and rocks along the path. She ignored the cannibals for the moment. The turians were the most dangerous enemies, and she needed to neutralize them if she could.

She snatched the Carnifex hand cannon from the magnetic holster at her hip. She had liberated the weapon from the corpse of the salarian Rachel had killed. The weapon's shots had passed through Rachel's shield the first time they confronted the salarian, and she hoped that the mods remained intact. The Reaper turians used kinetic barriers, and bypassing them would help her even the odds quickly. She took aim at the turian that she had a clear view of, and she squeezed the trigger.

The thunderous sound of the shot made her wince involuntarily, and the recoil of the weapon was far more significant than she had expected. She wasn't accustomed to such a powerful firearm, and almost dropped the gun after the recoil put her off-balance. However, her aim on that first shot was perfect. When she steadied herself and brought the hand cannon to bear for a second shot, she was surprised to see the turian lying upon the rocky ground, with a sizeable hole in its head.

Every enemy on the path below diverted its attention to her, and a rain of bullets hit her barrier. By the time she crouched and got out of the line of fire, her barrier was on the verge of collapse. She reactivated her tech armor since she now had their attention, and she rose just far enough to get her sights on one of the cannibals… the second turian was nowhere to be seen. She fired upon the creature, but the shot struck the armored plating that covered the bloated form with an audible crack.

Fortunately, her friends had taken their opportunity. She saw the three of them advancing up the incline, and the sound of their rifles filled the night air as they fired upon the exposed Reaper troops. Illitha squeezed off a few more shots without much effect, but Zaeed, Prathus and Rachel now seemed to have the upper hand. She smiled.

That smile quickly faded, however, when a turian form suddenly rocketed up and landed on the ledge next to her. She hadn't been aware that the Reaper turians had any form of propulsion pack. She scrambled away from the creature and raised her pistol, but the turian had already taken aim and started firing. At point-blank range, the shots quickly tore down her barrier. A few bullets were deflected by her tech armor, and she felt one tear into her arm, wrenching a cry of pain out of her.

When there was a break in the fire, Illitha focused her biotics and prepared to hit the creature with a biotic throw, hoping to knock it off of the ledge. However, just as the orb was forming in her hand, she saw the creature shift its grip on its rifle. It quickly closed the distance and swung the butt end of the weapon into the side of her head. While the tech armor and her helmet took a lot of the force out of the blow, she still staggered to the side as a result of the strike. Her focus wavered, and the biotic orb dissipated. The barrel of the turian's rifle slammed into the side of her knee, and instinctively she turned with the force of it, falling to her knees in front of the creature but sparing the joint from serious injury in the process. In desperation, she tried again to focus her biotics and hit it with a throw, but the turian's weapon slammed into the visor of her helm at that moment. She toppled backward, and then felt herself sliding over the edge of the ledge. Panic filled her, and she scrambled for a handhold to keep from falling. She succeeded in clinging to the edge, and could hear Rachel shouting from below for her to hold on.

The turian didn't give her that option. It raised its foot and kicked her in the face. There was a moment of dazed confusion, and then she felt herself falling. A shriek burst from her lungs, and she pictured herself hitting the rocky path below and rolling right off the other side to plummet off the mountainside. Instead, she saw a slender silhouette rising up to meet her, and she crashed down upon the figure below her. They tumbled to the ground in a heap. She tried to clear her head and focus on any pain she felt, but aside from her arm, nothing seemed to hurt too badly.

"Eat this, you bastard," she heard Zaeed's voice growl. A moment later, there was a thunderous explosion.

"Look-" Prathus started to shout something. Then a tremendous weight came crashing down upon the asari's back just as she was starting to push herself up. "-out," the turian finished lamely.

Illitha struggled to draw breath. There was a heavy body lying atop her back, and the mixed smell of charred flesh and grease or some other lubricant assailed her nose. There was another body lying beneath her, though the second figure was trying to push her off of it. She raised her head and shook it, trying to clear her vision, and she found herself staring at the sculpted chest piece of a suit of Alliance armor… the shape of which suggested a female wearer. She blushed and struggled to crawl out from under the body on top of her. Much to her relief, someone hoisted the corpse off of her back, and she quickly scrambled off of Rachel.

"T'Zari, are you okay?" the turian asked in concern.

"Yes," Illitha said in amazement. Rachel had broken her fall, and she didn't think she'd hurt anything too badly.

"I'm fine too. Thanks for asking," Rachel's voice was heavy with sarcasm.

"I am sorry, Rachel," Illitha struggled to her feet, and held a hand out to the fallen blonde. "I did not mean to fall on you."

"I was trying to catch you," the blonde shook her head, taking the proffered hand.

Illitha hoisted Rachel to her feet, smiling at the young human with gratitude. The blonde regarded her in silence for a moment, and then finally crossed her arms.

"So, another brilliant plan comes from the Spectre," she grinned.

"Oh yes. Brilliant," Illitha muttered. "I got myself beaten senseless by a Reaper turian."

"You _would_ focus on the one point of your plan that went wrong," Rachel shook her head and sighed. "Admit it, Spectre… You are better at this than you ever thought you would be."

Illitha shook her head. Privately, she had to admit that Rachel was right. She had never expected to have any aptitude whatsoever for combat or tactics, and yet she kept managing to come up with ideas that actually helped. But she wasn't going to speak such thoughts aloud. She was still struggling to come to terms with the earlier revelation that there might be a few more krogan traits in her than she had realized.

_Although hand-to-hand combat is not one of them,_ she thought ruefully when her gaze fell upon the shrapnel-riddled corpse of the turian Reaper.

"Why does everyone keep calling you Spectre, T'Zari?" Prathus asked suddenly.

"Have you seen the girl fight?" Rachel spoke before Illitha could explain. "I was only teasing her at first, but the more time I spend with her, the more I see Spectre potential in her."

"N-No," Illitha protested. "That is ridiculous. Maybe I… It is possible that I have a little more courage than I gave myself credit for," she admitted, shifting uncomfortably as she did so, "but I am certainly no Spectre."

"But she's not the only one I've heard call you that," Prathus persisted.

"It started because of her teasing," Illitha explained. "S-She called me Spectre in front of Jay, Elliot, and some others. And… they thought she was serious."

"She played along because it earned her a little extra respect and convinced some of the group to come with us," Rachel added. "She eventually told them the truth, but telling people she is a Spectre has helped to get quick compliance on a couple of occasions."

"Spectre T'Zari," Prathus murmured, sounding the slightest bit amused. "It actually has a nice ring to it."

"No it does not," Illitha shook her head. "I am not a Spectre."

"Sure thing, Spectre," Rachel grinned teasingly.

Illitha shook her head and turned away, but just when she did so, Rachel reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, drawing her to a stop.

"You said you weren't hurt…"

"I am fine," Illitha turned to look at the blonde.

"You're not fine," Rachel stared at her. "Your arm is bleeding, and there are holes in the kinetic padding on your lower back too."

Illitha frowned. She'd felt the blood on her lower back, but had forgotten about it during all of the fighting and then the fall. Now that her attention was returned to it, she could still feel the stickiness of the blood.

"Here," Zaeed said gruffly, thrusting a single packet of medigel into her hands.

"We can afford to take a short breather," Rachel commented, turning to look at Zaeed and Prathus. "Why don't you guys scout the path ahead? Illitha, we need to get you out of the armor so that I can clean the wounds and apply some medigel."

Prathus and Zaeed exchanged glances, and the two soldiers strolled off along the path. Illitha glanced at the blonde uncertainly. She had never been all that comfortable with being even partially undressed around others, and given her admiration for the blonde, the prospect was doubly daunting in this case.

"Hurry up," Rachel urged. "I won't bite. Much…"

* * *

**Archive Chamber, Prothean Ruins…**

Neela watched angrily as a Cerberus trooper shoved Selura roughly along the walkway spanning the water, almost sending the asari to the deck. Her hands clenched into fists. She had been watching Cerberus abuse her girlfriend and exploit her talents for what felt like an eternity, while she was trapped in a glass box and unable to help. One of the troopers was constantly watching the asari… they didn't even give her the dignity of privacy when she needed to attend to personal needs. Neela would have given anything for the ability to come to Selura's defense, but fate was cruel. As much as she hated Cerberus at that moment, she cursed the salarian most of all. It was _his_ fault that she was in such a vulnerable position to begin with. If she'd still had a working enviro-suit and the ability to move around on her own, perhaps they wouldn't have been captured to begin with.

The trooper marched Selura toward her pod, and Neela managed to force a smile in hopes of comforting her girlfriend. Selura smiled back, but the smile wasn't reflected in her eyes. The asari came closer to the pod, but when she reached out to touch it, her escort quickly grabbed the collar of her shirt, jerking her roughly backward.

"Keep your hands to yourself," the man barked.

"Sit and eat," another of the soldiers ordered, throwing some sort of sealed food pack at the asari. "You have five hours to rest or sleep. Then you get back to work."

Selura sighed and seated herself on the stone floor of the walkway, pressing a hand against her abdomen as she did so. Neela could tell that the asari was in pain, and she bit her lip in worry. She had seen the way Selura winced when she jumped in front of the pod to defend her. She was afraid the girl had reinjured herself. Her concerns deepened when the asari pushed the package of food to the side without even opening it. Neela's stomach felt like it was tied in knots. It had now been four days since she'd had anything to eat. The fact that Selura _could_ eat, but was choosing not to in support of her, was undeniably sweet… but also frustrating.

"Selura-" she began.

"No talking!" one of the soldiers barked, cutting her off.

"Please," Selura begged. "It cannot hurt to let us talk. I am doing everything you ask. Just… Let me talk to her."

Neela watched the two soldiers glance at each other, and waited for them to refuse. They hadn't done anything remotely kind since capturing the group, so she didn't expect anything to change now. Thus she was surprised when the two troopers finally moved away, sitting on some crates a short distance from them, but within easy earshot.

"Talk," one of them said. "But if either of you does anything but speak, we will be forced to take corrective measures," he warned.

Neela saw Selura's shoulders slump and heard the asari's sigh, and she echoed the sound. Selura didn't deserve to be in this position. She regarded her girlfriend silently for a moment, and then asked the question she'd been about to ask before.

"Selura… Are you okay? You look like you're in pain."

"I… did something stupid," the asari muttered. "That man Pavv punched me in the stomach and reopened my wounds…"

Neela scowled at the news. She'd heard the man call for medigel and fresh bandages and had assumed the worst, but she had been trying to convince herself that the request had been a demonstration of goodwill, not recompense for additional cruelty. She would have given anything to be able to hold the asari just then.

"You were being so obedient," Neela said softly. "What could you possibly have done to deserve that sort of treatment?"

"I… I tried to punch him," Selura's eyes were upon the floor.

"What? Why?" Neela was shocked. She hadn't expected Selura to do _anything_ that might have prompted retaliation from Cerberus. A part of her knew that Selura's actions could have led to her death… But she was actually impressed and pleased that the asari had exhibited a bit of defiance.

"He called you a whore," the asari growled, and Neela could see her hands clench into fists.

The quarian remembered the surge of fury that had gone through her when Pavv had referred to Selura with the same word, and she nodded in understanding. Had she been able to attack the human at that moment, she might have done the same thing. She couldn't blame Selura for lashing out in anger.

"Don't let him get to you," Neela urged. "He is a bigot and is trying to torment you with threats and insults. Don't give him the satisfaction of reacting."

"I know," Selura's voice was soft. When she raised her head, Neela could see her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I just… I love you so much… and I hate hearing them threaten you… You do not deserve it…"

Neela closed her eyes and sighed. She felt the same way about Selura. The poor girl didn't deserve to be used as slave labor, to be shoved and punched and insulted by a bunch of racists and terrorists. "Don't worry about me," she finally said. "I know how you feel. It kills me to watch them treat you like this. Just don't let them see you hurt. Don't give them the pleasure."

"I will try not to," Selura promised.

"And… will you do one more thing for me?" Neela asked.

"Anything."

"Eat," Neela smiled softly.

"No," Selura stubbornly shook her head. "Not until you are able to eat as well."

"Selura…" Neela frowned. "I want you to eat. Please."

The asari shook her head, picking up the package of food Cerberus had given her. When she saw Selura's eyes shift to the water nearby, she realized that her girlfriend was about to throw it in.

"Stop!" she insisted, and was thankful when the asari paused. She took the opportunity to continue. "Do you like seeing me go hungry?" she asked. She already knew the answer, but she needed to make her point.

"Of course not," Selura frowned. "I hate it."

"How do you think I feel?" Neela demanded. "I hate watching you go without food. And it feels even worse to know that you _could_ eat, and you are not eating because of me…"

The asari's lips were touched by a frown, but Neela also saw a bit of indecision enter her expression.

"Please," Neela persisted. "For me?"

She saw the asari's shoulders slump, a change in posture that normally would have made her feel unhappy, but this time she marked it as a victory. She knew before the girl even tore open the packaging that she'd won. She smiled when Selura started taking bites of the vacuum-sealed, ready-to-eat meal, happy to know that her girlfriend was finally getting some nutrition. Of course, watching someone eat only made her own hunger return in force, and she could feel her hands shake, but there was nothing she could to for herself.

"Do you think you can fix the archive?" Neela decided to change the subject, trying to keep her mind off of the growling in her abdomen.

Selura suddenly looked uncomfortable, and she glanced back at the troopers, who were sitting silently and watching them. The asari just shrugged. "I have to," was all she said.

Neela could hear the anxiety in the asari's voice and understood immediately. She had seen the damage the nanites did to her suit and to her implants. She could only imagine how extensive the damage to the archive must have been. Selura didn't think she could fix it. Which meant they had only a few days to figure out how to escape before Cerberus killed them both. She chewed on her lower lip. Her isolation pod's motor was dead. She had no way to move. As a result, there was no way for her to escape. The others would have to go without her.

_How will I ever convince Selura to go without me?_ She wondered. In her heart, she knew that Selura would die before she would ever agree to leave her behind. She loved that she meant so much to the asari, but at the moment, the knowledge was bittersweet.

She glanced up at Selura, and saw the asari watching her with concern. The expression upon the girl's features made her realize that something of her thoughts must have been visible upon her face. She managed a small smile.

"I have an idea," Selura said softly, glancing at the troopers once again. "If I am right, they may be willing to give me a little more time to work…"

Neela nodded slowly, wondering what it was that the asari could possibly be thinking. It was clear that she couldn't get into specifics with the troopers watching, but any idea that would buy them more time was a good thing. At the very least, the more time they had, the more likely it was that the captain would find a way to rescue them. By now, she was sure that the former commando would have figured out that they were in trouble and would be looking for a way to help.

"I am sorry, Neela," Selura said suddenly.

"For what?"

"For everything. For this situation. For their threats. For not being able to protect you…" the asari bowed her head.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Neela assured her. "I love you. And I know we'll get out of this somehow."

"I hope you are right," Selura's voice was soft.

"I am," Neela did her best to sound confident. "We both survived Salik. We can survive this too."

She prayed that she was right. It certainly didn't look good. In fact, though she would never have admitted it to her girlfriend, since she was stuck in an immobile isolation pod, she was afraid that it would take a miracle to save them both. Selura could survive if someone dragged her to safety. As for herself… she was less enthusiastic about her chances.

* * *

**Mountain Passes, North of Scott…**

Illitha clutched the torn remains of her Alliance shirt tight against her chest, trying to stand still while Rachel poked and prodded at her bare abdomen. The asari was so embarrassed that her cheeks felt like they were on fire, and yet the blonde seemed oblivious to it all. It had started with the removal of the upper portion of her armor so that the marine could tend to her arm and the wounds on her back… There were half-a-dozen small puncture wounds from shrapnel, courtesy of the grenade from which she had saved Prathus. The combination of her barrier and the armor had kept the fragments from piercing too deeply. Her arm was likewise a minor wound. The bullet had passed through the flesh without hitting any major arteries or bones.

Once the blonde had picked the chunks of metal out of her back and applied medigel to the minor wounds, Illitha had turned and bent to pick up her armor. And that was when Rachel had noticed the multitude of small puncture wounds in her abdomen… again courtesy of shrapnel from grenades. Her armor had automatically released medigel to that area when the injuries occurred, but it seemed the medigel reservoir in her armor was now empty, since it hadn't done so with the newest wounds.

Now, as Illitha stood and endured the blonde's very thorough efforts to clean the area around the wounds with what little water was left in her canteen and pick the shrapnel out of the hardened medigel, the asari found herself thinking that she was a bit of a shrapnel-magnet. First the exploding junction aboard the _Sileya_ had wounded her, and since then a bunch more exploding objects had added to the collection of shrapnel wounds she had accrued. Her back and abdomen were marred collectively with dozens of minor perforations at varying stages of recovery.

"You have to be the luckiest soldier in the galaxy," Rachel commented.

"I-I am not a soldier," Illitha protested.

"Yeah," the blonde grinned. "You just keep telling yourself that…"

Illitha sighed, wincing slightly while the blonde worked to wipe dried blood from around one of the small wounds near her navel. She wasn't a soldier. Rachel was a soldier. McSween was a soldier. Prathus was a soldier. To call her a soldier seemed an insult to real soldiers everywhere. She could be called a tactician, perhaps…

"All of these shrapnel wounds and you have yet to suffer any life-threatening injuries," Rachel continued. "Very few people have even one close encounter with a grenade and walk away from it. You seem to have had several."

"Then… I… I hope my luck holds."

"Me too. We can't afford to lose you."

Illitha shifted uncomfortably, trying to ignore the nervousness that filled her while the blonde examined her abdomen by the search light of her omni-tool, looking for any other wounds. Her thoughts turned to the human doctor, who had originally informed her about the nerve damage in her back. She wondered if the woman had managed to hold Cerberus off, or if she had been killed by the terrorists.

"There. All better," Rachel announced, tossing the empty packet of medigel aside. She'd had to be sparing with her use of the gel, but she'd managed to apply at least a little to all of Illitha's wounds.

Illitha turned away from the blonde, quickly pulling her torn and blood-stained Alliance shirt back over her head and tugging it into place. Then she started dressing in her armor. Rachel deactivated her omni-tool's search light, plunging the path into complete darkness.

"Th-Thank you," Illitha murmured.

"Hey, we need to keep you in the fight," Rachel's tone was playful.

Illitha said nothing. Her mind was upon the people at the Prothean ruin. They'd first heard that Selura was a captive there. Then the doctor's transmission had mentioned the captain, and that the elder asari had been overdue. Illitha was worried. They were still days away from the ruin, and it was possible that two of her friends… or three, if Neela had survived the infection that Prathus said was consuming her… were now in Cerberus hands. They needed to get moving again. Her friends needed help.

"Ready to go?" Rachel asked.

Illitha slipped her helmet on and engaged the night vision overlay, nodding in response to the blonde's question.

"Ready," she announced.

_Or as ready as I will ever be,_ she sighed. _I am not sure I can ever really be ready to face Cerberus again…_

_._

* * *

_._

**Author's Note:Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited/followed or otherwise given any attention at all to my story. You are all fantastic, and your continued interest is the fuel that is keeping me motivated to write on a daily basis. I appreciate it greatly.**

**I don't have much to say about this Chapter, save that I enjoyed this little exercise so far, where I took the mistakes made by Cerberus in the previous defense of that same ruin and flipped things around to present a much more competent securing of the structure. Of course, new mistakes have been made by the enemy this time, but hopefully thus far it has been clear just how much more organized (not to mention better-staffed) this particular Cerberus outfit is, even if there's a world-class dirtbag leading them, as one PM last Chapter so eloquently put it. :)**

**Barring any unforeseen events in my life, the next Chapter will go up Friday morning. I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day and an awesome weekend, and may the coming week be just as good or better.**


	48. Chapter 48: Recruitment

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Forty-Eight: Recruitment

.

**Prothean Ruins…**

Julisa pressed back into the recesses of a doorway, holding her breath and waiting patiently while a pair of Cerberus troopers strolled past. Neither of the two said anything, and they kept their gazes fixed firmly on the path ahead. The latter fact went a long way toward the asari remaining undetected. When the two troopers were well past her hiding place, she hesitantly stepped out into the open, her eyes upon their backs.

_Cerberus has done something monstrous_, she caught herself thinking. _Their troopers are like machines. No distraction… No personality… No soul…_

She shook her head. She'd been wandering the Prothean ruin for over a day, and had yet to see any of the Cerberus figures engaged in small talk or any form of recreation. She crept down the corridor slowly, her omni-tool active, and she pressed the device against each door she passed, using a long-neglected program to scan for sounds beyond each of the doors. She couldn't afford to simply open each door she passed, for fear of opening one occupied by Cerberus forces, who might then raise an alarm.

The Prothean ruin was a sizeable structure. She'd found six levels in the structure, the top four of which were quite large. But the length of time involved in her reconnaissance had nothing to do with the size of the place; she could have investigated every room in the structure within a couple of hours if she was able to move freely. The reason it had taken her more than a Galactic Standard day to investigate the whole place was because she was frequently forced to hide or to double back to avoid detection. She had, in fact, once been forced to crawl into a storage crate and remain there for over four hours while a pair of Cerberus engineers performed maintenance on a seemingly endless series of rifles.

The upshot of the lengthy stay in the ruin was that Julisa had compiled a nearly-complete exploration of the structure. There was only a small area of the third level – just outside of the archive chamber – that she had not been able to access. It seemed to be the center of Cerberus activities, and by process of elimination, it was also the location in which the Alliance prisoners were being held. Or at least, such would be the case if she found no sign of the prisoners in the rooms at the end of this final corridor…

The former commando crept along the darkened corridor, straining to make out details in the gloom since she was without a helmet for night vision. As she moved, she listened intently for any sign that the Cerberus troopers were returning. She didn't think that Cerberus was actually using any of these rooms; over the course of the day, she'd determined that there were several roving patrols tasked with simply wandering the corridors in search of intruders.

Her omni-tool had detected no sound behind any of the doors during her search of the hallway. When she reached the end of the corridor, she reversed course and hit the triggers on each door as she passed, making a mental note of which ones were inoperable and which ones opened. When she hit the panel on the fifth door from the end of the hall, however, she paused. There was a faint light flickering intermittently from within the room.

Her rifle immediately came up to a firing position, and she slowly stepped into the chamber, looking around at the array of ancient Prothean workstations spread throughout the room. Many of them sported monitors, and the asari guessed that this might have been some sort of security station. The light she had spotted came from a large monitor at the very back of the room. The display was active, and flickered occasionally. She stepped closer to investigate, and when she did so, she found that a panel had been removed from the base of the workstation, providing access to the wiring and circuitry beneath. It seemed that someone had made some attempt to restore the station to working order. She glanced toward the door to be sure she was alone, and then decided to risk activating her omni-tool's search light function so she could get a better look.

Julisa winced as she crouched and glanced into the access space at the components inside. She could see wiring and other elements that had been wiped clean of dust and sediment, and several of the wires seemed to have been cut, stripped, and spliced together in new configurations, and then cut apart to disable the station. She knew a little about electronics… it was necessary for any commando to learn enough to disable or bypass security elements in various systems. But the Prothean tech was beyond her. The only thing that seemed certain was that someone had restored the console to working order and then disabled it again. She started to rise, and as she did so, her light shifted toward the ground. She paused and stared at the boot prints in the dust on the floor, frowning.

_If I did not know better, I would say that the size and shape of these prints was salarian… Did the salarian that tried to kill my crew attempt to access these monitors for some reason when he was here with the others? Or has he returned since?_

The former commando deactivated her search light and started toward the door. She wasn't sure why the salarian would attempt to restore these particular stations to functionality, but she was curious. She was also concerned. There was no way to be sure whether the attempt to access the system was made when the salarian was in the complex with Neela and the others or more recently. Either one was entirely possible. But if the work was recent, it presented new difficulties. It could complicate the situation greatly to have a third party in the mix when she tried to rescue Neela and the Alliance personnel.

* * *

**Remains of F.O.B. Alpha-5…**

A frown touched Illitha's lips as she and the others crossed the field toward the twisted remains of Alliance Forward Operations Base Alpha-5. Her first real taste of Reaper troops attacking in force had come at this spot, and she felt uncomfortable in returning to it. Their group had decided after passing through Scott and picking up their supplies from the ravine south of the city that they should avoid the tram line and Mivian Heights entirely. Instead, they headed due south into the wilderness, and eventually spotted the ruins of the Alliance base as they crossed through the grasslands. None of them had slept much in days, and Prathus suggested that they could bunker down in the wreckage and get a few hours of rest before continuing on. The Prothean ruins were only about three hours away, and they all needed to be fairly rested when they arrived at the dig site.

Illitha was unconvinced that hiding in the remains of the base was a good idea. She was sure that the Reapers would have left some forces at the location, and they might even have secreted an indoctrination booster somewhere among the wreckage in case anyone opted to do exactly what they were about to do… use the ruined buildings as shelter. She glanced over at Rachel, and noted that the blonde's features were clouded with the same sort of apprehension that she was feeling.

_Maybe I am overreacting. I am almost certain that the Reapers will have secreted an indoctrination booster here, but if the booster is in place, perhaps they would not leave any forces here to drive off refugees…_

No sooner had the asari finished the thought than the sound of rifle fire echoed across the grasslands. Everyone in the group immediately crouched amidst the tall grasses, but the sounds of gunfire continued. It was soon clear that they were not the targets.

"Maybe someone is already in there," Prathus suggested.

"I say we stay out of it," Zaeed muttered. "Whoever they are, they're not our problem…"

Illitha couldn't believe what she was hearing from the human mercenary. If there were shots being fired, then someone was in the F.O.B., and they were in trouble. Leaving them to be slaughtered by Reapers was both cruel and wasteful. She activated her tech armor, and then she dashed off through the field toward the F.O.B., intent upon helping whoever was hiding there. It was her hope that her involvement would force her companions to come with her.

By the time she'd traversed the remainder of the fields and reached the perimeter fence, her legs were on fire. Carrying the added weight of the bundle of food and supplies they'd picked up from their stash at the ravine made running a lot more tiring. But she didn't have the luxury of time to rest. She hurried along the fence, looking for a breach large enough to crawl through, and eventually came to the very same hole in the barrier that she and her friends had originally created for their escape. She slipped through, dropping her pack of supplies on the ground behind the remains of the mess hall just inside the breach. Then she hurried along the remains of the building, pausing at the corner and listening carefully to determine where the shots were coming from. Now that she was closer to the source, she could also hear screams, shouts, and cries of pain.

"Illitha to the rescue, huh?" Rachel's voice startled her.

"Uh… Y-Yes," she stammered, glancing back at the blonde. "I cannot stand by while people are attacked by Reapers…"

"I knew you couldn't," Rachel hissed. "Sounds like the shots are coming from over near the old airfield."

Illitha spotted Prathus climbing through the breach in the fence, with the human mercenary close behind him. She could see in Zaeed's face that the man wasn't pleased, but she didn't care. The man shouldn't have been turning his back on his fellow humans. She was glad she had forced his involvement. Rachel, Prathus and Zaeed all dropped their share of the supplies with Illitha's. If they were going to be fighting, the added weight was counterproductive.

"W-We need to move," Illitha urged. "Someone needs help."

The asari drew her confiscated Carnifex, and then activated her omni-tool, quickly selecting her cryo-dispersion program. With her weapons at the ready, she darted out of cover, sprinting across the dirt lane to the remains of the old supply depot. The structure was largely collapsed, but she led the way inside, weaving through the shattered and scorched remains of crates toward the rear exit from the building. The more they kept to cover, the better off they would be, she felt. The sounds of the battle were much closer now, and the asari could feel her hands shaking as the time for fighting drew near. Even after all of the conflicts she'd stumbled into on Terra Nova, she was still terrified every time a new fight was imminent.

Only a few crushed prefabs lay between the supply depot and the old airfield, and when she reached the rear door of the building, she quickly crossed the narrow lane and moved between two wrecked structures, pausing once she had a clear view of the devastated landing zone.

A field of ruined tanks and the shattered hulls of fighters lay before them, and hidden among those destroyed vehicles was a large group of human figures, some of whom seemed to be armed. However, Illitha could see women and children among the defenders. The humans were using the destroyed equipment as cover, struggling to hold off a horde of Reapers that had spread out to encircle them on two sides. With the perimeter fence cutting off the other two directions, the humans were effectively cornered. There were a _lot_ of Reapers spread throughout the area. But it was not the Reaper ground troops that drew Illitha's eye… It was the Reaper fighter drone that was hovering over the field, repeatedly forcing the unfortunate humans out of cover from above.

"Oculus drone," Zaeed muttered. "Those things are tough bastards."

Illitha nodded slowly. Those same drones had torn the _Sileya_ to pieces. She surveyed the scene nervously, trying to figure out how they could best help the humans. As she was working to come up with a plan, her eyes were drawn to the center of the airfield, where an asari-built propulsion ring was lying in the dirt, mostly intact. She sighed. Selura's fighter had been destroyed. She had been wondering what had happened to it.

_Now is not the time!_ She reprimanded herself. Her eyes swept across the scene one more time. It seemed clear to her that they would need to provide an escape route in case things went bad. With that thought in her head, she came up with a plan.

"R-Rachel and Zaeed," Illitha gestured. "You two need to get behind those cannibals and turians closest to us and take them out. We will need a clear avenue of escape. Prathus… do you still have an EMP program installed on your omni?"

"Way ahead of you, T'Zari," Prathus had already activated his omni-tool.

Illitha caught Zaeed glaring at her, and was guessing that the mercenary didn't like the fact that she had given him orders, more or less… though she had intended her suggestion as just that: a suggestion. She was thankful when the man moved off without a word, circling around the ruined buildings to approach the Reapers on their right flank from behind. Rachel offered her a smile before hurrying off after the mercenary. Once she was alone with Prathus, she took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, trying to calm her nerves.

"Let's get this done, T'Zari," Prathus nodded. "Keep under cover as much as possible. That thing is bound to pack a hell of a punch."

Illitha nodded and shifted her attention to her omni-tool. First she dropped crawler on the ground and activated the drone, designating the few cannibals she could see from their current position as hostile and sending the mechanical insect off to harass them. Then she brought up her incineration program and nodded to the turian. The humans were in trouble. It was time to help.

Illitha saw the flash when Prathus's electromagnetic pulse hit the drone. The oculus was firing a red beam on a couple of exposed humans at the time, and she smiled in satisfaction when the drone's attack ceased instantly following the assault. It would take a moment for the machine to recover from the surge. She fired an incendiary drone at the hovering enemy, and then took aim with her pistol, firing several shots in succession. The sound of Prathus's rifle joined the thunderous discharge of her hand cannon, and when the drone recovered, it turned in their direction, abandoning its assault upon the humans in favor of retaliation.

Illitha and Prathus both took cover when they spotted the glowing red spot at the center of the Reaper drone's pupil, and a moment later, a red beam tore cleanly through the wall of the prefab right between them, causing them both to scramble away from the breach. Illitha leaned out and fired a few more shots, then darted across the open space to the neighboring prefab when the oculus returned fire. Another EMP flash blanketed the Reaper drone, momentarily rendering the machine helpless. Illitha took the opportunity to hit it with another incendiary drone.

Unfortunately, their assault had not gone unnoticed by the other Reaper troops. A trio of husks hurtled around the corner of the prefab she was using as cover, forcing her to turn and run to keep out of their reach, firing over her shoulder at them with her Carnifex as she did so. The lead husk fell to her shots after a few seconds, and she hit the next one in line with an incineration burst, watching as it staggered off to the side and collapsed into a smoldering heap next to the supply depot's wall. Before she could deal with the third one, a red beam carved a trail across the ground within inches of her foot. In running from the husks, she had forgotten about the oculus! She turned and dove behind the nearest structure to get out of the line of fire.

By the time she hit the ground, rolled over, and was getting back to her feet, the last husk was already leaping upon her. It knocked her over once again, and she grabbed the creature's wrist as it descended in an attempted blow, struggling to keep the cybernetic corpse from striking her. It wasn't an easy task for the petite asari; husks were deceptively strong for their appearance. Unfortunately, while she was busy grappling with the husk, she saw the oculus drift into view over the building, its eye glaring down upon her. She couldn't even free a hand to detonate her tech armor so that she could get the husk off of her, and she knew that when the oculus fired, it would likely kill her. She doubted that her barrier could hold up to the machine's attack.

Fortunately, just when the red glow in the heart of the drone's 'eye' started to intensify, another EMP hit the thing, and it hovered motionlessly over her head. Desperate, Illitha focused upon her biotics, channeling all of her energy into an omni-directional blast. The buildup of dark energy throughout the entirety of her body drew a cry out of her – not so much of pain but of effort – and left her entire body shaking with fatigue. The energy surged outward upon release, hurling the emaciated form of her enemy away from her. She sat up quickly, ready to fire on her foe, but the husk was motionless where it had landed in the grass.

With the husk no longer a threat, she raised both hands, wincing as she did so due to the recent wound in her left arm. She simultaneously fired an incendiary drone and several shots from her Carnifex into the aperture at the front of the oculus drone, and watched as flashes from bullets ricocheting off of the armoring in its side indicated that Prathus had joined her assault. The drone recovered from the EMP at that point, forcing her to scramble for cover, but it never had the chance to fire at her. There was a loud clank from above as an object of some kind slammed into the drone's side, and an instant later there was a concussive explosion that caused the drone to reel away from the blast. Illitha scrambled around the prefab, seeking to get back to Prathus, and when she circled around and saw the turian, he was firing a second object from a launcher on the underside of his weapon at the drone. Illitha watched as an explosion rocked the drone again a moment later, and then the drone started drifting toward the ground. It trembled in the air, and then exploded in a brilliant flash that forced her to shield her eyes. Debris rained down all around them.

"What… What was that?" she asked.

"Proximity mines," Prathus chuckled. "Never fired them directly _on_ an enemy before. Glad they still detonated."

"G-Good thinking. And thank you… I… I really thought it was going to kill me for a moment there."

"Don't mention it," the turian shrugged, gesturing toward the airfield. "We need to get out there. Looks like the Reapers have shifted tactics now that their air support is gone…"

Illitha turned to look out into the airfield, and saw dozens of husks dashing out into the field, with cannibals close on their heels. Only a small contingent of the Reaper forces on the right flank was not advancing, and that seemed to be because they were under attack from the opposite side. Illitha hoped that Rachel and Zaeed would be okay without help. She focused her biotics and hurled a singularity into the path of the husks in the lead of the charge, snaring a couple of them in the field. Then she sprinted out toward the humans, intent upon helping them defend themselves.

* * *

**Airfield, F.O.B. Alpha-5…**

Autumn Danisson crouched fearfully behind the bulk of an overturned Mako, clutching a knapsack to her chest. It was a constant struggle to keep from sobbing as she tried to keep the children around her calm. Unfortunately, her efforts were in vain, because the young ones were too overwhelmed by the horror of the whole situation. A chorus of cries, screams, and pleas for mommy assailed the young teacher's ears, while she repeatedly begged the children to be quiet and stay close. Other women were hiding with them, and all were trying to assist her in keeping the young ones calm without success.

The decision to search the remains of the smashed Alliance base for supplies had been a horrible one, as it turned out. The group had come under fire shortly after arriving, and since then, Autumn had seen several men reduced to unrecognizable piles of charred flesh by the floating Reaper eye, while others had been gunned down or killed in explosions. The Alliance soldiers that had been escorting their group were fighting valiantly to defend them, but their efforts had been in vain. Only the sudden departure of the Reaper drone had given them any breathing room at all, and that seemed to be evaporating. There were husks charging in from all sides, and the Alliance soldiers were falling back rapidly. But there was nowhere to go…

Autumn turned to try to reassure the children one more time, even though she didn't feel anything remotely like hope in the depths of her heart. However, just as she was opening her mouth to say something, she saw the eyes of the children shift upward. Amidst a chorus of shrieks, the young ones and her fellow adults went dashing off in a dozen different directions. Startled, Autumn whirled around and looked up to see what was wrong, only to find a husk leaping off of the top of the Mako toward her.

The husk's weight drove her forcefully into the ground, and she struck her head upon the packed dirt. For a moment after that, everything went fuzzy. She was barely able to make out the horrible, sunken features of the husk and saw it raise a hand, and she closed her eyes and winced in anticipation of the blow, ceasing her dazed attempts to shove the creature off of her and instead shielding her head with her arms.

There was a crystalline sound like breaking glass and an intense wave of cold washed over her, drawing a startled cry from the young woman's lips. However, much to her surprise, the husk's blow never fell. After a few moments of confused anticipation, she hesitantly lowered her arms and stared up at the creature on top of her. Then her eyes widened.

The husk was blanketed in a thick shell of ice, its arm frozen mid-swing. She glanced down at herself, and saw her clothing lightly dusted with a coat of frost, but nothing as significant as that which shrouded her attacker. She gingerly shoved the creature off of herself and was struggling to rise when a slender hand seized her wrist. Startled, she shrieked in fear and instinctively started to pull away. But though the grip of the hand was firm, it was also gentle. Shaken, she raised her eyes and found herself staring at an unfamiliar helmet, which was open below the nose, framing the lower portion of a pale blue face. The glowing orange panels of tech armor surrounded the helm.

Before she could recover her wits enough to say a word, the asari suddenly yanked her around behind herself, and then raised her arms. Autumn watched in amazement as a faintly visible bluish-purple dome formed around them. It was only then that she spotted the bloated, nightmarish forms of cannibals firing at them, and she shrieked, turning to run. Instead of hearing the hiss of bullets whizzing by her head, however, she heard the crackling sounds of bullets ricocheting off of the dome around them. She stopped dead in her tracks.

"G-Get behind the Mako," the asari ordered.

Autumn was only too happy to duck behind the heavy vehicle at the asari's behest. However, she couldn't resist the urge to peek out from around the hull of the wrecked tank to see what would come next. To her amazement, the asari dropped the dome and dove to the side, rolling once to get out of the line of fire. When she came to her feet, there was a glowing, bluish orb in the palm of her hand. She hurled it toward the reapers, and just as it was passing between them, it erupted into a swirling vortex of darkness. Both cannibals were hoisted into the air, seemingly helpless in the grasp of the field.

A child ran shrieking from behind an overturned truck, with a husk dashing after him. The asari never hesitated, sprinting toward the pair and leaping past the child to tackle the husk to the ground. Even as Autumn left her cover and ran to the young boy, scooping him up in her arms, she saw the asari's fist begin to glow, and the girl slammed it into the husk's head repeatedly until the creature stopped moving.

Autumn took the boy to safety, crouching behind a battered crate, but she couldn't stop watching the asari fight. Even though she didn't seem physically suited to it, the girl performed like a born warrior. Everywhere there was someone in trouble, the asari seemed to get there just in the nick of time. Whether it was sheltering a wounded Alliance soldier with a dome so that his friends could get him to safety or sending Reapers flying through the air with strikes from little orbs of light just as they were about to shoot a cowering civilian, the asari was repeatedly able to save the people that needed her… Autumn was awed.

When silence finally descended over the area, she slowly stepped out of her hiding place, trying to soothe the trembling boy she held. She saw the rest of her group slowly coming together nearby. Just as she was about to go join them, she spotted a blonde girl in an Alliance uniform striding into view, walking over to meet the asari, who pulled the helm off of her head and ran a hand over her scalp crests.

"Nice work, Spectre," she heard the blonde exclaim cheerfully.

She couldn't hear the asari's response. The girl was fairly soft-spoken it seemed. But she found herself studying the asari with renewed fascination. The girl was slender and almost frail; it seemed incomprehensible that she could be any kind of soldier, and especially not a Spectre. Yet she couldn't deny what she had seen… Herself, the boy she held, and at least half-a-dozen others were alive solely because of the intervention of the asari. She couldn't help feeling a little star-struck.

_So that is what a Spectre looks like,_ she mused, smiling to herself. She walked over to join the other refugees. Perhaps she would have the chance to thank the Spectre later. For the moment, she was just thankful that fate had placed a Spectre on whatever path had brought her to save them.

* * *

**Airfield, F.O.B. Alpha-5…**

Prathus quickly finished his circuit of the area, finding no further signs of Reaper survivors, and slowly lowered his weapon, turning and limping over to rejoin the rest of his group where they were talking with a few new Alliance soldiers. The Reaper forces in the ruined base had been a bit more numerous than he ever would have expected, but with assistance from the defenders, they had managed to mop up with minimal casualties. He glanced over toward the huddled group of civilians and wounded Alliance soldiers, and saw a fair number of stares fixed upon his fellows. He counted at least seven surviving Alliance troops in the crowd, including the two with which Illitha and the others were speaking.

"You really saved our asses," he heard one of the Alliance soldiers telling the others as he approached. "We were just hoping to pick up some food and supplies. We thought there might be a handful of Reapers here, but we never expected a whole fucking horde."

"Seriously," the other man nodded. "We owe you everything. Thanks so much."

"H-Honestly, it was nothing…" Illitha stammered. "I am glad we could help."

"Hell, we were dead meat, and a Spectre dropped into our laps to save the fucking day," the first marine chuckled. "That's not 'nothing'."

Prathus had to resist the urge to laugh. Illitha once again had people calling her 'Spectre'. Although he had to admit that based upon what little he'd seen of her actions during the battle, he didn't think it was such a stretch in the minds of strangers that didn't know her. He had actually been rather impressed, if a little annoyed, with her willingness to throw herself into the thick of danger in order to get others out of it. He wasn't sure that Zaeed would be willing to keep up the fiction, but he, for one, wouldn't expose the lie.

"Hey," the second marine, a clean-cut young man with deeply tanned skin and dark hair, greeted him as he approached. "Corporal Jorge Rivera. And this," he gestured to the other marine, "is Private First-Class David Olimar. We were just thanking your friends for your timely rescue."

"No shit," Private Olimar chimed in. He was a pale-skinned man with a shaved head and sparse beard, and had burn scars down the left side of his neck. "We were fucking history without you guys."

"Happy to help," Prathus nodded. "You came here to pick up supplies? Where did you come from?"

"We're part of the 157th Marine detachment, originally assigned here," Jorge explained. "When Mivian Heights got hit, Tarrislav ordered that all non-Alliance personnel be kept off of Alliance military camps from that point forward for security reasons. But once we were all clear of the Reapers, he ordered our detachment to set up a separate camp a few klicks from the base to protect the civilians."

"So Tarrislav's new Alliance base is just a few kilometers from here?" Prathus was surprised.

"Uh… no. Not exactly," Jorge shook his head.

"A fucking harvester passed over our position two days ago," Olimar frowned. "Dropped off a fucking gaggle of Reaper troops. We fell back with the people we could save. But there was no time to grab supplies…"

"Right," Jorge took over. "So we came here to try to find some. We have no idea if Tarrislav's detachment was able to hold their position or if the Reapers even found it. But we couldn't stay in that area."

"W-What are your plans from here?" Illitha asked the pair. Prathus was amused to note the rather awed expressions on the faces of both men when they turned to look at her.

"No idea, ma'am," Jorge answered quickly. "Scour the camp for supplies and then look for someplace else to hide, I guess."

"I… Uh, we… we could use some more trained soldiers," Illitha said softly.

Prathus already knew what she was thinking, and he agreed. If Cerberus held the Prothean ruin, it would be a nightmare to try to get inside. The more firepower they could bring with them, the better their chances would be. Close-quarters combat inside of the ruin would get ugly pretty fast. He was pleased to see the two soldiers already nodding.

"We'd be happy to help however we can," Jorge assured them. "But we need to figure out what to do with the civilians first."

"Bring them," Prathus suggested. "We can't take them into combat, obviously… but there is a hilly area near our destination with some light tree cover where they could bunker down while we work. If we can secure our destination, it will be a good, fortified spot to shelter these people."

"What is your destination, exactly?" Jorge asked.

"A-A Prothean ruin," Illitha told them. "Cerberus captured some of our friends, an Alliance doctor, and possibly some other Alliance troops there. We… Well, we are planning to rescue them."

"And get some answers from Cerberus," Zaeed added.

"Right, but we'll need all the help we can get," Prathus told them. "It won't be easy getting inside. Extra firepower will go a long way toward avoiding casualties."

"Fuckin' A, I'm in," Olimar grinned. "If those Cerberus fuckers captured our people, giving them a swift kick in the balls sounds good to me."

"Me too," Jorge nodded. "Give us a little time to tend to our wounded and see if we can scrounge up any food or supplies?"

"W-We have plenty of food," Illitha spoke up. "It is behind the remains of the mess hall. It… It has to last so we cannot offer a lot, but… get some of it out and see that everyone gets to eat a little."

Jorge seemed at a loss for words. Finally he just nodded and held a hand out to Illitha, who hesitated, and then shook his hand. "Thank you again," the corporal smiled. "We really owe you guys."

The two Alliance soldiers turned and headed off toward the rest of their group, leaving the four of them alone. Once the two men were well out of earshot, Zaeed was quick to speak up.

"You shouldn't be offering our supplies so readily. That food has to last. Feeding a few dozen more people will deplete it by the end of the week."

Prathus frowned at the mercenary's logic. While he respected Zaeed for his combat prowess and generally appreciated the man's practicality, keeping food out of the hands of hungry women and children seemed unnecessarily cold. However, he was completely unprepared for the reaction the man's words provoked from Illitha.

"I cannot believe you," the asari glared at the mercenary. "First you wanted to bypass the commotion and leave these people to die at the hands of the Reapers… and now you want to deny them food when we have supplies enough to share? Do you even _have_ a heart?"

"We have a mission-"

"To save my friends," Illitha cut him off. "A-And to be clear… Yes, the supplies are 'ours'. But it was a stockpile that Rachel and I secured. We suggested picking it up. Without us, you would not have access to it at all! I will _not _stand by and watch children starve for my own convenience. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you find a new mission with another group…"

"Now wait a goddamn minute," Zaeed growled. "We're all on the same side here-"

"Then maybe you should remember that the next time you advocate withholding help from our allies!" Illitha shouted at the mercenary.

Prathus saw Zaeed's eyes narrow dangerously, and he knew that the human didn't appreciate being lectured. Especially by someone he considered to be young and inexperienced. He swiftly stepped in to keep the argument from escalating.

"Everyone calm down," he urged. "Zaeed is right. We need to be careful with our supplies. But we can afford to spread things out among some more people. We sure can't hoard all the food for ourselves, and we need the extra help. Now it's been a long day, we're all tired and irritable, and I suggest we all get a little rest…"

"Yeah," Rachel spoke up for the first time, putting a hand on Illitha's shoulder. "We could all use some sleep. While we rest, Corporal Rivera and his people can scavenge."

Zaeed growled something unintelligible and turned, stalking away. Prathus could tell that he still wasn't happy about the situation. He wasn't at all surprised that Illitha and Zaeed were at odds. He had expected it, in fact. Zaeed was a practical man, willing to make hard choices to achieve his goals efficiently. Illitha was guided by her heart, and would always choose to help others… even if it made her own job twice as difficult. Personally, Prathus wanted to rescue the captain in a hurry so that they could work under the leadership of someone with experience and a natural air of authority. But until then, he would side with Illitha over Zaeed if he had to choose someone to be in charge. The girl's cover as a Spectre was a useful lie. People were eager to work with her because of it. And the blonde human was devoted to Illitha's service. The asari was the natural choice to lead for the time being, even if the human had greater experience.

"Alright," Prathus finally muttered. "Let's get some rest."

"First I… There is… I-I am sure the Reapers set up an indoctrination booster or two s-somewhere on this base," Illitha sighed. "I need to find them and disable them before we rest."

"I'll help you look around," Rachel offered.

Prathus watched the two girls walk off together, and he saw Illitha bend to snap the dog tag from the necklace of a fallen Alliance soldier, then head off toward another corpse. He shook his head. He was sorry to see the gentle asari assign herself such a grim task. But he had to again acknowledge Illitha's keen foresight in regards to the Reaper devices. While an indoctrination booster was unlikely to pose a danger to them in just a few hours of sleep, he had never even considered the possibility that there would be one in the area. Maybe there were more reasons to support Illitha being in charge than just her ability to inspire cooperation. She was a smart girl. She'd proven it time and again just in the past few days, and judging from the loyalty that Rachel, Jay and Elliot had demonstrated toward the asari, she'd been doing so consistently while she was on her own as well.

A human woman ran up to the pair and said something to Illitha that embarrassed her. Prathus could see the sudden shift in her posture – she seemed to close up a little in response – and he shook his head. As useful as the Spectre lie might have been, it certainly garnered attention the asari didn't want. He chuckled.

Prathus set off in search of a place to rest, and as he passed the body of an Alliance soldier killed by the Reapers, he paused, glancing down at the double-barreled rifle lying beside the corpse. He had seen one once. It was called a Valkyrie, he believed. And it packed a bit more punch than the Alliance-issue Avenger he was carrying. He snapped the thermal clip out of his rifle and picked up the Valkyrie assault rifle, slinging it over his shoulder. He would leave the Alliance to salvage the rest of the equipment from the fallen. It wasn't really his place to do so. But he doubted anyone would begrudge him the upgrade in his weaponry… the unfortunate soldier no longer needed the firepower.

* * *

**Archive Chamber, Prothean Ruins…**

Selura struggled to push the large piece of plating that she'd just cut free of the Prothean archive out of her way, a task made more difficult by the cramped quarters. Now well into her third day of work on the archive, she had given up all pretense of repairing the more easily accessible portions of the structure and had crawled into the center of the forest of slender towers. She was cutting away the plating at the base of the structures near the heart of the cluster, hoping to find proof of a hard line that would have transferred the data elsewhere. The Prothean archive consisted of a number of slender, tower-like structures, each one oriented a little differently from those around them, forming a loose series of rings. Thus, to reach the towers at the center, she had to squeeze past the ones in the outer edges.

The Cerberus troopers had become a little lax in their duty to keep an eye on her, and no one had yet protested that she was working in the center of the cluster of data towers where no one could see her. She knew the lack of supervision wouldn't last, but she was enjoying the little bit of privacy it afforded while she had it.

She had tried briefly to access her borrowed omni-tool's communications suite while no one could see her, but the encryption was extremely high-quality, so she'd abandoned the idea. When Pavv or one of the soldiers finally came to reprimand her for being out of their sight, she wanted to have a lot of work done, so that she could convince them she'd been keeping busy at her assigned task.

She gave the section of plating one last shove, sliding it across the floor with an awful grinding sound, and then she paused for a moment to catch her breath, pressing a hand to her abdomen. All of the heavy lifting was horrible for her recovery. But she supposed if she was killed for failing to complete her task, recovery would be irrelevant.

"Where is the asari?" she heard Pavv's voice echo through the room. She could tell he was angry.

"I am in here," she called out, struggling to squeeze between the data towers and emerge to a point where he would be able to see her. When she finally managed to reach a point where she could see beyond the exterior structures of the archive, she peered out from between two of the slender towers and found the human glaring at her. The human had exchanged his civilian garb for a suit of light armor bearing the Cerberus logo since she'd last seen him, and carried a pistol at his side.

"Get out of there. Now," he demanded. "I warned you repeatedly what would happen to your little whore if you continued to test my patience…"

Selura fought to keep her anger under control when the man insulted her girlfriend yet again. She pushed her way between the perimeter towers and stumbled into full view, glancing over at Neela to be sure Cerberus hadn't hurt her. She was relieved to see the quarian still safely ensconced within her isolation pod.

"I am not trying to test your patience," she protested. "I am trying to do the job you have given me."

"Work where we can see you," Pavv snapped, turning to walk away. "I will not tell you again."

"Do you want me to provide you with access to the archive?" Selura demanded. "Or do you want to have an excuse to kill us? I wish you would tell me."

Pavv turned to glare at her, and she swallowed nervously at the dangerous look in his eyes. His hand drifted to the pistol attached to his belt. She was actually afraid he might shoot her or shoot at Neela, but she stood her ground, regarding him quietly.

"I gave you a task. I expect you to complete it without argument," he growled. "Remain where we can see you. I will not tell you again."

Selura sighed in exasperation, turning and bending to pick up one of the components she had removed from the outer towers on her first day of work. It was riddled with barely-visible holes, as most of the archive had been. She tossed it at Pavv, who caught it seemingly out of reflex.

"Look at that," she insisted. "There are a million holes in every piece of hardware in these things. I have no replacement parts. I have no materials or specialized tools to patch the holes. If you expect me to repair a few trillion microscopic punctures in the next eight hours or however long I have left, then I say you are just looking for an excuse to kill me. Because it could not be done if I had a hundred people to help…"

"I trust you have a point you're trying to make, and you're not just trying to convince me to kill your quarian slut right now," Pavv growled.

"Do not call her that," Selura warned, her tone icy. She couldn't help herself.

"Your point. Now. Or she dies," Pavv prompted.

"My point is that the archive is dead. There is nothing I can do to fix it," Selura stated flatly, and then when she saw the human's expression harden, she hastened to continue. "But I refuse to believe the Protheans would not have a backup system for their data. These towers are all connected at their bases. I am tracing the connections in the hope that there is a hard line I can follow to the backup system. I think the data still exists. I just need you to give me the freedom to find it! I must be able to follow the connections to their source. I cannot remain in sight just because you demand it if the connections lead me elsewhere…"

Pavv regarded her in silence, and she struggled to guess what he was thinking. She was used to seeing contempt and anger in his expression, but now his face was like a mask… completely unreadable. He crossed his arms and glanced toward Neela's isolation pod, and then back at her.

"I need just one extra day and the freedom to find and trace the hard line," she pleaded. "Give me the chance."

"I guess you aren't going anywhere without your quarian _slut_," he emphasized the last word, "And what you say makes sense. So I'll grant you a little leeway. You have one more day. Do what you have to do. Just remember what happens if you try anything foolish…"

"I am doing my best," she assured him, even though what she really wanted to do at that moment was to punch him in the face. "Now I need to get back to work," she added, turning and squeezing her way back into the interior of the archive's structure.

"Keep an eye on this bitch," she heard Pavv instruct the troopers. "The asari will be out of sight for a while, but I want you to check on her every hour."

Selura closed her eyes and sighed in relief. At least she'd managed to convince the man to let her work in a fashion that might actually let her complete her task. Now she just had to hope she could find the connection for which she was searching. She was operating entirely on an assumption that such a connection existed. If the archive had no such backup system, she was wasting time. She squeezed her way back into the archive's interior and was just getting back to work when a new voice interrupted her. But when she heard the nasal tone of the voice, it sent a chill down her spine.

"I underestimated you and your companions, asari. It was an unfortunate mistake on my part, and has led to a number of additional hardships in my appointed tasks."

"Salik?" she whispered, feeling her throat tighten with fear.

The slender form of the salarian shimmered into view. He was standing between two of the towers just a few meters away, with a pistol trained upon her head. He had worked his way just far enough into the archive cluster that he was unlikely to be seen from outside. He regarded her intently, and then held up a datapad for her to see.

"A particularly inventive form of encryption was installed upon my datapad. It uses a mutating passcode that repeatedly reconfigures itself, and has proven remarkably difficult to breach. Your betrayal was surprising. As was your survival. Assumed you would have bled to death down here, without active systems in your armor to apply medigel to the wounds. Likewise assumed your quarian companion would have succumbed to fever by now. And assumed my employees would have terminated your turian ally. Feel like a cinema villain. Too many assumptions. Foolish mistakes."

"Are you here to kill me?" Selura asked, barely able to give sound to the words. She was so terrified that she couldn't breathe. She actually found herself contemplating calling to Cerberus for help.

"Depends upon your willingness to cooperate," Salik responded, tossing the datapad to the ground next to her. "Disengage the encryption you installed upon the data. Once I have been granted full access, your fate can be addressed."

"No," Selura shook her head. "The encryption is the only bargaining chip I have to keep me alive."

"Encryption can always be circumvented," Salik pointed out. "Cerberus transmissions alerted us to your survival and presence here. Decided to investigate and gauge the possibility of obviating the need to spend weeks hacking the security you placed upon my data. Can still hack it without you if I must…"

"Wait… 'Alerted us'?" Selura repeated. "Who is 'us'? You mean you and the Reapers?"

"Immaterial to the matter at hand," Salik shook his head. "Disengage the security. I am certain you recall what this weapon does," the salarian drew the triangular pistol from its spot at his hip, holding it up for her to see. "Could always go fire it upon the quarian's isolation chamber. Doubt she would survive a second environmental exposure."

"You're indoctrinated," Selura said softly. "You will just kill her anyway if I give you access to the data."

"Indoctrinated? Nonsense," Salik sniffed. "Alliance with the Reapers was not coerced. Was a calculated decision for the advancement and survival of the salarian race. One needs only look at the remains of this world's capital to see the destructive might of the Reapers. Assisting in the annihilation of other species is a negligible price to pay for the protection of my own."

"And you trust the Reapers to keep their part of the bargain? You sabotage a few things, kill some people, and you think that buys your entire race's safety? They control you, and you do not even see it! The Prothean VI saw it. And now I can see it. But you…" Selura shook her head, regarding him with pity.

"My actions are entirely my own," Salik frowned at her. "If I were indoctrinated, I would have finished you off with a bullet in the head as was suggested. But I chose not to. The Reapers have no control over my actions."

"You chose…" Selura trailed off and stared at him. Suddenly the reason for her survival of his betrayal made sense. _Despite his protests, he knows he is indoctrinated. He could have killed me when he shot me and left me here. I could not figure out why he failed to finish me… But it was because the Reapers were telling him to do it. He was trying to prove to himself that he did not have to…_

"Distracting me with talk of indoctrination will not work," he warned her. "Disengage the encryption immediately, or I will simply execute you and the quarian now, or leave you to Cerberus to execute for your failure. And before you make the mistake of thinking you can give Cerberus what they want, should make you aware that the backup system to the archive is already dead," he regarded her with what she thought was a regretful look. The expression was surprising considering he sounded like he was gloating. "Good instincts in regard to locating a backup system. Unfortunately for you, I found it and destroyed it during our first visit. Accessing Prothean security terminals would have accelerated your search significantly. They led me directly to the backup archive near the reactor the last time I was here..."

Selura bowed her head and reached for the datapad. Just as had been the case with helping Cerberus, she wasn't sure he had any choice but to do as the salarian asked. If he used his technology-devouring nanites on Neela's isolation pod, the quarian would almost certainly die. She couldn't watch her girlfriend suffer and die like that. Not if she could save her. She picked up the datapad with a sigh. Once she had it in her hands, however, a desperate plan formed in her head.

"You have to get us out of here," she told the salarian.

Salik laughed. "Incorrect. Disengage the encryption or watch your quarian companion perish of exposure. Your choice."

Selura activated her omni-tool's welding function, and held the device up to the datapad, staring at the salarian intently. If she applied the welder to the datapad, it and everything stored upon it would be destroyed in seconds. Since he had just claimed to have destroyed the archive's backup, the information he wanted would be forever lost to him. She saw the salarian's brows rise, and saw him frown. For the first time in days, she felt like she had some measure of control over her destiny, and it made her feel almost giddy.

"Get us out of here safely," Selura repeated her earlier demand. "Once we are safe, I will hand over the datapad. And unlike what you did to us, I will not betray you once I have what I want…"

Salik stared at her for a moment, and she could tell from the faraway look in his eyes that he was considering his options. But she was sure that this time, she had the advantage. With Salik's technology on their side, they might actually be able to escape from Cerberus successfully.

"Need to consult my downloaded schematic of the structure to determine a course of escape," Salik commented, raising his arm. "Any objection?"

"As long as the omni is not pointed in my direction," Selura nodded, and then paused when the full import of his words hit her. "Wait… Where did you get a schematic of the structure?"

"Already told you. Security Center, at the west end of the structure," Salik commented distractedly. "Upon arrival here the first time, I hunted down the security center and reactivated the central console there for mainframe access while you were busy here. Downloaded construction schematics to ease my search for other key objectives."

"What objectives?"

"Irrelevant now. About the matter at hand, if I am able to successfully evacuate you and your companions from the complex, what about the encryption? You will disengage it?"

"No," Selura shook her head. "We are negotiating only for the safe return of your datapad and the data on it. I will not help you or the Reapers by removing the encryption. I would not return the datapad at all except for the fact that I need your assistance to escape…"

"Understood," the salarian shrugged, apparently deciding not to argue about it. "Can commence the escape now, if you wish."

"Goddess yes," Selura nodded eagerly.

"Neutralizing the guards around your companion must be the first objective," Salik explained. "I can attend to that detail. Make your way to the connecting bridge while I deal with them." Without waiting for her answer, he keyed an input into his omni-tool, and his form shimmered and vanished.

Selura started squeezing her way out from the interior of the archive as instructed. She was just slipping between the exterior towers when she heard two thunderous gunshots in succession. She stumbled out into the open and glanced toward Neela's pod to assure herself that Cerberus had been dealt with. However, the sight that awaited her there made her jaw drop and her heart sink.

_I should have seen this coming_, she thought miserably.

The two Cerberus troopers were lying on the ground with pools of gore around their heads. Salik was standing beside Neela's isolation pod, and was pointing the triangular weapon at the vehicle. Neela looked both startled and terrified, staring helplessly out at Selura. The asari bowed her head.

"Disengage the encryption and bring the datapad to me," Salik instructed. "My patience for negotiation has ended. Recommend against forcing me to repeat myself."

Selura was beaten, and she knew it. She activated the datapad and started to key in the code to disengage the encryption. However, just at that moment, she received help from an unlikely source. The door adjoining the walkway opened, and a trio of Cerberus troopers hurried out with weapons ready. Salik turned at the sound and was forced to dive for cover when Cerberus opened fire.

Selura dropped the datapad and was already in motion, sprinting across the connecting bridge and along the walkway with a speed borne of desperation. Salik's prototype gun made quick work of the Cerberus attackers… all three collapsed within seconds of being engulfed in the cloud of nanites that erupted from the impact of the salarian's shots. But by the time he turned his attention toward Neela again, Selura had covered the distance to meet him. She barreled into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and using her momentum to drive him into the wall.

From somewhere up above, an explosion echoed through the complex. Selura heard Neela shouting something, but at the moment, she couldn't spare her attention. She knew Salik was dangerous, and though her clumsy tackle had surprised the salarian, his armor had spared him from any injury. He was already starting to react.

Selura tightened her grip. She was about to be fighting for her life…

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: As always, my first order of business it to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, PMed, favorited/followed or otherwise taken an interest in this story. You are all awesome, and I appreciate it more than I can adequately put into words. So thank you.**

**I just had one small note about the contents of this Chapter. I know I broke from the norm by including a section from an outsider's point of view. I have always stuck to writing from the points of view of the various main characters in the plot, and hopefully it wasn't too jarring. I just really wanted to take an opportunity to present an outsider's view of the person Illitha is becoming as she grows and is shaped by her role in the war. It was a fun little bit to write, and hopefully it didn't seem too out of place to my readers. I don't plan to make a regular habit of it, but I may dabble again here and there if it isn't received too poorly. :)**

**Barring any disasters in my life, the next story update will be on Wednesday morning. I hope you'll all come back for more! :P**


	49. Chapter 49: Assault

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Forty-Nine: Assault

.

**Archive Chamber, Prothean Ruins…**

Neela struggled to slide close enough to the bottom of her isolation pod to grab her omni-tool. She needed to call for help, and she needed to do so immediately. Selura had taken advantage of the distraction provided by the arrival of Cerberus and had closed the distance to grapple with Salik, and in that moment, Neela's heart had almost stopped. She loved the asari dearly, but she had seen firsthand that Selura couldn't fight. The salarian would almost certainly kill her.

Even as she scrambled for her omni-tool, she saw the salarian recover from the shock of Selura's initial tackle and begin fighting back. And when he did so, it was with calm and brutal efficiency. He lifted an arm and drove the armored point of his elbow into the asari's spine at the base of her neck while she held him, the pain instantly driving her to her knees and causing her grip to go slack. Salik then slipped from Selura's grasp and drove a knee into her nose, snapping her head violently backward. The asari tried to get up and fight back, but Salik merely shifted his hold upon his pistol and drove the butt of the gun into the side of her head. She collapsed to the floor and lay motionless. Tears flooded the quarian's eyes.

Neela finally managed to get her hand upon her omni-tool… though it wasn't easy because of the cramped confines of the pod and the fact that she couldn't flatten out her seat without access to the device. However, just when her fingers closed upon it, she saw the salarian turn and aim his weapon at her pod. She froze in position, hoping that he might spare her if she took no action he could interpret as hostile, but from his expression, she was guessing he was no longer in a bargaining mood.

Just when she was sure he would kill her, intervention from Cerberus rescued her for the _second_ time. The door opened, and she saw several heavily-armored soldiers in the doorway. Salik was once again forced to turn his attention to self-defense. Neela didn't waste the opportunity. She activated her omni-tool and immediately opened an emergency comm channel to every omni in the area. She didn't have the luxury of worrying whether Cerberus heard her or not.

"Help! Anyone!" she cried. "This is Neela. Selura and I are in the archive chamber. Salik is here. So is Cerberus! Selura is hurt. We need help right away!"

She glanced up to see how Cerberus was faring, amazed on some level to find herself rooting for the human extremist group, and noted that Salik seemed to be having a bit more difficulty with the heavily-armored soldiers. The salarian had deployed a combat drone, and only after the drone was able to take down one soldier's kinetic shield did he fire upon the man, engulfing him in a cloud of nanites.

_Perhaps the nanites are too delicate to pass through a kinetic shield undamaged,_ she guessed. As she recalled, when Salik had used that gun on her, he had first used an electromagnetic pulse to strip her of her shields.

She knew she had to get to safety. She tried to engage the isolation pod's engines, and frowned when her omni-tool informed her of what she had already guessed: The drive train was damaged and inoperable. Her gaze shifted to Selura's inert form and her expression filled with resolve.

_I am a liability. With this thing immobile, I'll end up getting Selura killed. And maybe others too. But I can save her if I get out of this thing…_

Her mind made up, she raised her hand and grabbed the emergency release latch on the canopy that protected her. She hated the thought of dying. She wanted to live. She wanted to carry on her romance with Selura. She wanted the chance to make love to her. She wanted to see their children. She wanted to see her parents again. She wanted to set foot on Rannoch. But if her sacrifice would ensure that Selura survived, she could accept it. She closed her eyes. She knew she couldn't afford the delay, but she took a moment to silently say goodbye to her parents before pulling the release. And then her arm tensed. One quick tug and she would be sealing her fate. But for Selura, she could do it…

* * *

**Upper Level, Prothean Ruins…**

In the cramped confines of the chambers inside the ruin, the sound of gunfire reverberating off of the walls was deafening… even if the Alliance-issue Avenger rifles the majority of the men were carrying were quieter than most firearms. Prathus shifted his sights to another of the Cerberus troopers entrenched in the doorway to the next room and waited for the man to show himself, quickly squeezing the trigger when he finally got the figure in his sights. The Valkyrie rifle he had claimed for himself fired in two-round bursts whenever one squeezed the trigger, and had a good deal more kick than the Avengers, but for the turian, the recoil was manageable. He simply tightened his upper back and locked his shoulder as he was taught during military training, shifting his stance to counter the force of the weapon's discharge. He watched with satisfaction as both rounds struck the trooper in the head, and the corpse collapsed in the doorway.

The remaining troopers in the next room started to fall back, as had been the case with the initial room they'd assaulted. Prathus was the first one to move up to the doorway, taking cover against the doorframe and leaning out to keep up the pressure. Zaeed took cover on the opposite side, adding the precision of his rifle fire to the assault. Cerberus troopers were taking cover behind the columns at the far end of the room and in the doorway on that end, leaning out to return fire in short bursts. Prathus and Zaeed worked together to provide cover fire, giving several of their newly-recruited Alliance marines time to dart inside and take up positions behind the nearest columns.

So far, the assault had gone well. A well-placed grenade from Zaeed had started their attack, killing all of the sentries posted at the door, but Cerberus forces had quickly arrived to pin them in the first room. Since then, as they had expected, they had to fight for every meter they gained. And Prathus knew this was only the beginning. If Cerberus had any significant force in the facility, they would organize a counter-offensive while their first response team kept them busy.

"_Help! Anyone!_" Neela's voice suddenly broadcast clearly over an emergency channel on his omni-tool. _"This is Neela. Selura and I are in the archive chamber. Salik is here. So is Cerberus! Selura is hurt. We need help right away!_"

"Damn it," he swore. Cerberus had effectively stopped their advance. There was nothing they could do to reach Neela in time to help her. They would have to fight through at least three more rooms to reach the hole in the latticework, which was the fastest way down into the archive chamber. By then, whatever help they could offer would be too late.

Worse, Salik's presence in the facility added an additional level of danger. The salarian would have a tremendous advantage with all of the fighting going on. With his tactical cloak, he would be able to move freely and ambush targets with ease while they were distracted by other enemies.

"How the hell did that bastard end up here?" Zaeed demanded, speaking up to be heard over the gunfire.

"H-He's with the Reapers!" Illitha shouted, taking cover against the wall beside Prathus. "He… He had a beacon that was set up to breach the Reaper jamming signal. I am guessing his communications are clear too. I think… He probably intercepted the Cerberus transmission like we did."

Prathus nodded his agreement, quickly firing a few bursts at a Cerberus trooper when the man leaned out of cover to aim. He watched in satisfaction as his target collapsed to the floor, the chest plate of his armor riddled with bullet holes.

"This is a second chance to deal with the bastard," Prathus was excited over the prospect. After Fulton's Folly, Salik deserved everything that was coming to him and more.

"We have to get to Neela!" Illitha shouted. "She needs us!"

"How?" Zaeed demanded. "I know she's a friend of yours, but there's no goddamn chance we're gonna get to her in time. She's probably dead already. It'll take too long to get down there," the mercenary nodded toward the latticework wall on the left. The tips of the archive were visible through the gaps in the decorative stonework.

"Down there?" the asari repeated, following the mercenary's gaze. She darted across the open doorway and peered through the holes, trying to get a look at the room below.

Prathus had to remind himself that this was Illitha's first time in the ruin. His mandibles twitched in irritation. While he was glad Zaeed had been the one to say it, the cold manner in which he delivered the reality of the situation was unnecessary in his view. Unfortunately, he had to agree with the mercenary. As much as it grieved him to admit it, he didn't think much of Neela and Selura's chances against Salik. Especially if Selura was already hurt.

"Yeah," Prathus confirmed. "The archive chamber is right on the other side of that wall. There's a hole about three rooms up where we can climb down, but it'll take too long to get that far..."

"We are not abandoning her!" Illitha suddenly cried.

Prathus watched as the subtle, wispy glow of biotic energy sprang up around the asari. She began hitting the latticework wall on their left with biotic throws one after another, pummeling the decorative stonework relentlessly. To his surprise, the stonework quickly began to crack under the stress. He thought back to one of Zaeed's confrontations with the vorcha, and he smiled inwardly.

"Zaeed! You have a concussive burst emitter! Give her a hand!"

The mercenary had been focused upon Cerberus, but when he turned and saw what Illitha was doing, he nodded and joined her effort, firing several concussive bursts at the weakened section of the stonework. Together, the asari and the mercenary quickly pulverized the imperiled portion of the wall. It finally gave way with a tremendous crack, and large portions of the debris sailed outward into the chamber beyond.

"Good work!" Prathus shouted, leaving his position by the door and darting across the doorway to the breach in the wall. An Alliance soldier was quick to take his place.

Prathus and Illitha both peered out through the hole in the latticework to see what was going on below. It was possible that they could help Neela by providing covering fire from their position. To the turian's shock, however, their assistance was no longer needed.

* * *

**Archive Level, Prothean Ruins…**

The first shots and explosions actually startled Julisa, who had been lurking in the complex, shadowing sentries and determining the locations and numbers of Cerberus's forces for days. Patience was often the key in infiltration as long as one could remain undetected, and it had been paying off. She had been able to compile a fairly comprehensive digital model of the routes of sentries, the positions of fixed sentry posts, and which rooms were being used by Cerberus as operations centers. She knew where Cerberus was keeping the equipment liberated from their prisoners. She had even determined the location of the prisoners themselves at long last; the room was kept under guard by a five-man team.

She had been preparing to grab the leader of the Cerberus unit, and was waiting only for the man to slip away for his meal, as he did at mid-afternoon each day. The explosions and the initial few gunshots had immediately spoiled her plan, but provided her with a new opening that she hadn't previously had available. It had been her decision that she couldn't afford to kill Cerberus troops in the facility for fear of raising an alarm. When someone else raised the alarm for her, it changed the whole dynamic of the situation.

She was lurking at the end of the corridor in which most of the rooms Cerberus had claimed were located. The moment the commotion started, the Cerberus leader stalked out of his room with his personal retinue of bodyguards in tow. She watched as he went directly to the door of the prisoners' room and spoke to the sentries there.

"Get the lieutenant and the doctor and bring them to me at the upper supply room. They'll make the best hostages. Once they are well out of earshot, execute the rest," he told the guards, and then turned to his bodyguards. "You two go and secure the archive. I'm positive those first shots came from there. I can't raise the sentries posted with the aliens."

With his instructions given, three of the sentries immediately disappeared into the room where the prisoners were held, and the two bodyguards ran off toward the corridor leading to the archive. Julisa remained in position, watching as the Cerberus commander activated his omni-tool.

"I can't raise the exterior sentry team," he announced, apparently over a comm channel to his troops. "Echo Squad, get out there and delay the intruders! Bravo Squad, get down to the archive to support the troops I dispatched there. "Charlie, Delta and Tango, converge on the upper supply room!" as he spoke, the man was already walking down the hall, and soon disappeared around a corner.

Julisa waited patiently despite the growing sounds of commotion throughout the complex. There were two sentries lurking outside the prisoner cell. Once the other three came out with the lieutenant and the doctor, they would be taking them away. She could easily deal with those remaining two sentries at that point and free the Alliance prisoners. It was a good plan, she knew. Unfortunately, an incoming transmission forced her to abandon it.

"_Help! Anyone!_" Neela's distorted voice broadcast to the aural implant in her ear. "This is Nee-" the transmission faded into static briefly. "_-in the archive chamber. Salik is here. So is Cerberus! Selura is hur-_" the distortion returned for a second, "_-eed help right away!_"

The former commando no longer had the luxury of time. Not if she wanted to save her pilot. And so she braced herself and focused her biotics, blanketing herself in a cocoon of biotic energy. Her charge slammed her into the closer of the two sentries an instant later, sending him crashing into his companion. The two tumbled over in a heap. She ignored them for the moment and turned her attention into the prisoner room, quickly training the Prothean rifle upon the Cerberus troopers who had gone inside. Her first shot was at the man escorting the doctor, because she knew they would need a surgeon to tend to the wounded when the fighting was done.

Her sudden appearance clearly surprised the troopers, because none of them reacted very quickly. The particle beam struck her first target squarely in the forehead, and within seconds he was crumbling into ash from the head down. She didn't even have to fire upon a second man. With the attention of their captors diverted, the humans were quick to seize the opportunity. The Alliance marines quickly pounced upon their captors, driving both men to the floor and beating them savagely, wresting the weapons from their grasps. Julisa quickly turned her rifle upon the two men she had flattened with her charge, reducing their bodies to residue on the floor.

"Your gear is being kept two rooms down," she informed the humans, and then ran off toward the archive chamber without further delay.

When she reached the door to her destination and triggered it, she immediately saw the bodies of Cerberus troopers lying all over the floor. One last trooper was standing, but even as she watched, a black cloud erupted around the man, and he clutched at his head, collapsing to his knees and pitching over. She peered out to pinpoint the location of their attacker, and she quickly spotted a salarian rising from behind a stack of crates.

As she watched, the salarian stalked over to Selura, who was lying on the floor and just starting to rise. He swiftly kicked her in the side of the head, returning her to unconsciousness, and then turned his pistol upon Neela. Julisa's gaze went to Neela, and she saw the quarian's hand come up and grab the emergency release lever that would open her pod and expose her to the environment. She knew exactly what was going on in the girl's head. She was about to leave the pod to try saving Selura.

"Neela, stop!" she shouted.

The salarian whirled around at her shout, but she was already blanketed in a biotic field and propelling herself forward. In a flash, she covered the distance and slammed into her enemy's kinetic barrier, sending him reeling backward. Amazingly, however, his shield didn't collapse. She had never before seen a shield generator powerful enough to stand up to one of her biotic charges. Or at least not one that wasn't attached to a vehicle or external generator of some kind.

Before the salarian could recover, she trained her rifle upon him and pulled the trigger. The particle beam quickly overloaded his already-weakened shields, and she watched with satisfaction as the beam struck his armor directly, scarring the plating covering his chest. However, by the time that impact occurred and she started to adjust her aim to hit his head directly, he had recovered from the collision. Before she could train the beam upon his flesh, he was able to turn and dive into the water that filled the channel surrounding the archive. She stepped forward and peered into the water, trying to spot him, but it was dark and brackish, and she could see nothing. She fired into the water, but the particle beam scattered almost immediately upon striking the surface.

She stalked around the edge of the moat-like structure, waiting for the salarian to show himself. Amphibious or not, he couldn't stay down there forever…

* * *

**Upper Level, Prothean Ruins…**

Illitha breathed a sigh of relief when she and Prathus got a look down into the archive chamber and saw the captain streak into view, quickly driving the salarian into the water. She had never been so happy to see the elder asari in her life. She glanced toward the door, and seeing that the Alliance soldiers had Cerberus effectively pinned in the adjacent room, she opened a comm channel to the captain's omni.

"C-Captain, be careful," she warned the elder asari, and saw the woman's hand come up to her ear in the room below. "Salik has Reaper-enhanced technology, a-and he is indoctrinated. He is armed with a pistol that fires nanite swarms capable of disabling all forms of technology."

She saw the captain scanning her surroundings, and when the elder asari finally spotted her, she nodded her head in greeting. But she was quick to return her attention to the water. "_I only got part of that, Illitha,_" the captain's voice filled her ears. "_But I understand the danger. Cerberus sent three squads to a large chamber one level down from you. It is filled with supplies. They will probably dig in there. Their commanding officer was also headed there._"

"Understood, Captain," Illitha smiled. It was immensely comforting to have the former commando on her side. "I am uploading communications enhancements to your omni to clear the transmission interference," she added, quickly copying the filters to the captain's omni-tool.

"_I have freed the Alliance prisoners down here,_" Captain Nisaria informed her. "_I will try to get them to organize and start securing this level. Then they can work their way up to meet you. I will stay here and deal with this salarian._"

"Understood," Illitha deactivated the communications channel.

She quickly waved Rachel and Zaeed over to her, and once the two humans had joined her and Prathus, she relayed the information the captain had given her. It was immensely helpful to have some knowledge of what Cerberus was doing. They had initially been monitoring Cerberus communications, but when the shooting started, their enemies had switched to an 'emergency frequency band' that hadn't been in the information gained from the Cerberus omni-tool.

"Man down! Cover me!" she heard from the neighboring room as she was finishing her hurried update for the others. She frowned when she heard the increase in the sounds of gunfire, and saw an Alliance soldier dragging a wounded man through the door a moment later. They got him settled in the corner, out of the line of fire.

"This is going to happen, Illitha," Rachel told her. "Close quarters combat is chaotic. It's hard to maneuver. You can't always see the enemy before it's too late. Sometimes it just comes down to who has better reflexes. We're bound to lose people. Don't start blaming yourself."

"She's right, T'Zari," Prathus put a hand on her shoulder. "We have to keep advancing."

"Cerberus is dug in deep," Zaeed commented. "We'll keep using grenades to flush them out of cover, but it's bound to be slow going until we take down this first team. These first five rooms are connected in one straight line. There's no way to flank them."

Illitha frowned at what she was hearing. They hadn't been able to plan much in advance because of their lack of knowledge about Cerberus numbers and positions, so their assault had been improvised from the start. However, she didn't want to see the men she'd just rescued die now. She needed to figure out a way to bypass the Cerberus team or force them to surrender before she lost more people. She supposed they could climb down from where they were, but the captain already had people coming up from below…

_If we wait, the captain might bail us out,_ she mused, and then frowned. _No… That will take too long, and she said there is a bunch of Cerberus soldiers one floor down. They will need our help. If we… wait!_ Her eyes widened as a thought came to her. _Prathus said there is a hole in the wall a few rooms up! If we shimmy across the stonework and get into the room behind them, they will have no choice but to surrender. They cannot defend from both sides at once!_

"Well?" Rachel was watching her with a grin. "I know what it means when you go silent like that. You have a plan?"

"Y-Yes," Illitha nodded, blushing over the fact that the blonde could read her reactions so well. "I think… If… If we climb out through the hole here, we could climb across to the other hole and come in behind them."

"Then we'll have them in a crossfire," Zaeed nodded slowly. "Good idea."

Their conversation was interrupted by a shout of "Frag out!" from the next room, followed by an explosion that shook the floor beneath their feet. A more distant cry of "Man down!" came after that.

"They're falling back," Jorge, who was stationed at the door, informed them.

"Move up," Illitha waved him forward. "Press the attack! W-We will get behind them and cut them off."

"I'll go first," Rachel offered.

Illitha was quick to grab the blonde's arm as she started to pass, pulling her to a stop. Rachel regarded her with confusion, prompting Illitha to smile nervously.

"It is my plan," she said. "My responsibility. I lead the way," she insisted, activating her tech armor. Without giving anyone a chance to argue – she could see the stubborn expression that blanketed Rachel's features – she quickly climbed through the hole.

Working her way across the gap-filled stonework was difficult despite the number of handholds available. With the weight of the Alliance armor and the drag of the tech armor, she had to move very carefully, making absolutely certain that every foothold and grip was solid before she continued onward. As she passed by the room in which the fighting was currently taking place, she could see flashes and could smell the subtle, smoky scent of spent thermal clips upon the air. By the time she reached the second breach in the stonework, her forearms were burning from the exertion. She climbed through quickly, sighing gratefully once she was on solid ground once again.

Unfortunately, she knew she didn't have time to enjoy the relief. She drew her Carnifex from the magnetic holster at her hip and started toward the door, intending to secure the next room while everyone else climbed across.

She hadn't gone two steps before she heard a whisper-quiet sound, similar to the sounds of weapon-silencers used in old movies, and something impacted against her barrier from behind with such force that the field almost collapsed. She whirled around just in time to see a female figure in silver armor standing in the corridor that led from the room. The woman had a hand extended, and there was a flash from her palm just as Illitha was diving to the side. The second shot collapsed her barrier, forcing her to scramble for cover to keep from being injured if another shot followed.

She wanted to call out a warning to her friends, but she realized that if she warned Cerberus of their presence, the troopers could turn and fall back to capture them before anyone could get in position. She hurriedly rose to her feet, and was just moving to take cover against the archway when the woman dashed into the room. Illitha brought her pistol up, but the woman was holding a sword in one hand, and she quickly slashed with the blade. The keen edge sliced cleanly through the padding that covered Illitha's wrist and bit deep into the flesh beneath. The stinging pain wrenched a cry out of her, and her grip reflexively loosened. Her pistol clattered to the floor.

Her enemy raised the blade, the weapon reversed in a stabbing motion, and she thrust it directly at Illitha's forehead as the asari staggered back. Illitha's reaction was pure reflex. She raised her arm to ward off the blow. She expected the ceramic plating on her forearm to protect her. To her surprise, the blade pierced cleanly through the armoring covering her forearm, exiting through the opposite side of the limb. The woman twisted the blade, wrenching an agonized scream from the asari. She felt her whole body start shaking, and realized that she might go into shock if she didn't focus. She grabbed the woman's wrist to keep her from yanking the blade free, and since the weapon was already buried to the hilt, she pushed forward, driving the woman back into the wall.

She soon discovered, however, that the strength of the Cerberus woman was incredible. When her back hit the wall, she braced herself and pushed off, effortlessly driving the asari backward. Once Illitha was backpedaling, the woman hooked a foot behind Illitha's leading ankle, driving forward as she did so. Illitha fell backward, and the silver-armored figure came down on top of her. The woman now had the leverage of a mounted position, and she took hold of the sword's hilt with both hands, trying to force the weapon – which was still embedded in Illitha's arm – down into the asari's throat. Illitha braced her free hand against her injured forearm and pushed back, sobbing in agony as she did so, but the phantom had far greater strength, and the blade inched steadily downward.

Panic engulfed her. She didn't even realize she was speaking, but the whole time, she was repeatedly whimpering the words "stop" and "please". Her arms shook, and she knew that any moment, her strength would give out and she would be impaled through the neck.

A slender, armored form suddenly barreled into the Cerberus woman from the side, driving her off of Illitha. The sudden jerk of the woman's grasp on the hilt of the sword when she was tackled drew another scream from the asari, who could feel tears trailing into her scalp crests. She rolled to the side, and was only barely aware of Rachel thrusting an omni-blade into the phantom's throat as she struggled to rise. Purple droplets of blood were hitting the floor with alarming regularity, and Illitha was finding it difficult to get her limbs to do what she wanted; her whole body was shaking. She finally managed to get to her knees, and she rocked back and forth, clutching the injured limb and waiting for the pain to subside somewhat. Gunfire erupted nearby, and she glanced up to see Zaeed firing from the doorway into the adjacent room. Prathus and Rachel were both beside her, urging her to turn around and sit.

"I'm sorry," the blonde whimpered miserably. "I promised I wouldn't let them touch you. You should have let me go first."

"M-My plan. M-My r-responsibility," Illitha sobbed. Truth be told, at that moment a small part of her wished she had let someone else go first too. Although she wouldn't have wished the injury on anyone.

"Leave the blade where it is," Prathus warned when Rachel took hold of the hilt. "It could do more damage on the way out without medigel to stop the bleeding. Bandage her up, apply a tourniquet at the elbow, and cover her. Zaeed and I will take care of Cerberus. Then we can get her outside with the rest of the wounded."

"No," Illitha shook her head fiercely. "I-I convinced those soldiers to join us. I am the one in charge. I cannot abandon the fight," she insisted.

"Illitha, you're losing way too much blood, and you're in tears," Rachel frowned at her.

"I will not abandon those men now," Illitha's tone was firm, even if her voice was a bit thick. She was shaking, but she'd never been more adamant about anything in her life. Everyone was calling her a Spectre. She figured it was time for her to live up to the title. "Bind the wounds as tight as you can. I will be fine."

Rachel looked like she was going to argue. Illitha braced herself for it. However, just as the blonde opened her mouth, a packet of medigel hit her squarely in the nose. Both girls turned to look toward the door in shock, and saw Zaeed regarding them impassively.

"It's my last one," the mercenary grumbled. "But it'll stop all the bleeding. So yank that thing out of her arm, seal the wound, and let her fight if she's serious."

Prathus regarded Illitha in silence, but she could see in the turian's gaze a deep sense of respect. She couldn't recall ever seeing that look in his eyes when he looked at her before, though she had seen hints of it in the past few days. She found herself smiling, even as she wiped some of the moisture from her face, never realizing that she was just replacing the tears with streaks of blood from her hand. The turian only nodded and slapped the shoulder of her armor, and then he moved to the door, joining Zaeed in keeping Cerberus pinned in the room beyond.

"Are you sure about this?" Rachel asked softly, picking up the medigel from where it had fallen.

"I am sure."

"Okay, Spectre," Rachel said softly. She took hold of Illitha's arm, gently turning it, and then grabbed hold of the sword's hilt with one hand, her forearm with the other. "This is gonna hurt…" she warned.

Illitha nodded and braced herself for the pain. When she was ready, she gave a nod. Rachel pulled the blade free in one smooth motion.

Illitha was sure her scream was audible even in the farthest reaches of the complex.

* * *

**Archive Chamber, Prothean Ruins…**

Selura jerked awake as soon as consciousness started to return, reflexively shielding her head against further blows from the salarian. It was only after several seconds, once the fogginess started to clear, that she realized she wasn't being assaulted. She opened her eyes, blinking in an attempt to clear the blurriness from her vision, and tried to get up. Unfortunately, she hadn't yet regained her equilibrium, and before she could get her feet fully underneath her, she hit the floor again.

_My head…_

The scientist rolled over and opted for sitting up instead, putting her hands to her head, which was throbbing painfully. She wiped her nose, wincing at the pain the simple contact caused, and her fingers came away covered in blood. She could feel it all over her lips and chin. She was almost positive her nose was broken. And the back of her neck was throbbing almost as badly as her head.

She glanced around, and could see Cerberus bodies lying all over the floor around the nearby door. The sight sent a surge of panic through her, and she turned to assure herself that Neela was still alive. When she saw the isolation pod standing nearby, still intact save for a few white impact-scars on the glass, she breathed a sigh of relief. She struggled to her feet and stumbled over to the vehicle.

"Neela," she slapped a hand against the glass, visibly startling the quarian, who had been looking toward the archive. "Are you alright?"

"Selura!" Neela pressed a hand to the glass, and her gaze was filled with concern. "I thought that bosh'tet was going to kill you. Are you badly hurt? You look terrible."

"You say the sweetest things," Selura's words were dripping with sarcasm, but she pressed her palm against the opposite side of the glass from Neela's hand, happy to see that her girlfriend was safe. "Where is Salik?"

"He dove into the water when the captain came to your rescue," Neela informed her, glancing out toward the water again. "The captain sent the humans up to help the others."

"Others?" Selura repeated. "What others?"

"Illitha and Prathus are on the upper level, fighting their way down to us," Neela smiled brightly.

Selura had to smile as well, not only because it was good to know that the two were still alive, but more because of the obvious joy in the quarian's expression as she relayed the news. The _Sileya's_ crew was like a surrogate family to the quarian, she knew. She was glad that the news was good.

"I need to get you somewhere safe," Selura told her. She wouldn't see Neela left in a position where her isolation pod might be damaged. The impact scars on the glass told her that the pod had already been struck by a few stray bullets. It was fortunate that the Alliance engineers had constructed the canopy from security glass. She walked around to the side of the pod closest to the water and gave the vehicle a push…

And it didn't budge. She braced her back against it and tried again, but her renewed effort didn't yield any better results than the first attempt. She frowned and stared at the contraption in frustration.

"The drive train is dead," Neela told her. "It may be locked in an immobile state because I was stopped when the damage took place."

"Isn't there a brake release or something?" Selura complained.

"Selura," the captain's voice interrupted. "Get Neela out of here. Find somewhere safer for her."

Selura's patience was waning fast. She'd been pushed around for days, had seen her girlfriend insulted and threatened, had been outwitted by the same salarian that had nearly killed her and the woman she loved, and then was subsequently beaten senseless by him. So when she turned to glare at the elder asari, she wasn't even considering the fact that Captain Nisaria had saved her.

"You think?" she snapped, hands coming to rest on her hips. "I was thinking I'd use her pod as cover when the salarian climbs out of there…"

It was only when she saw the captain's eyes narrow that she realized she was taking her anger out on the wrong person. Her shoulders hunched and she quickly offered an apologetic smile. She was about to add a verbal apology when something caught her eye. A slender figure was hauling himself up out of the moat and onto the central area where the archive was located.

"Salik!" she cried, pointing at the salarian.

The captain whirled around and fired a greenish-white beam from her rifle at the salarian, but it was too late. He had already disappeared behind the archive. Selura reflexively stepped in front of Neela's pod, hoping to shield it from any shots that might be forthcoming. She wished she knew anything about tactical cloaks. Perhaps the water would disrupt it somehow? Or at least interfere with the field to make it shimmer so it was more visible?

"Selura…"

The young asari turned, and she could see the fear in Neela's expression. The truth was, she shared it. With Neela rooted in place, the salarian only needed to fire one shot from his prototype pistol to effectively kill her. If the nanites ate through the air recycling and sanitation systems in the pod, Neela would be exposed to the environment again. She looked around frantically for anything that she could use to get the pod moving. As she was scanning her surroundings, she noticed that the captain had taken up a position near them, and was intently watching for any sign of their enemy.

"You need to leave me and get to safety," Neela urged her.

"I hope that was a joke," Selura shook her head. "Because if you seriously think I would save myself and leave you here, you do not think as highly of me as I do of you."

She could hear the quarian's sigh, and she turned and managed a brief, reassuring smile. She'd spent days making certain no one hurt Neela. She wasn't going to run off and let someone do it now. She didn't care if she had to reconstruct the entire drive train of the pod, she wouldn't leave that room without her. Suddenly a solution came to her.

"I just got an idea," she announced, and without taking the time to elaborate, she immediately got down on the floor, activating her omni-tool and squeezing beneath the pod to get a look at the wheels. If she was right, she could use her omni to cut away the drive components that gave the pod motive power. Once all of the gears and the brake components were removed, the wheels would spin without impediment, and she would be able to push it out of the room. But it would take time.

She was just starting to cut into the components connected to the first wheel when she heard the high-pitched chirp of a tactical cloak disengaging. It was a sound she'd become very familiar with back when they were hoping Salik was an ally. She heard Neela shout a warning to the captain, and an instant later, a series of grunts and thumps.

"Selura, you have to help her!" the quarian cried.

Selura glanced out from beneath the pod, and could see the asari and the salarian furiously exchanging blows. If she went out there to help, she might be able to assist the captain in dealing with Salik once and for all. However, given her general ineptitude in fighting, she was afraid she would do more harm than good… and perhaps even end up giving the salarian a hostage and living shield.

_I hope you can both forgive me,_ she thought. But her decision was made. She went back to work on cutting apart the drive components, focusing on the task of freeing Neela's pod for movement. The captain would have to handle the salarian on her own.

* * *

**Upper Level, Prothean Ruin…**

Zaeed growled softly when the Alliance soldiers put the last of the Cerberus troopers down, and did so in a decidedly permanent fashion. He needed to get a prisoner out of this whole situation, and thus far they had been forced to kill every Cerberus soldier they faced. The positive side of the situation had been the asari's plan to flank the initial Cerberus force. Once they had people on both sides of the room in which Cerberus had entrenched themselves, it was a simple matter to pick them apart. They had no way to escape and no position from which they were fully covered against both sides. The only thing that had allowed the enemy to hold their position for so long was a liberal use of grenades to force them back.

With the last trooper down, their Alliance recruits swarmed into the room, kicking weapons away from the corpses and confirming that the path was clear. All eyes turned toward the timid young asari, whose face was streaked with blood, and whose right arm was now unarmored from the elbow down and wrapped in bandages. Zaeed hadn't been happy about giving the asari his last packet of medigel – he was now left only with what little remained in his armor's auto-dispensation reservoirs – but her insistence on continuing to fight had earned his grudging respect. He didn't like seeing an untrained civilian "in charge," but given the fact that it was her perceived position as Spectre that had inspired the Alliance to join them, he couldn't do much about it. Revealing the lie was too risky. They might lose their support. And he had to admit that she did have a knack for coming up with quick plans in a pinch.

"We're clear here," Corporal Jorge Rivera announced.

"Cerberus will have a commander somewhere in the complex," Zaeed spoke up so that everyone present could hear him. He might not have been the one acknowledged as leader, but he needed to be sure he got what he wanted out of this expedition. "We need to take him alive if at all possible. He'll have intel we need."

"A-Anyone that surrenders, we will take prisoner," Illitha announced. "C-Cerberus may be repulsive, but _we_ are not. Agreed?" the asari looked around, and received nods from the men in the room, some more quickly than others.

Zaeed snorted. Cerberus had already proven they wouldn't surrender. Whatever the Illusive Man had done to ensure their loyalty, it worked. They fought to the last man and killed themselves when taken alive. He was just hoping the people in charge wouldn't be quite so willing to die for the cause.

"By now, Cerberus will have entrenched themselves in the supply room on the next floor," Prathus pointed out. "We need to get moving."

"Everyone… W-We need to be careful what we shoot at," Illitha cautioned them all. "A friend has freed the Alliance soldiers that were being held captive here. They will be fighting their way up from the lower levels to assist us. W-We cannot afford to shoot allies."

"She's right," Prathus nodded. "There will be two more asari, maybe three, and a quarian in the complex. They're all friendly. They're part of the group of hostages we came to rescue."

Zaeed was already well aware of everything that was being said, and he was pretty sure that most of it was familiar to the Alliance as well. News of their asari and quarian allies would be new to some of the men, but checking one's targets and firing only upon confirmed enemies was Military Procedure 101… He crossed the room to the corridor that led deeper into the complex, and he paused at the archway, gazing along the dark hallway beyond. Cerberus might have been intending to fortify a specific position for the majority of their forces, but they would certainly deploy squads to harass and ambush them as they progressed through the structure. He knew they would have to stay on their toes.

With the final instructions taken care of, the asari gave the word, and they all prepared to move on. Zaeed took the point position, advancing down the corridor while others covered him. Once he reached the first intersection, he held position there, covering the branches ahead and to the right. After a moment, a young marine whose name he didn't know joined him and covered ahead and to the left. Behind them, the rest of their squad performed a quick room-to-room search to confirm that there were no enemy agents waiting to ambush them from behind.

Zaeed had wandered around the ruin a fair bit in their first visit to the place, and was familiar with some of the layout of the upper floors. He silently gestured to the right-hand corridor, and several of the marines advanced down the hall while he covered them. When they reached the junction at the end, they secured it and waited for everyone else to move up. The veteran mercenary knew that the quiet wouldn't last. Cerberus's first response team had held them up for too long. There had been plenty of time to prepare whatever was coming next.

His instincts weren't wrong. Once the entire group was gathered at the second junction, he gestured to the left-hand branch, which he knew led to the main stairwell that provided access to the lower levels. He stepped out into the hallway and resumed the point position, but the hallways were dark. While he had night vision, beyond a certain range, fine detail was lost on the overlay. Thus, by the time he spotted the automated turret that was set up next to the wall halfway down the hall, they were already in acquisition range.

The rapid-fire droning of the weapon echoed up and down the tunnel, and everyone dove into doorways to find some measure of cover from the turret's fire. One marine, a little slower to react than the others, found out firsthand how quickly the turrets were capable of piercing a kinetic barrier. By the time he dove into a doorway, his shield was down and he was taking direct fire. Fortunately his armor protected him from the worst of it, but Zaeed could see the man press his hand to his side.

Cerberus had picked the location of the turret well. Most of the doors flanking the hall were inoperable as a result of centuries of disuse, and so the turret was able to keep pressure on them and keep them pinned in position. They could only return fire in the brief periods when the weapon paused to vent heat and prepare for another volley. They weren't in any real danger as long as they kept down while the turret was firing, but it slowed their advance considerably.

"_Allied forces,_" a transmission was broadcast to the internal speakers in Zaeed's helmet. "_This is Private Mills, and I am trying to contact allied forces on the upper levels of the structure. Is anyone reading me?_"

"This is Zaeed Massani. We read you. What's your situation?"

"_I could barely copy that,_" came the response. "_Are you copying this?"_

"I am sending him a copy of the communications filters," Illitha shouted from somewhere farther down the hall.

"You're receiving an upload that will clear your communications," Zaeed informed the man even as he leaned out to fire on the Cerberus turret while it vented heat. "Install them and you'll be able to communicate clearly. Pass them on to the rest of your men."

"_We need immediate assistance on level three. A Cerberus ambush hit us hard. We have two men injured. Lieutenant Gradian is in critical condition. Cerberus has a biotic in their unit who is steadily driving us back with some kind of biotic wave. Repeat: We need immediate assistance on level three. How copy?"_

"Solid copy," Zaeed confirmed. "Find a defensible position and dig in. We'll get to you as soon as we can. We're not far from the main stairwell."

Several men opened fire on the turret when it paused again, and Zaeed saw the subtle shimmer around it when its shield went down. He immediately stepped out of cover, locked on the turret with his concussive burst emitter and fired. The burst hit the machine with enough force to send it tumbling down the hall. He could see the turret turning in an attempt to find a target, but since it was now lying on its side with its feet facing them, it was only a threat to the walls and ceiling immediately around it. Several men advanced and quickly finished it off.

"I… They… They said a biotic was down there," Illitha spoke up, drawing Zaeed's attention, as well as everyone else's. "I am going down there to help them out. A-At least I have some knowledge of what they are up against."

"I'm going with you," Rachel was quick to volunteer.

"Fuck it, I'm in!" Private Olimar stepped forward.

"Zaeed, Prathus," the asari turned her attention to the two of them, and Zaeed braced himself. He didn't mind watching her order the Alliance troops around, but he was getting tired of her pretending she had any authority over him. "Y-You two are the most experienced soldiers here. So will you take charge of the rest of the men and proceed to the second level?"

Zaeed was both surprised and slightly pleased that she had the sense to phrase her suggestion in the form of a question. He nodded without saying a word, trusting in the turian to give the verbal reply. He wasn't wrong.

"We're on it, T'Zari," Prathus assured her. "Be careful."

"You too," the asari smiled.

Illitha, Rachel and Private Olimar filed past the rest of the group, cautiously approaching the stairwell. Everyone knew that Cerberus was likely to leave some surprises there, since it was the most convenient access to the lower levels. However, as the asari passed, she paused and leaned closer to the mercenary.

"Th-Thank you," she murmured so softly that he could barely hear her. "For the medigel. I… I appreciate it."

Zaeed grunted an acknowledgement. He still wasn't happy about having given it up, and the asari's thanks meant nothing to him. He just hoped she continued to find ways to make a difference so that he wouldn't regret the decision. He waved the rest of the group forward and they followed the asari's team into the stairwell. They would part ways at the next landing. The real fight was still coming. Everything up to that point had just been a preview. And there was still a wildcard in the mix. Salik was in the facility, which meant the other salarian probably was too. Whatever was coming, the mercenary was sure of one thing: it wouldn't be pretty.

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited/followed or otherwise taken an interest in the story. I was especially happy for all the positive feedback last Chapter, and I can only hope that I continue to keep everyone interested going forward from here. I'm really glad that so many people are along for the ride. :)**

**I don't have a lot to say about the contents of this Chapter other than to address the brief fight between Illitha and the Phantom. Hopefully that little bit didn't stretch believability too much. I just figure with all their synthetic enhancements for strength and speed and whatnot, a Phantom could manage to pierce the ceramic plating in standard Alliance armor. In the game, they somehow manage to shove those swords through characters' chestplates, which I'd imagine is a good deal harder... I know some might disagree, and that a few people aren't a fan of the "space ninjas" to begin with, but hopefully it is a small distraction or not a distraction at all. I thought it worked well enough, so I decided to go with it.**

**Barring any unexpected difficulties in my life, the next Chapter of the story will go up this coming Monday morning. So I hope everyone will have a great weekend, and I hope you all come back then! And P.S., sorry I didn't pass along wellwishes for the weekend last time! I only realized that I left them out after the Chapter was already up. So I'll make it up to you all by wishing _twice as hard_ that everyone's weekend is good this time! :)**


	50. Chapter 50: Faceoff

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Fifty: Faceoff

.

**Archive Chamber, Prothean Ruins…**

The first assault by the salarian struck Julisa's barrier, instantly collapsing the defense. The salarian's armor was constructed so that the forearm plating extended out over the back of the hand, so when he punched, the strike was delivered by a piece of solid armoring rather than a hand covered in kinetic padding. Had she not had a barrier up, the blow would no doubt have been very painful. Barriers and kinetic shields deflected any object traveling over a certain speed, including punches, but physical strikes tended to quickly overwhelm such defenses because of their size and thus the difficulty of turning them aside; few barriers or shields stood up to more than a single blow. She whirled around, and the salarian grabbed the Prothean rifle with both hands and planted a foot against the plating covering her chest, yanking the weapon from her grasp and tossing it aside.

She had been intently watching the connecting bridge from the archive to the walkway, and hadn't seen any sign that the salarian was trying to cross it, so she wasn't sure how he'd managed to sneak up on her. She heard Neela shout an initial warning, but it had come too late; the first strike had already been delivered. What she found herself wondering as lost her grip upon her weapon and swiftly countered with a powerful, biotically-enhanced blow to the salarian's shield to collapse it in turn, was why he bothered to assault her hand to hand. He could have shot at her from anywhere in the room, and yet decided to risk a hand-to-hand engagement with an armored foe. She didn't have time to dwell upon the question, however, because she couldn't afford not to concentrate on the fight. With both of their shields down, the real contest was about to begin.

She executed double-handed blocks against three quick attacks in succession by the salarian, and when she saw a chance to counterattack, she quickly drove her shoulder into his armored chest to off-balance him and then slammed a fist into the kinetic padding covering his side when he stumbled. She then hooked her arm beneath his and lifted upward, driving her knee into the same spot she'd just punched. She saw the salarian wince in response. Focusing her biotics, she shifted the energy into her knee in preparation for a third strike, but never had the chance to deliver it. The salarian suddenly wrapped his free arm around her body and twisted to the side, planting his foot beside her ankle as he did so. His movement pulled her off of her feet and forced her to the ground. He came down on top of her, and the impact – despite her armor – sent a wave of pain through her. Her injured ribs were in no condition for that sort of jarring. For a moment, she had trouble catching her breath.

Salik planted his shin across her left arm, pinning it in place, and straightened up, aiming a punch for her head. She was able to get her free arm up to ward off the blow and several more that followed, but because the arm he had pinned was the one she had fractured, her attempts to free it were causing her a great deal of pain. She braced her feet against the floor and raised her hips forcefully, trying to throw him off balance so that she could unseat him. After bucking up against him several times, he finally started to topple forward and had to break off his assault and put his hands upon the floor to catch himself.

Julisa immediately seized the opportunity and hooked her free arm around his leg, twisting and rolling to the side to reverse position. Once he was on his back and she was on top of him, she quickly drove her fist into his side once again. She followed the strike by quickly rolling to his side, planting her foot into his armpit and locking her other leg around his arm to keep it in place. Seizing his wrist with both hands, she applied pressure and pulled with all her might.

She was highly-trained in a close-quarters form of combat known as Enitheli-Mola, which focused upon joint locks, attacks to vital points at close range, and various chokeholds, but unfortunately, salarian skeletal structure was mostly cartilage, which gave her opponent a flexibility that rendered most possible joint locks useless. Her body simply wasn't flexible enough to apply enough pressure in such holds to deal real damage. Even as she pulled upon his arm, she knew that any species with a solid skeleton would have already experienced dislocation of the joint, or would at least have been in excruciating pain. The salarian was unfazed; he was already twisting free of the hold in a fashion that no other species could have managed.

When it was clear he would escape anyway, Julisa released her grip and scrambled to her feet, but the salarian was faster. He propelled himself into her, wrapping both arms around her body and driving her backward. At first she backpedaled, but once she had time to adjust, she leaned into him and tried to grind their momentum to a halt. As she did so, she started to focus her biotics, building up energy with the intent to release it omni-directionally. If possible, she needed to avoid having him drive her into a wall and further damage her ribs.

To her surprise, he made no such attempt. As soon as they reached the center of the open area on the walkway, he stopped pushing and twisted, driving a knee into the inside of her leg, which caused the limb to buckle, and then he quickly leapt backward before she could release her gathered energy against him. She decided to put the gathered energy to good use, blanketing herself in a biotic field and propelling herself toward him. Her biotic charge covered the distance to him in an instant, and her knee slammed into the armored plating covering his abdomen, shattering it and sending him tumbling backward across the floor.

She saw him activate his omni-tool, and knew he was dazed by the impact. She assumed he was attempting to cloak, so she channeled her energy in preparation for a warp field. However, instead of the salarian fading from sight, a combat drone shimmered into view and drifted toward her, hitting her barrier with an electrical blast. She was weaponless, so she hurled the biotic orb at the drone instead, and watched with satisfaction as the holographic image shimmered and glitched as a result of the warp field's damage. However, she wasn't prepared for the explosion that occurred when the drone collapsed. The blast knocked her flat and collapsed her barrier, and just as she was getting to her feet, the salarian barreled into her, pushing her backward once again, to the center of the walkway. She blocked the elbow he tried to deliver to her jaw as he released her.

While her opponent had clearly been trained in hand-to-hand combat – she recognized some of his tactics as STG training – he had done no real damage to her so far with his strikes. The pain she had suffered had been incidental, such as when he fell on top of her and jarred her fractured ribs, or a result of his tech. She was surprised at his persistence in keeping the fight close-range.

Julisa regarded the salarian warily as they circled, both trying to catch their breath. Grappling and striking like this could be tiring, especially when one didn't do it on a regular basis; it had been many years since she'd been in a brawl. But both of them knew that this could only end with just one of them standing. And so the asari commando and salarian STG operative both continued to move, waiting for the opening that would provide one of them an advantage.

Salik suddenly darted to the right and closed in, and Julisa backed up a step, using both hands to block the kick the salarian attempted. She quickly countered, moving in and snapping a quick punch that caught him in the jaw, and following up by channeling her biotics into her fist and attempting a more powerful swing that he ducked. She tried to circle to his left, but he quickly stepped into the path, even though doing so presented the inside of his leg as an easy target. She delivered a swift kick to his thigh, knocking him off-balance so that she could press the attack by slamming an elbow into the side of his head. He staggered. However, even as she took a step forward to further press the advantage, a nagging worry formed in the back of her mind.

He had driven her into the center of the area twice. He had just moved to keep her there even though he had to absorb several painful blows to do it. He wanted her right where she was standing. Her attack forgotten, she turned her head and glanced behind her to see what it was that she was missing. Then it struck her…

Her barrier was down. She was standing squarely in front of the open door that led into the corridor beyond. Anyone could have been standing in the darkness of that hallway, waiting. And she had just knocked Salik out of the line of fire... She struggled to generate a biotic field to charge into a corner somewhere, but the realization had come too late.

There was a thunderous sound and an impact with her upper back that knocked the wind out of her and caused her whole body to instantly go numb. The next thing she knew, she was lying upon her side, and she felt terribly cold. She couldn't breathe, and could taste blood in her mouth. She knew she had to move, but she couldn't get her body to respond any more than to roll onto her back.

The salarian stepped into view, and casually pulled a Carnifex hand cannon from his hip. Before he could even activate the weapon, however, the lighter and sharper crack of another gunshot echoed through the room. She saw a hole erupt in the armoring at the salarian's shoulder, and blood sprayed upon her. Salik stumbled to the side and out of her view.

Julisa had been injured enough in her career to know that she had suffered a critical wound… possibly a mortal one. Her vision was already graying out because of her inability to breathe. She looked around dazedly, and spotted a figure in a hole in the wall far above. She tried to focus on it, but could make out nothing but a vague blur with a long rifle in its hands. The muzzle of the weapon flashed repeatedly as her mystery savior continued to fire.

A slender figure appeared in her field of vision and grabbed an arm, dragging her across the floor. It then crouched over her, and she was vaguely aware of someone applying pressure to her chest. Then consciousness faded away.

* * *

**Prothean Ruins, Level Three…**

Illitha's heart was pounding wildly as she, Rachel and Olimar moved through the corridors, following the nav-point that Private Mills had provided with his distress call. She'd already almost been killed once by Cerberus, and she hadn't actually fought another biotic since biotic defense training in school when she was an adolescent… and that had been practice. The thought of facing a hostile Cerberus biotic now was terrifying. Only the need to save their Alliance allies was allowing her to keep moving. Even so, her knees were shaking as she walked.

They could hear the gunfire and shouts echoing through the corridors as they approached, and all three slowed their advance. They couldn't afford to walk into a rear guard or another automated turret in their haste to help their allies. As they approached a junction in the corridor ahead, they could see almost constant flashes from the adjoining hallway, and Illitha held up a hand to halt the others.

"I-Identify the biotic first and concentrate on him," she instructed. "He seemed to be the one causing our allies the most trouble."

"We're with you," Rachel assured her.

There was no more time for talk. The three of them crept up to the junction in the corridor, and she peered around the corner to get a look at the situation.

At the far end of the corridor, a handful of Alliance soldiers were hiding in doorways, valiantly working to hold off the advance of the Cerberus troops. Closer to her position, she could see Cerberus troopers in doorways along the corridor, leaning out to fire at the Alliance men. In the center of the hallway, an armored Cerberus trooper was advancing down the corridor with a huge shield in front of him, providing cover for a man in black, yellow and silver armor, who was pressed close behind. Even as she watched, the man in the black and yellow stepped out to the side, and a trail of biotic energy streaked out from his hand. It curved around and struck one of the Alliance marines, yanking him violently out into the hallway. The other Cerberus troopers quickly killed the man once he was exposed to direct fire.

Illitha had never seen a biotic technique like that. It reminded her of a biotic pull, but hundreds of times more forceful. She swallowed nervously. However, she didn't have time to dwell upon her misgivings, because Rachel and Olimar did as she had instructed them to do. The biotic had been identified, and both marines opened fire upon him. She could hear audible snaps and clinks as their shots struck his armored back. The man whirled around to face them.

There was a streak of bluish-purple, and suddenly the Cerberus biotic seemed to appear in their midst. Private Olimar tumbled backward, struck by the man's biotic charge. Illitha and Rachel both struggled to adjust to the sudden shift in their enemy's position, and Illitha darted across the hallway to clear the line of fire for Rachel, who opened fire on their enemy.

The man ignored the incoming fire, and two long, glowing tendrils sprouted from the armor at his wrists. He raised them high and brought them down in a sweeping arc toward the blonde marine. In their wake, a rolling field of biotic energy surged outward, slamming into the girl and knocking her violently to the floor. Illitha had seen biotic shockwaves before, and the Cerberus figure's technique seemed similar in effect. She saw the flash that suggested the blonde's barrier had collapsed, and she knew she needed to draw the man's attention. She took aim at his back with her pistol and fired, causing him to stagger forward when the shot hit his armor.

He whirled to face her, raising a pistol and firing. Illitha winced when the shot struck her barrier, and she continued to fire in return, but her shots didn't seem to be penetrating his armor. She tried aiming for his head instead, but her aim was still too unsure for that kind of precision. She saw a cloud of dust erupt from the wall behind him when her shot missed its mark.

The glow of biotic energy formed in the man's hand, and she swallowed and focused upon her own biotics, readying herself to defend against it. When the streak of biotic energy flashed outward from his hand, she brought her own hands up with a wince, expanding her barrier to destabilize the effect of his attack. Many biotic effects were partially or entirely blocked by barriers. When the incoming biotic field dissipated at her barrier, she allowed herself a brief smile of relief. She saw Rachel getting to her feet behind the man, and kept her barrier up so that the blonde could fire without fear.

Rachel's fire pelted the man from behind, and he whirled at the sudden attack. Biotic energy sprang from his hand and sailed outward in a straight line to strike Rachel, and then the man jerked his arm violently backward and dropped to the ground. Illitha's eyes widened. The biotic lash had jerked the blonde off of her feet and sent her sailing through the air. She passed right over the Cerberus biotic's head when he dropped to the ground, and rocketed directly toward her. She dropped her barrier and extended her arms in an attempt to catch the blonde, but it was a foolish and impulsive act. Rachel crashed into her, and they both tumbled over in a heap. The impact jarred her injured arm brutally, and for a moment, the asari couldn't think of anything but the sudden surge of pain. She was aware of the sound of renewed rifle fire from nearby, but it took her several seconds to block out the discomfort, shove Rachel off of her, and get back to her feet.

Private Olimar had rejoined the attack, but just as Illitha was rising, she saw the Cerberus biotic shroud himself in a biotic field and rocket into the young soldier, sending him crashing brutally backward into the wall. She focused her energy and formed a biotic orb, hurling it at their enemy's back just as he was extending those strange, whip-like tendrils and preparing to finish the fallen human off. The orb blossomed into a singularity, jerking both her enemy and Olimar into the air. She frowned. The risk of ensnaring her friends was exactly why she hadn't wanted to use a singularity in such close confines. But at least the gravitational field had neutralized their enemy. She listened carefully, and couldn't hear the sounds of gunfire from the adjoining corridor anymore.

Since she heard no more commotion, she quickly crept to the adjoining corridor, glancing down the hall to make sure that the sudden silence was because Cerberus had been defeated, rather than because her Alliance allies had fallen. She was glad to see that without the biotic's assistance, the Cerberus soldiers had been dealt with. There were several wounded marines being tended to by their fellows, but it seemed that all was well for the moment. With her mind settled on that matter, and because she had the luxury of about thirty more seconds before the singularity would collapse, she turned to check on Rachel.

"I'm fine," the blonde muttered as soon as Illitha turned around. "Angry… _embarrassed_… but fine."

Illitha managed a brief smile at her friend, wrapping her good arm around her and giving her a gentle squeeze. "D-Do not be embarrassed. I have never seen a technique like the one he used, and I am a biotic. It… There is no way you could have anticipated it."

"It's like a biotic lasso," the blonde shook her head. "He used me as a weapon against you. You should have kept your barrier up."

"I th-thought I could catch you. It was stupid," Illitha admitted, feeling herself blushing.

"Well, I appreciate the thought," she could _hear_ the blonde's grin in her voice. "And the Spectre brings down another dangerous foe."

The eyes of both women turned to the swirling field, where the Cerberus biotic was suspended. His helmet covered his entire face, and so Illitha couldn't read his expression, but the lack of any sort of response from him was a little creepy. He hadn't said a word since being captured. She slowly moved closer, pausing only when she could feel the faintest tug of the gravity well upon her. Once again, as had been the case at Fulton's Folly, she found herself in a position where she had a prisoner, and knew she could never execute him, no matter how much she hated Cerberus. Shooting a helpless foe just wasn't in her nature.

"How many more biotics does Cerberus have here?" Rachel demanded.

The only response from their captive was silence. Then the silence was broken by a shockingly profane interjection from Private Olimar.

"Who fucking cares? This is all fucking great, and floating in this goddamn fucking ring of black gravitational shit is fan-fucking-tastic, but get me the fuck down, for fuck's sake!"

"Oh calm down," Rachel chided. "She could have let him squash you into a pancake with that biotic whip-wave or whatever it's called. If the alternative was floating, you might as well float and enjoy it…"

"Fuck off," the Private growled. "Get me down!"

"Th-the field will collapse soon," Illitha assured him. "But this man's biotic charges are dangerous. When the field collapses, he… he may attack us again."

"Then kill his stupid ass!" Olimar shouted.

"I-I…" Illitha hesitated, chewing on her lower lip. She knew that there really wasn't a choice, but she couldn't kill him. And she couldn't order anyone else to do what she wouldn't.

"Hey, is anyone down there?" a voice echoed up from the adjoining hall. "You guys really saved us. Who's in charge?"

"The Spectre is in charge," Olimar shouted.

Illitha sighed and her shoulders slumped. Why did people have to keep perpetuating that particular fiction? She missed being a humble engineer that no one thought twice about. She glanced at Rachel, and through the visor of her helm, she could see the sympathy in the girl's eyes.

"Go talk to them," Rachel urged.

"But… When the singularity collapses-" Illitha began, but Rachel cut her off.

"Go."

Illitha glanced at the Cerberus biotic, and then at Rachel, and she nodded slowly. She turned and walked into the adjoining hallway, quickly moving to meet the man in Alliance armor that was standing among the wounded. She was not surprised when she heard two shots soon after her back was turned. She had realized that Rachel was giving her an out. She didn't have to give the order, and she didn't have to see the execution. She still felt sick over it, but the burden of the man's death was not on her shoulders directly.

"Private Mills," the human introduced himself, distracting her from the fate of their captive. "Thank god you got here when you did. We really appreciate the rescue. You're the Spectre?"

"Illitha T'Zari," she introduced herself. "How bad is it?" she asked, looking around at the injured men. It seemed that half of them were wounded.

"We have two men dead, two more injured. The doctor is working to save our commanding officer, Lieutenant Gradian-"

"I tried," a female voice interrupted. "I just lost him."

Illitha recognized the doctor immediately when she saw her exit from an adjacent room. It was the same woman that had examined her back when she first learned about the nerve damage. She was glad she was wearing a helmet that hid most of her face. She didn't want anyone to reveal the lie about her being a Spectre, even if she wasn't the one that said it. Spreading suspicion and resentment among their allies was the last thing she wanted to do. She frowned at the news that Gradian had died. He was a good man, and she had been hoping to make use of his military knowledge and leadership experience.

"C-Could someone collect the dog tags from the dead?" Illitha suggested in a soft tone, retrieving the pouch from her belt. She saw the two look at her with confusion, and she decided to explain before they had to ask. "I-I have been working with the Alliance almost since I arrived on Terra Nova. I understand the significance of them and have been collecting them from the dead. When… When I meet someone in a high-up command position, I intend to hand them off so their sacrifices can be recognized."

"I'll collect them," the doctor offered.

"How many people do you have with you?" Mills asked.

"_Hello, anyone?_" Neela's voice suddenly broadcast through Illitha's omni-tool. "_We need a doctor or something right away! Captain Nisaria is critically injured! But be careful. Salik fled into the corridor next to the archive chamber. He's hurt, but alive._"

Illitha felt her heart skip a beat at this latest update. If Salik was able to almost kill a trained asari commando… what chance did anyone else have? Fortunately, she didn't have time to dwell upon her fears. She gestured to the room adjacent to their position, from which the doctor had first emerged.

"G-Get the wounded in there and seal the door until we return," she suggested. "I need everyone else to come with me. Especially you, Doctor," she gestured. "W-We need to secure the archive chamber and save the captain if we can."

Mills and the doctor both nodded, and Mills started passing on orders to the others. Illitha shouted for Rachel, gesturing for her and Olimar to join them.

_Hold on, Captain_, she silently urged the elder asari as she tapped into the comm channel to respond. _We are coming._

* * *

**Level Two, Prothean Ruins…**

"_Hello, anyone?_" Neela's voice reached Prathus through his omni-tool, and he could barely hear it over the repeated, high-pitched discharge of his rifle. "_We need a doctor or something right away! Captain Nisaria is critically injured! But be careful. Salik fled into the corridor next to the archive chamber. He's hurt, but alive._"

Prathus felt a surge of frustration and fury wash through him. He was so angry, in fact, that he pulled a grenade from his belt, clicked the activation trigger, and hurled it through the door into the room where Cerberus had entrenched themselves, just because he felt the need to throw something. Grenades had proven all but useless in forcing Cerberus out of position during their last stand because of the way the supply room was set up, but the act still made him feel somewhat better.

_The captain is an asari commando and a powerful biotic. If she couldn't beat him, how are we ever going to kill that damned bastard?_

Prathus tapped into the comm channel and was about to answer when Illitha's voice preempted his response.

"_Send me a nav-point, Neela. I should not be far away, a-and I have the Alliance doctor with me._"

Prathus could vaguely hear Neela's voice responding, but he missed the words because a grenade bounced out into the hallway near his position, and he and his small team of men were forced to fall back to get out of the blast radius. The detonation brought dust and grit raining down upon his head, and he irritably wiped the dirt from his brow to keep it from getting in his eyes before he returned to his position in the doorway.

"_Prathus, come in._" Illitha's voice returned to the comm channel, this time on the personal frequency that had been assigned to him aboard the _Sileya_.

"I'm here, T'Zari. And I heard about the captain."

"_I am taking the Alliance soldiers with me to secure the captain's position_," she informed him. "_Y-You guys will not be receiving the support up there that was promised. Or… uh, at least not soon._"

"Copy that," he shouted, instinctively speaking up to hear himself over the sounds of renewed gunfire around him. "We can hold here. We have Cerberus pinned down in the supply room. Concentrate on the captain."

"_I will_," the asari assured him.

Prathus leaned out of cover and fired a few shots into the room, using the opportunity to survey the scene in front of them for the tenth time since he'd first seen it. Initially, as they advanced to the lower level, he and Zaeed had speculated about the reason Cerberus would choose some room on the middle level of the complex as their rallying point, when it would put them in a bottleneck from which they couldn't escape. It seemed like a foolish plan. As it turned out, it might have been smarter than either of them had realized.

The supply room was essentially a huge cube with a walkway encircling the chamber halfway up the walls, and a door on each end of the room. A series of alcoves were set along the walls for storage on both levels. There were crates stacked in every alcove, all bearing the Cerberus logo, and their enemy had maneuvered these crates into positions to be used as cover from both doors. But the real reason Cerberus seemed to have chosen this destination was because they'd stored all of their excess tech in it.

By the time Zaeed and Prathus had fought their way past the small squads that tried to delay them, Cerberus had deployed portable generators, shield-reinforcing pylons, and portable kinetic barricades throughout the room. They had set the barricades on _top_ of the crates they were using as cover, so that they could fire through the small gap beneath the kinetic fields. This was the reason grenades had been all but useless from outside the room. Their enemy wasn't presenting much of a target, and their combined cover, crates plus barricades, stretched nearly floor to ceiling in the alcoves. Additionally, every enemy soldier seemed to have an entire box of grenades at their side, allowing them to lob explosives through the doors with infuriating regularity. Making matters worse, Cerberus snipers were taking shots at anyone that leaned out to fire. Prathus's shields had already been dropped a dozen times by sniper fire.

Prathus and Zaeed had decided to split up when they first got a look at the room so that they could cover both doors and hit Cerberus from both sides. Zaeed had taken two soldiers with him, and one stayed with Prathus. Of the seven men Illitha had drafted at the F.O.B., one had been injured on the upper floor during their initial incursion and was outside the complex, and a second man had been assigned to set up an emergency medical area and guard it. Illitha took a third with her to the lower levels to fight the biotic. They'd lost a fourth man fighting their way here, which left just three to assist them. He understood why Illitha was hesitant to send help up with Salik on the lower floor, but they really could have used the extra manpower. In thinking about the salarian, he decided that whether Salik was injured or not, a precaution was in order.

"You," he addressed his human companion, "Forget about Cerberus and watch these hallways carefully instead. There's an enemy assassin with a tactical cloak wandering this complex according to T'Z- uh… the Spectre." He resisted the urge to shake his head at calling the engineer a Spectre. As much as he respected the asari, and had even seen that respect grow in bounds over the past several days, she was no Spectre.

Seeing the marine shift his attention to the corridor in which they stood, he nodded his satisfaction and opened a channel to Zaeed. Illitha's broadcast had been on his personal frequency, so the mercenary had no idea that their help was being delayed.

"Massani, our reinforcements are delayed," he informed the human without preamble. For a moment, all he heard in response was the sharp crack of the mercenary's Mattock rifle, and he saw the flashes from the opposite doorway to accompany the shots.

"_Understood,_" Zaeed finally muttered. "_Their numbers are dwindling, but too goddamn slowly,_" the mercenary added. "_I'm running low on thermal clips. We need to start focusing our fire._"

"What's your plan?" Prathus asked.

"_Those kinetic barricades are tough, but they don't hold up against fire indefinitely,_" Zaeed explained. "_I'll have my partner here pick a target and lob a grenade at it. The shrapnel will give us a good start on weakening the barrier, and we'll all use the explosion as a visual target designation. We all fire on the kinetic barricade until the field collapses. Then we'll have a clear shot at the man behind it, or space to put a grenade behind his cover._"

"Did you try knocking the barricades over with your concussive burst emitter?" Prathus suggested.

"_Of course. I'm not a goddamn idiot,_" the mercenary snapped. "_They seem to have bolted the barricades to the tops of the crates._"

Prathus didn't have any better ideas, so he opted to go with the mercenary's plan. He had seen the young, dark-skinned Alliance human on Zaeed's side of the room throw a few grenades, and the soldier seemed to have a pretty precise throw, so he figured the human was a good choice as their grenade-hurler.

Prathus raised his rifle when he saw Zaeed's companion click the activation trigger on a grenade and throw it at one of the alcoves. When the explosion occurred, he took aim at the barricade and opened fire. This would be a long and tedious method of grinding out their opponent, but it seemed to be their only option.

* * *

**Archive Chamber, Prothean Ruins…**

Selura struggled to keep her gag reflex in check as she knelt beside the captain, putting pressure upon her torso front and back in an effort to slow the bleeding. She had no idea as to the source of the tremendous shot she had heard, but she had seen the captain fall and scrambled out from under Neela's pod in hopes of helping her, or at least distracting Salik with the promise of unlocking his data as he had originally demanded. When she got out from beneath the pod, however, Salik had already been preparing to execute the elder asari. That was when a new shooter had come to their rescue by wounding the salarian.

She spotted the shooter in one of the holes on the upper level of the complex. It was a young human man with unruly brown hair, dressed in civilian attire. The human had a sniper rifle, and followed up with several more shots as the salarian scrambled to get out of the line of fire. A second human climbed down the wall from the hole while the first fired. She'd heard a second bullet ricochet off of Salik's armor and saw the blood spatter on the wall when third tore through his left arm before the salarian stumbled through the door into the dark corridor beyond. It was then that she ran to the captain and dragged her behind Neela's pod, struggling to pull the asari's armor off of her so that she could apply pressure to the wound. She heard Neela call for help, but she was focused on what little she knew about first aid.

She glanced up worriedly at Neela, whose face was pressed against the glass of the pod, trying in vain to get a clear look at the captain. She could see torrents of tears pouring down the quarian's cheeks, and she felt herself on the verge of sobbing in turn. While the captain had never been particularly welcoming to her, she still respected the elder asari. And more directly, seeing her girlfriend so obviously upset by the situation hurt her. She only wished she could promise Neela that everything would be okay.

"Are you okay?" a male voice asked anxiously.

She turned to regard the young human that stood nearby with an assault rifle in hand. He looked barely older than an adolescent, and had the same unruly brown hair as the man covering them from above, if a bit shorter in length. She shrugged helplessly. She didn't know what to say.

"Close the door," she heard Neela urge.

She glanced over toward the open door, and she had to agree with the quarian. The shot that had injured Captain Nisaria had definitely come from that door, and while Neela's pod was slightly to the left of the opening and thus not in direct line of fire, it would be better to have the warning of the door opening to alert them if there were to be any more shots. The teenager seemed to agree, because he quickly dashed over to the door and hit the panel to close it.

"Thank you and your friend," Selura spoke up, glancing toward the hole up above. "You really saved us."

"Brother."

"What?" Selura blinked.

"That's Jay. My brother," the boy glanced up at the hole, giving the older man a thumbs-up signal. At the sign, the boy's brother slung his rifle over his shoulder and started climbing down.

"Well, thank you both," Selura repeated. "If you had not fired on Salik, he would have killed the captain and then probably the two of us as well."

"Yes, thank you," Neela echoed the sentiment, though her voice broke as she did so.

"She looks really bad," the boy commented, which only drew renewed sobbing from the quarian. "Is she gonna die?"

Selura winced and bit her tongue to keep from commenting on the general insensitivity of the question. The boy and his brother had just saved their lives, and she supposed the last thing she should do was insult him now. Especially since she had been wondering the same thing. She wasn't sure the captain was even still breathing.

The door opened, which prompted the teenager to whirl around, raising his rifle. His brother, who was just reaching the bottom of the wall, likewise readied his rifle, striding along the walkway until he had a clear view of the door. However, both quickly lowered their weapons when Illitha emerged, shrouded in the glowing orange panels of tech armor and flanked by a quartet of Alliance soldiers. An almost comically confused expression blanketed the engineer's features.

"Jay? Elliot?" she murmured, apparently recognizing the two humans.

Selura's attention was pulled away from the asari by the human doctor, however, when the woman hurried past and settled beside the captain, quickly scanning her with her omni-tool. Selura held the former commando perfectly still while the doctor did her work. Illitha soon hurried over as well, hovering anxiously behind the doctor while she worked, and soon the young engineer's face was wet with tears.

"Her pulse is weak and she's not getting enough oxygen," the woman reported. "The shot went clear through her armor and her chest and may have hit her lung. I need to do emergency surgery. Mills!" she shouted. "Get over here!"

One of the Alliance men dashed over, kneeling beside the trio. He waited for the doctor to give her orders, and Selura held her breath, hoping the human had a good idea.

"Remove the medigel reservoir from the dispenser in every soldier's armor like we did with yours while I was working on Gradian," the doctor instructed. "I'm going to need every bit of medigel I can get." The young human nodded and hurried over to the other soldiers, while the doctor turned to Illitha. "Do your people upstairs have any medigel or medical supplies?"

"No," the asari shook her head, and then her eyes widened. "Y-Yes! Not medigel, but we found a bunch of medical supplies. Anti-inflamatories, healing stimulators, things like that!"

"We need them. Now," the doctor snapped.

Illitha nodded and stepped away, activating her omni-tool. Within moments, she was conversing with Prathus, but Selura couldn't hear what was being said. Mills returned with a handful of long, thin cylindrical objects, kneeling beside the doctor.

"Settle her on the floor, _carefully_," the doctor instructed.

Selura did as she was told, slowly settling the captain flat on her back, but keeping a hand beneath her to maintain pressure on the wound. To her surprise, the doctor gestured for her to move her hand. Selura removed her hands from the wounds and backed away, watching as the doctor went to work, with Mills assisting her. Seeing that she was no longer needed, her eyes shifted to her girlfriend, who was sobbing in the confines of the isolation pod. She closed her eyes and sighed, walking over to the moat and quickly washing the blood from her hands, and then hurrying around to the other side of Neela's pod, tapping on the glass to get her attention.

"Neela," she called, pressing her palm against the glass.

The quarian rolled over, and quickly pressed her hand against the glass from inside. Neela seemed too hysterical to talk. She only sobbed and hiccupped, looking miserable and lost and terribly frustrated. If Selura had the ability to pass through the glass and wrap her girlfriend up in her arms at that moment, she would have. Instead, she could only offer gentle and probably meaningless assurances that everything would be alright.

* * *

**Second Level, Prothean Ruins…**

Zaeed ejected another thermal clip from his rifle and snapped in his last one, growling in frustration. While their plan to slowly erode the cover Cerberus was using had been working, it was costing them too much time and causing their heat sinks to reach capacity far too quickly. Even more troubling was the fact that their grenades were running low. Prathus and Zaeed had both been loaded down with grenades left over from when they were carrying the weapons out of Mivian Heights. And yet between Fulton's Folly and Cerberus, they'd used almost all of them.

"_Zaeed_," Prathus's voice was broadcast into the mercenary's helmet. "_From your position, can you see the third alcove from your side of the room, right side, upper level?_"

"Maybe if I step out of cover… Why?"

"_I can't see into it from here, but there's a light flickering against the walls and ceiling of that alcove_," the turian explained. "_I think Cerberus is up to something._"

Zaeed's eyes narrowed. He wasn't going to see Cerberus slip from his grasp again. He intended to get a prisoner, and if the commanding officer was present, he would be the most useful prisoner to get. He turned to glance at the marine assisting him at the doorway.

"Cover me."

The young soldier leaned out and started firing, giving Zaeed a small break in enemy fire so that he could step fully into the chamber and glance up into the alcove Prathus had pointed out. When he saw what was going on there, he scowled. Cerberus had erected a barricade like their other soldiers were using, and there were several men in black and silver armor working together with some sort of laser tunneling machine to cut through the ceiling. No doubt, the hole was intended as an escape route for the commander and any other important personnel. He would have liked to get a better look at the setup, but resumed fire from Cerberus started striking his shield, forcing him back out of the room and into cover.

"Prathus, you were right," Zaeed announced over the comm channel. "They're using some sort of laser tunneling equipment to cut a hole through to the floor above. We can't give them the chance to create a goddamn escape route…"

"_T'Zari is sending up reinforcements, according to her last transmission,_" Prathus assured him. "_If you can hold the door yourself, send the rest of your team to the floor above. Set a nav-point as a reference so they can find the area exactly above you…_"

"I'll go up there myself," Zaeed muttered. If Cerberus's commanding officer was going to attempt an escape, he wanted to be there to grab the man.

"_Then leave all those medical supplies with whoever is holding the door while you're gone. T'Zari needs them downstairs. Our captain is critically injured._"

"Copy that."

Zaeed unstrapped the canvas pouch that was holding the medical supplies from his belt, tossing it to one of the Alliance marines. Then he activated his omni-tool, designating a nav-point as a reference the way the turian had suggested. It was a good idea, and would allow him to quickly find the right section of the floor above. Before leaving, he sifted through the ejected thermal clips littering the ground around the doorway, looking for a few that had started to cool. Even if he was only able to squeeze a few shots out of each before heating them back up to the limit, that handful of extra shots might be vital.

As he was headed up the corridor toward the stairwell, he could hear the sound of heavy boots tromping through an adjoining hallway. He slowed his pace and took cover at the corner of the junction, peering out once to assure himself that it wasn't a Cerberus patrol. Instead, it was as he expected: the Alliance reinforcements were arriving.

"Alliance," he called out. "Friendly forces here. I'm coming out."

"Go ahead," someone shouted back.

Zaeed slowly stepped out into the open, keeping his rifle lowered. As he expected, the soldiers in the hallway all had their weapons at the ready, and only after confirming that he wasn't with Cerberus did they lower them. The mercenary counted six men, but to his surprise, two of them were dressed in civilian attire, and one of those two was a teenager. He vaguely recalled seeing the two at Fulton's Folly, talking with the asari. But he had never actually spoken to either of them or seen them in action.

"Cerberus is entrenched in a room down this hall and around the corner at the end," the mercenary informed them. "Split into two teams. Half go around and join the turian, and the other half reinforce the men at this end." As he was passing along instructions, he noted that the older of the two civilians was armed with a fine Valiant sniper rifle. "Kid, you any good with that thing?"

"The name's Jay, not kid," the young man corrected him. "And I wouldn't be bragging if I said I'm a pretty decent marksman."

"Good," Zaeed nodded in satisfaction. "You'll be a big help in there."

"I'm just here with my kid brother to get the medical supplies," Jay protested. "I have to escort him back."

"Not anymore," Zaeed stepped closer to the young man, his gaze intense. "That rifle, in the hands of a good marksman, could finish the fighting in there pretty goddamn fast. You stay up here, and help them get the job done."

Jay seemed to bristle at the directive, his expression hardening. The teenager was quick to put a hand on his shoulder, as if holding him back. Zaeed snorted at the sight. As if a twenty-something civilian had a snowball's chance in hell of intimidating him, much less threatening him in a fight.

"I take orders from one person on this planet," Jay said evenly. "And it's not you. Illitha told us to come up here, get the supplies, and bring them back down. And that's what we're going to do. _Both_ of us."

Zaeed growled inwardly. The asari's ability to inspire loyalty was almost maddening. She wasn't a soldier, and yet she had half the men in the Prothean ruin ready to die at her command. He didn't get it. He'd seen her show some fighting potential, but these men were trained soldiers. They should have respected authority and experience, not a stammering asari who called herself a Spectre. Realizing that the young man wouldn't cave to his demand without some prodding, and reminding himself that he needed to get upstairs, he decided to stop wasting his time arguing and just go right to the source.

"Get moving then," Zaeed nodded in the direction from which he had come. "I need to get upstairs to keep them from escaping."

Without another word to the reinforcements, he hurried past them, heading toward the main stairwell. However, once he was out of earshot, he tapped into the comm system and contacted Prathus. Since he didn't know the ID Cipher for Illitha's omni-tool and he didn't want to broadcast his request to every Alliance soldier in the building, he had to go through the turian.

"Prathus, come in."

"_Go Massani_," the turian's voice quickly answered him, and he could hear periodic bursts of gunfire in the background.

"There's a kid on his way up with a sniper rifle and supposedly decent aim. But he refused my instructions to stay up there and help. If his aim is as good as he suggests, he could put bullets right between the kinetic barricades and the crates and start picking off Cerberus a hell of a lot faster than we were."

"_What do you want me to do about it?_" the turian asked. "_Chain him to one of the soldiers?_"

"He's a devoted follower of your asari friend. Call her. Get her to broadcast to the Alliance soldiers and request that he stay up there and help. Either that or take the rifle from him and do the shooting yourself. I don't much care which."

"_Understood,_" Prathus responded. "_I'll talk to T'Zari right now._"

Zaeed nodded and disengaged the channel. Within moments, he had reached the main stairwell, and he started up to the next level. He was halfway up the stairs when a message broadcast to him. A quick glance at his omni-tool showed that it was being sent to all Alliance omnis in the facility.

"_Uh.. A-Alliance forces on level two, listen,_" the asari's voice began, "_Tell Jay… the civilian with the sniper rifle… th-that I need him to stay up there and help deal with the Cerberus troops in the supply room. H-Have an Alliance volunteer escort his brother Elliot back down to the archive chamber please._"

Zaeed allowed himself a ghost of a smile as he dashed up the stairs, calling up his nav-point reference on his omni-tool. The kid might have only been willing to take orders from one person… but at least that person had the good sense to recognize a sound tactic when she heard it.

_Now all I need to concentrate on is getting my prisoner,_ Zaeed thought with satisfaction. _Illusive man… you're next._

.

* * *

.

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who is reading, reviewing, has favorited/followed, or otherwise gives any attention at all to this story. I'm so happy to be able to entertain so many people so consistently, judging from the number of viewers that check in for each new Chapter. I hope I can continue to do so from now until the end of the story.**

**Just a few minor notes about this Chapter. I know some people disagree about kinetic shields being able to block physical strikes, but it's my personal take on it. I think it is logical enough to work in the story, and goes along with the games, where hand-to-hand attacks take a serious bite out of shields in most cases. For the purposes of the story, it seems to work enough and hopefully it's not too distracting for those who disagree with the idea of it.**

**Second, I wanted to include a few of the more elite Cerberus enemies from the game in my story, which is why I included the Cerberus Dragoon this Chapter. I am aware that game mechanics don't allow Singularity to affect armored targets, but in most cases, armored targets are large and heavy things... Atlases, Banshees, Ravagers, Brutes, etc... I see no reason why a singularity couldn't lift a human in heavy armor. So in that particular scene, story trumps gameplay mechanics in my view. Hopefully, again, it's not too distracting. I thought it worked quite well for the scene.**

**I hope everyone had a great weekend, and I hope that this coming week will be amazing for everyone. Barring any unexpected changes in my life, the next Chapter will go up on Saturday morning. Until then, be well!**


	51. Chapter 51: Loss

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Fifty-One: Loss

.

**Archive Chamber, Prothean Ruins…**

Illitha tried to block out the conversation taking place between the two humans behind her, as the content of the discussion wasn't encouraging. The doctor was constantly telling her assistant to adjust his grip or irrigate the area because there was "too much blood", and on more than one occasion, she heard the woman mention that the captain's blood pressure was falling to critical levels. She could hear Neela sobbing, and her own cheeks were wet with tears. She couldn't bear to watch as an asari she loved and respected slowly died of her wounds.

She was instead trying to focus upon something she could do that would be useful. Salik and his companion were in the facility somewhere, and she had deployed Crawler to find them. Her gaze was focused upon her omni-tool's display, watching the remote camera feed as the small drone scuttled through the hallways, looking for some sign of where the salarian had gone when he fled. Selura said the salarian had been injured multiple times, so she was sure that their enemies would be concentrating on escape, not ambush.

Unfortunately, she wasn't yet familiar with the layout of the complex, so she couldn't predict which routes their enemies would use to escape. As a result, she'd initially sent the drone up the wall to the holes in the latticework, to begin the search at the top floor and work her way down. She'd also had the foresight to order the Alliance guard outside to relocate the wounded to the Archive chamber. If there were wounded men outside when the salarians emerged, she was sure they would end up dead.

_They have to be in here somewhere,_ she complained to herself. _There is only one exit, and with Salik wounded, they would not have been able to move quickly…_

Unfortunately, she knew that with their tactical cloaks, the salarians could have passed right by the drone without it spotting them. And though she had been watching remotely, she could easily have missed them as well, as the display had only a limited field of view. The odds were against her ever finding where they had gone. Only the knowledge that the salarian had finally been hurt was giving her any comfort. Though if the captain died, it wouldn't be worth the cost.

"I have the meds you wanted," Elliot's voice distracted her from the display.

"Bring them here!" the doctor ordered, and the teenager hurried to comply.

Illitha kept her eyes off of the bloody mess that was her captain, focusing instead upon the teenager, who looked like he might be sick. She had questions about how the brothers had come to be there, and she wasn't happy with either of them for placing themselves in danger by following her to her destination. Since she wasn't accomplishing much by watching the drone's video feed, she left the machine to perform the search of the upper levels, and she motioned for Elliot to come closer to her. The teenager was only too happy to turn away from the surgery in progress.

"Elliot," she frowned at him, "w-what are you two doing here? I… You were told to stay with Benner and the civilians…"

"We're a team," Elliot protested. "You needed us. Jay saved your friend's life!"

"I will not deny that your arrival was timely," Illitha shook her head. "But you put yourselves in terrible danger. You are not equipped for this kind of fight… And… y-you disobeyed a direct request."

"You said you expected to see us for the next mission," the teenager said simply. "_This_ is the next mission."

Illitha bowed her head. She remembered the way the brothers had looked at each other and started grinning when she'd made that statement, and she'd wondered at the time what they found so amusing. They'd simply seen an opportunity to go against her wishes and use her own words to justify it. She started to get angry. She hadn't wanted them here for their own safety. Cerberus was dangerous. Salik… even more so.

"You both knew very well what I meant," she glared at the teen. "Do not make the mistake of thinking that your manipulation of m-my words will force me to forgive you…"

Elliot bowed his head, and he opened his mouth to speak, but she quickly cut him off.

"If I cannot trust you to do what I ask of you, how can you expect me to allow you to help us? I… I need to be able to believe you will do what I need you to do…"

"I'm sorry," Elliot sighed, obviously downcast. "We only wanted to help. You said this would be dangerous. I know you told us to stay with Benner and get to the Alliance, but… it almost seemed like you expected this mission to fail. We thought you might need us."

Illitha regarded the depressed teenager in silence, trying to decide just how angry she had the right to be. She could admit to herself that she had ordered them to stay behind not because they were not needed, but because she didn't think she could bear being responsible for the death of another member of her team. Her decisions had already cost Danny's and Jack's lives. She couldn't risk adding Jay and Elliot to that list. They had disobeyed her, but she was not a real military leader, and they were not bound by any oath to serve her. She had essentially made a request. And like any civilian, they had every right to disregard her request.

"You two are not equipped for this kind of fighting," Illitha repeated her earlier argument. "I told you to go with the Alliance because I wanted to see you both kept safe until we could meet again. Cerberus is dangerous, and you both know how dangerous Salik is..." she trailed off, glancing over toward where the doctor was working to save the captain's life. "But thank you… for saving the captain's life."

Elliot smiled just a little, and then his expression sobered. "I'm sorry for disobeying your orders," the teen assured her. "We really only wanted to help. But keeping up with you guys wasn't easy. We almost lost you along the outskirts of the city…"

"We were in a hurry to save our friends," Illitha muttered distractedly, her eyes still upon the wounded commando.

"You called her your 'captain'," the teenager commented, following her gaze. "Captain of what?"

"The ship that brought us here: The _Sileya_," Illitha explained. "She owned the ship. I was just the engineer. If you want to see what a real combat hero looks like, there she is. She is a real live asari commando. Her biotics make mine look like primary-school tricks. This should not have happened to her…"

"I know what a real combat hero looks like," Elliot said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I've been traveling with one for over a week now. She might be one too, but I've already seen one in action."

Illitha said nothing. She knew that Elliot was referring to her, and she knew he meant it in the most complimentary possible fashion, but it wasn't making her feel any better. If the captain – a real asari commando – died here after she herself had lived through so many close calls, there would be no justice in the galaxy. If she could have traded places with her captain, she would have done so in a heartbeat. Captain Nisaria was the best chance her friends had to survive Terra Nova. Not her.

"I hope she'll be okay," Elliot said softly, patting her on the shoulder before stepping away.

"Me too," Illitha murmured.

* * *

**Upper Level, Prothean Ruins…**

Zaeed triggered the door to the room located directly above the supply room, and as soon as the portal shifted upward, he knew he was in the right place. The door got stuck halfway up, but he could see an intermittent light shining from within the otherwise dark chamber, and he quickly ducked beneath the door and stepped inside. The floor was crumbling away even as he watched, with a high-powered laser shining through the holes each time a new section of the surface gave way. He could see scorch marks and grooves in the ceiling… testament to the power of the laser drilling equipment.

He looked around the room to see what he could use as cover, but there was very little in the chamber in terms of furniture. So he picked a spot in the corner and settled on one knee, waiting impatiently for Cerberus to finish their work and try to crawl through the hole. The veteran mercenary was filled with excitement, though outwardly he appeared calm. He was finally about to claim a prisoner. It was what he'd been after since he first took the job that brought him to Terra Nova. And he swore, if this man detonated ocular flashbangs to deprive him of the answers he sought, he was going to be furious. The Illusive Man deserved the retaliation that was coming to him…

As the cracks in the floor were expanded, Zaeed could more clearly hear gunfire and shouts from the room below. Before, the sounds of explosions and the occasional sharp crack of the sniper rifle had been muted, distant echoes. Now they were the more familiar sounds of combat in close proximity. He raised his rifle and waited. Two-thirds of a circle had been carved into the floor, and he knew that soon that ring would give way and Cerberus would have their exit. He just hoped they didn't realize they'd be climbing into an ambush. Anyone struggling to pull themselves through that hole would be an easy target… especially if they didn't expect a gunman to be waiting for them.

A loud cracking sound echoed through the room, and suddenly the circular section of floor outlined by the cuts gave way, falling into the chamber below with a resounding clatter. Zaeed's finger came to rest on the trigger, and he waited for the first of them to try climbing out. He imagined that after one of them was killed for trying to climb through, the rest would realize they were trapped and would be eager to surrender. However, he'd never seen Cerberus do what he witnessed at that moment…

Instead of a man slowly climbing through the hole, there was a high-pitched hissing sound, and a Cerberus trooper sailed up into the room, propelled by some sort of booster rockets in his boots. Several more soldiers immediately followed. Zaeed was unprepared for the sudden influx of soldiers, but his reflexes were excellent, and he adjusted quickly. The first man up immediately received to bullets to the head, but by that time, the others were already landing, spreading out and taking aim.

The air filled with the sharp, explosive discharges of Mattock rifles as Zaeed and his opponents fired upon one another. Fortunately for the mercenary, he had a shield generator, while Cerberus's rank-and-file troops, for some reason, didn't use kinetic shielding and relied instead upon their armor. Zaeed's shots were precise… aimed at all the spots that were protected only by kinetic padding and not by solid plating. He put bullets into their necks, their flanks, their knees... any place he could quickly target and fire. And the few men upon whom he couldn't quickly find a vulnerable target, he hit with concussive bursts to knock them down and buy a few seconds of breathing room. His shield collapsed under the return fire within moments, but by that time, he had disabled or killed every soldier that had come up through the hole.

With the initial influx of enemies dealt with, he gave his shield a few moments to recharge, and then stepped up to the hole, aiming his weapon down through the opening into the alcove located below. Almost instantly he came under fire from a man in black and silver armor, but two quick shots into the man's helmet put him on the floor, and his gaze shifted to the one man left in the alcove… a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair, dressed in light armor that set him apart from the other troops.

He gave no warning. He simply fired a concussive burst into the man's chest, driving him violently into the crates behind him, and then leapt down through the hole, planting an armored knee upon his chest and pulling out his combat knife. He had no way of knowing how those ocular flashbangs were triggered, so if the man had them, his head could explode at any moment. The only way he could be sure it wouldn't happen was to remove them preemptively, and it had to be done quickly, while his prisoner was stunned.

"This is gonna hurt," he hissed as the knife descended toward the man's face. "But I need you alive."

* * *

**Archive Chamber, Prothean Ruins…**

Any sense of calm Neela had managed to nurture in the first moments of the doctor's work had long ago dissolved, and the quarian now lay miserably within her glass cage, sobbing bitter tears as she watched the humans try to save her captain's life. Neela was heartbroken. While no one could ever take the place of her parents in her heart, in many ways the captain had become a surrogate parental figure in her life, leading by example and always working for the betterment of the people that lived upon her ship. She respected and admired the asari, and to see her in such a state was agonizing.

She had to turn away from the spectacle before her. She curled up on her side and let herself become submerged in her misery. She could see Selura pacing anxiously nearby, but the asari could do nothing to comfort her… not even hold her hand. She closed her eyes and angrily cursed the salarian for everything he had done. She was not a particularly violent or mean-spirited soul, but if she'd had the power at that moment, she would have eagerly heaped every torture she could imagine upon him. Not only was she trapped in a glass box because of him, but now her captain was dying as a result of his handiwork.

_I hope he's suffering_, she thought bitterly. _I hope one of those bullets hit something vital and he is suffering horribly_. She pounded her fist against the glass to punctuate the last thought.

"Neela," Selura's voice pierced the veil of misery that shrouded her.

"I _hate _him," Neela sobbed. "I want that bosh'tet to suffer for what he's done!"

She pounded upon the glass angrily, but with that brief, violent outburst, some of her anger dissipated and the misery washed back in to fill the void. She pressed her forehead against the glass, weeping while the asari looked on with an obvious air of helplessness. There was nothing Selura could do or say to make it better, and they both knew it. Selura, for her part, merely pressed her palm against the glass, offering silent support instead of verbal assurances that things would be fine.

She wasn't sure how long she was curled up like that, crying her way to exhaustion. Eventually, the sounds around her faded to an indistinct chatter, and her entire universe was the glass box around her and the sounds of her own sobbing. Her grief, lack of food, and the past few nights with little to no sleep while in the custody of Cerberus all took a toll upon her, and she was on the verge of passing out when a sudden beep from her omni-tool startled her back into wakefulness. She picked up the device and activated the display, but by the time she saw that there was an incoming comm signal, she could already hear the transmission from outside her pod. Illitha was standing nearby, looking every bit as miserable and exhausted as Neela felt, listening to what soon was revealed to be a distress call.

"_Any allied forces in the vicinity of the Calitori Crater, please come in,_" a female voice began._ "We need immediate assistance. Is anyone reading me? Reaper forces have overwhelmed our defenses at the top of the trail, and we're running short on supplies. We've lost several people. Please god, if anyone can hear this, respond! We need-"_

Apparently, Illitha had heard enough, because she cut off the broadcast with an immediate response.

"I-I read you. This is Illitha T'Zari. I… I am not familiar with local geography. Can you… uh, would you send out three locator beacon pulses so that I can triangulate your position?"

"_Oh thank god,_" the voice on the other end of the line was filled with desperation. "_Shawn, I got someone!"_ the voice took on a more distant quality, and then returned full volume. "_I can barely read you. Please repeat your transmission. Hello?_"

"I am uploading communications filters to your omni-tool," Illitha announced. "I repeat: I am uploading communications filters to your omni-tool. Install them."

There was a pause while Illitha uploaded the communications filters as she promised. Neela was no communications expert, but she imagined that such uploads were a bit slower than most modern transmissions because of all the interference. Illitha's blonde friend and several other Alliance soldiers were gathered around the asari, listening to the exchange. Neela wiped her eyes, glad to have something to distract her, however briefly, from the captain's plight.

"_Our signal seems to be clearing up,_" the voice returned. "_But we need immediate assistance! Are you close to our position?_"

"Where is Calitori Crater?" Neela asked, her voice cracking. Her throat was raw from crying.

"It's a few kilometers southwest of here," a marine answered.

"W-We are a few kilometers from you," Illitha quickly reported to the woman. "Can you…? You… You need to hold your position for another hour."

"_Oh god_," the woman on the other end whimpered. "_I don't think we can. We're running low on thermal clips, and we only have a few people left uninjured._"

"Then… the injured have to fight. We have no vehicles… W-We are leaving now, but it will take time to cover that distance," the engineer told her.

"_We'll try. But please hurry…_"

"We will," Illitha assured the woman before deactivating the channel.

"You heard the Spectre," Illitha's blonde friend barked. "We're moving out now. We have to cover the distance in under an hour, so weapons, grenades and thermal clips only. Leave everything else!"

The few marines in the room were quick to nod and get to work, gathering supplies and preparing to leave. Neela saw Illitha smile appreciatively at the blonde, and then she walked over to the pod, her eyes upon the quarian.

"I need to get a rescue team organized," she said softly. "C-Could you call Prathus and get an update on Cerberus for me?"

Neela nodded slowly. Her throat was raw from crying, and she cleared it and wiped her eyes, opening a channel to the turian's omni. She didn't have to wait long for the transmission to be answered.

"_Prathus here_," the turian announced.

"Prathus," Neela's voice was still thick with emotion. "Illitha received a distress call and is preparing a rescue mission. She asked me to get an update on Cerberus."

"_Xara?_" the turian sounded distracted. "_Tell T'Zari that Cerberus is dealt with. Mostly. Massani has a prisoner and plans to start interrogating him soon. The rest of their forces here are dead. I was about to start a sweep of the complex to be sure there are no stragglers hiding. And we need to hunt down that salarian bastard too._"

"If you find him, make it hurt," Neela scowled.

"_Gladly,_" the turian responded. "_What is the captain's condition?_"

"It looks bad. The doctor has been on the verge of losing her for what seems like hours-" Neela's voice broke, and she took a deep breath, blinking back tears.

"_Understood_," the turian took mercy on her by not pressing for details. "_Keep me updated if anything changes. Tell T'Zari I'll have her sniper waiting at the entrance for her. And that I'm sending a man to bring the civilians in…_"

"Acknowledged," Neela deactivated the channel, her gaze shifting to Illitha, who was speaking to a handful of Alliance marines by the door. The group dispersed a moment later, and the engineer walked over to the isolation pod.

"What happened with Cerberus?" she asked.

"Prathus says they're all dead, except for Zaeed's prisoner. He's going to search the complex for more Cerberus troops or for signs of… the salarian," Neela couldn't even say his name. "He said he would send your sniper up to the entrance to meet you there. And that he was bringing civilians inside?" she was a little confused by the last part, as she hadn't known there were more civilians in the vicinity…

"Thank you," Illitha said softly, apparently unsurprised about the extra civilians. "Please… call me as soon as there is an update on the captain's-"

"Your captain will live," the doctor's voice interrupted, and everyone turned to regard the woman with shock. Neela felt her heart skip a beat. She wasn't sure she'd heard the woman correctly.

"You mean that?" the quarian's voice almost failed her.

"Yes," the doctor smiled wearily. "It wasn't easy, but we've managed to seal the wounds internally and externally, and her vitals are stable. With the regenerative agents and anti-inflammatory meds your friends brought, she actually should be as good as new in a week… maybe a little more. Now I'll deal with the rest of you. There are enough doses of the regenerative stimulator left to treat the rest of the wounded. It will speed healing dramatically. So sit down somewhere and let me look at you."

"Are there any dextro-based regenerative stims?" Neela asked. She knew her hopes would be dashed, but she couldn't resist giving voice to them.

"Sorry, Neela," the doctor shook her head. "Come on," her eyes shifted to Illitha. "Sit down and let me look at your arm."

"Later," the asari shook her head, turning toward the door.

"Illitha… The Alliance soldiers can handle the rescue," Neela admonished her. "Sit down and let the doctor look at your arm."

"No," Illitha shook her head, her expression filled with resolve. "I promised those people… I told them we would get out there and save them. I-I have to be there. It is my responsibility."

Neela stared at the asari in amazement as she turned and strode from the room, giving them no further chance to argue with her. The engineer had undergone a dramatic change since Neela had last spoken with her. She seemed… more mature somehow. More serious. Less indecisive. She shook her head, glancing up at Selura.

"Let the doctor look at your wounds," she urged her girlfriend.

"Happily," the asari smiled at her. "But after that, I am going right back to work on your suit, assuming Cerberus did not destroy the portion I already finished. I want to get you out of that thing…"

Neela smiled at the young scientist's dedication to finishing work on her suit. It was a project that meant a great deal to her. It wouldn't be as good as a real quarian enviro-suit with working cybernetic interfaces to link her to the outside world, but just being free of the isolation pod would be a tremendous improvement.

As the asari walked over to a pile of crates and sat down for the doctor, Neela settled on her back and closed her eyes. Just a few minutes earlier, the galaxy had seemed bereft of hope. Her captain had been dying and she felt like she was on the verge of complete emotional collapse. Now the captain would not only live, but would be up and around in a week. Cerberus had been defeated, Selura's wounds would heal soon, and she might even be able to escape from the isolation pod. It was such an emotional swing that she wasn't even sure what she was feeling at the moment.

She never had the chance to sort it out. With most of the worries lifted from her mind, exhaustion swiftly claimed her. It wasn't long at all before she was dreaming about being wrapped in the embrace of a beautiful asari scientist, on the bridge of a ship bound for the Migrant Fleet.

* * *

**North of Calitori Crater…**

Rachel's eyes were upon the asari at the head of their line as the small team of marines and engineers jogged across the broken and rough terrain, leaping over small crevices and rocky protrusions in the ground. Illitha had insisted upon moving double time to reach their destination as soon as possible, and the young marine was astonished once again by the potential that lay wrapped up in the seemingly-delicate engineer. Every time she thought Illitha couldn't do anything else to surprise her, she was proven wrong once again. She had no idea, given the small amount of sleep they'd had over the past few days, the injuries, and the heartache the asari had experienced over her captain's injury, how Illitha was managing to keep up this pace without keeling over from exhaustion.

As Alliance ground troops, Rachel and her fellow soldiers were used to this sort of exertion. Runs for multiple kilometers in full armor and gear were daily events in basic training, and then her lieutenant here on Terra Nova had insisted on continued daily conditioning as a squad. This was simply another day of something she was already used to… a little harder due to lack of rest over the past few days, perhaps, but familiar all the same. The asari, on the other hand, had served on a ship for an unknown length of time prior to being stranded on Terra Nova, as far as Rachel knew. She thought it unlikely that Illitha had the luxury of daily runs while aboard the vessel. And so she was impressed by the seemingly boundless store of energy the engineer displayed.

Unfortunately, though her respect for the asari grew daily, so too, did her worry. She was afraid that Illitha was pushing herself too hard… demanding too much from herself. She had seen the asari when she thought no one was looking, with an exhausted, tormented, lost look upon her face. She knew that Illitha was trying to live up to the expectations everyone was placing on her, and her concern was that the engineer would eventually push her body too far, and she might be seriously hurt. Or worse, that she would suffer a mental breakdown under the stress. Though she had only known Illitha for a few weeks, it had been a very intense partnership, and she cared deeply about the asari. She thought of Illitha like an older sister… something she'd always wanted. And she intended to see to it that her surrogate sibling survived this war.

Rachel was the eldest of three girls in her family, and so she had always been expected to act like a proper older sister and serve as a role model to her younger sisters. Unfortunately, she'd always viewed herself as a failure in that role, and had often wished she had an elder sibling to shoulder that burden. She loved her sisters dearly, but had always hated feeling like a disappointment to them both. Her siblings were both more intelligent, more promising individuals than she had ever been.

Rachel had received mediocre grades throughout school, had briefly dabbled in being a troublemaker, had a string of bad relationships, and had trouble holding down jobs as a teenager because she was generally irresponsible. She had never done anything worthy of serving as an example to others… unless one counted serving as an example of the mistakes _not _to make. The only thing she'd ever done right was to sign up for service in the Alliance. It had been the only legitimate option open to her to escape the poverty of her neighborhood, and she had hoped that the structure and discipline would make her a better person. It carried the added benefit that she could make a difference and do something her family could be proud of.

Even that had been less than a complete success. The older of her sisters, Holly, had expressed her pride and her intent to follow in her footsteps, which had warmed her heart. Her youngest sister, Jess, had essentially told her she was an idiot and was going to die… though in somewhat kinder words, since the girl was only ten years old at the time. She had simply smiled and mussed the girl's hair in response, but inside, that had really hurt.

Here on Terra Nova, the last thing the blonde had ever expected to find was a figure that she viewed as everything an older sister should be. A _true_ example to follow. Illitha was everything Rachel had aspired to become when she joined the Alliance. Strong, intelligent, courageous, adaptable, self-sacrificing, determined… she could go on extolling the virtues of the asari forever. If asari could be male and Illitha had been one, Rachel would have been head-over-heels in love with her. Unfortunately, the female form had never inspired romantic feelings in the blonde. So she happily settled for a surrogate sister instead. She'd found herself entertaining ideas about introducing the asari to her sisters in person someday. She had a feeling that her youngest sister in particular would be impressed with Illitha's intelligence and technical expertise.

Rachel's thoughts were returned to the present when the asari suddenly slowed and held up a hand, signaling the rest of the squad to stop. They'd been jogging for a little over two kilometers, and Rachel estimated that they had another half kilometer to go to reach their destination.

"R-Rest here," Illitha called out. "Five minutes. Then we continue."

The blonde pulled off her helmet and watched the asari suspiciously. Illitha turned and headed toward a nearby rock formation, quickly vanishing from view. She was getting very good at reading the asari, and had noticed that the girl had a habit of doing this when she didn't want to show something she perceived as weakness. She glanced sidelong at the civilian, Jay, who looked like he was on the verge of collapse, and wondered if Illitha was in as bad a state. She headed for the rock formation, partially to confirm her suspicions, but mostly to make sure that their leader was okay.

She circled the rock formation from the opposite side, and as she expected, she found the asari seated on a rock out of view of the squad with her head bowed, pouring water from her canteen over the back of her neck. Terra Nova was an extremely hot planet, and the temperature was only tolerable close to the poles where Scott and the other settlements were located. The environmental systems in her armor helped a lot, but Rachel was still drenched with sweat, as were her fellow soldiers, she was sure. The asari didn't even seem to be sweating. The only traces of moisture she could detect were the rivulets of water pouring down over her armor.

"Everything okay?" she asked. The sudden question caused the asari to flinch and then practically launch herself to her feet, as if sitting was some sort of crime. She sighed.

"Y-Yes," Illitha stammered. "Just attempting to cool off a little…"

"You aren't even sweating," Rachel pointed out. "I didn't think the heat bothered you."

The engineer looked a little baffled for a moment, as if she didn't understand what Rachel was getting at. Rachel knew from their conversations during their rare moments of downtime that Illitha wasn't very familiar with humans, so she wiped her brow, shaking the sweat off of her hand to illustrate the point.

"Oh…" the asari started blushing, and was immediately staring at her feet. "M-My people do not secrete moisture like that. We… O-Our bodies vent heat through our scalp crests and the ridges at the back of our necks. It helps regulate our body temperature…"

Rachel nodded slowly, watching as the engineer shuffled her feet and continued to stare at the ground. She sighed and stepped closer.

"Illitha, are you alright?" she asked. "You've been really pushing yourself for the last couple of days, and I know you have to be exhausted. Your arm must be killing you. I don't want you to push yourself too hard. I could have led this mission for you."

"You have been awake j-just as much as me… had the same food, the same stresses," Illitha pointed out. "If you could have led this mission, y-you must realize that I can too."

Rachel had to smile. Though she assumed she was better conditioned because regular exercise was part of her routine, she had to admit that the asari had a point otherwise. Perhaps she was underestimating the engineer. And she knew better than most that doing so to the asari was a great disservice.

"Okay, fair enough," Rachel grinned, deciding to shift subjects. "Then what about the plan? Maybe while we're resting, you can fill everyone in on your strategy?"

"I…" Illitha trailed off.

"What?"

"I-I do not have a strategy," Illitha admitted in an embarrassed whisper.

"So your plan was to run off and save these people? And that's it?" Rachel imagined that other people might have been shocked or even annoyed, but she was not. In fact, she found herself grinning. Personally, she thought Illitha's best tactics came when she was under pressure. She was more comfortable following the asari's improvisation than she would have been following a detailed battle plan organized by a high-ranking military tactician.

"I… I j-just did not see the point in planning a strategy when there is n-no way to know what is waiting for us until we get there."

"Hey, I'm not criticizing," Rachel assured her. "You always come up with an idea when we need one. I'm perfectly willing to trust in that."

Illitha's head came up, and she offered a timid smile at the assurance. Then the asari's expression shifted to a more serious and businesslike one and she took a small sip from her canteen.

"W-We should get moving again," Illitha said softly, slipping her helm on.

"I'm at your six, Spectre," Rachel grinned.

She followed the asari out to the rest of the group, and noted that the men immediately started to rise and prepare to move. Illitha never had to say a word to any of them. All eyes were upon her, and though Rachel could see her posture close up a little at the attention, the girl simply turned and started running, and everyone fell into step. She wasn't sure where she'd heard it… maybe it was interviews about Shepard… but she'd once heard someone say that if you prove to people that you get things done, people will join up. It certainly seemed true to her. The asari's charisma was undeniable, if a little subtle when one first met her. The people following her were devoted.

The remainder of the run passed in relative silence. All together, they could have walked the distance in about an hour. At a jog, even with the brief period of rest, they managed to cover it in about half that time. Rachel wasn't sure it was fast enough to save the people that had called for help, especially since there had been no further communications, but it was the best they could do without transportation. Their pace only slowed when they could begin to hear the distant echo of gunfire. They didn't want to walk into an ambush in their haste to get there.

"At least we know someone's still alive," Rachel commented.

"Unless the Reapers started fighting each other," a mountain of a marine, who Rachel knew as Private Tandis, added with a chuckle.

"The crater is just over that rise," one of the marines pointed out. There was no need to specify which rise. The terrain had been mostly level, if a bit rocky and broken, but ahead of them, the ground inclined sharply and then fell away.

Rachel saw Illitha anxiously scanning the skies and knew exactly what she was worrying about, but there was no cloud cover and there were no signs of harvesters circling. The asari motioned for everyone to keep low, and she crept up the incline to get a look at the situation. Rachel followed closely, just as curious to see the place as the asari must have been. She had not been stationed on Terra Nova for long, and hadn't had the chance to see many of the local landmarks. She'd actually never even heard of this place prior to the distress call.

At the top of the rise, the land fell sharply away. Rather than the bowl-shaped depression she had expected, it looked to the blonde as though something had once slammed into the planet at a shallow angle, burrowing deep into the crust. It was as if a giant finger had pressed into the landscape, forming a deep, angled hole, like a cave. It looked to her like the roof of the depression was melted, forming stalactite-like protrusions of dark, sparkling crystalline material.

Dozens of cannibals and a handful of Reaper turians were spread through the concave depression leading up to the hole, firing into the mouth of the cave, where the blonde could barely make out a handful of figures hiding behind chunks of rock, firing only a shot or two at a time and occasionally hurling out objects that exploded into flame when they hit the ground. There were human and Reaper corpses spread throughout the valley, including the body of a brute, which was smoldering upon the ground just meters away from the cavern entrance. Rachel couldn't see a way to circumvent the Reapers. The only option she could see was to fight their way through them. Several of the marines appeared to come to the same conclusion, as they crouched at the lip and took aim at the Reapers below.

"No!" Illitha protested, bringing the assault to a halt before anyone could start shooting.

"You have a plan?" Rachel asked.

"Of course she does," Jay panted. The young man looked like he was about to be sick after the run, but he'd managed to keep up. Rachel gave him credit for determination.

"I-I need…" the asari looked around at the group, finally pointing to Private Tandis and another man, both of whom were carrying heavy Valkyrie assault rifles, "…you and you. Th-The three of us are going down there."

"And how do you plan to accomplish that?" one of the other marines asked.

"I will shield us from fire," Illitha explained. "We move directly to the cavern entrance. Shoot at whatever shoots at us, b-but do not draw more attention than you have to. I cannot maintain the shield against too much incoming fire... J-Just stay with me and concentrate on quickly killing anything that shoots at us. Leave everything else to the others. Jay…" she turned to the young sniper. "I-I want you up here with your sniper rifle. Make your shots count. One volunteer stays up here with him…"

"And the rest of us?" Rachel prompted.

"Move down to that cluster of rocks there," Illitha pointed to a small group of jagged rocks in the depression below, a bit closer to the Reaper troops. "A-As soon as you are in position, we will start our walk. Keep pressure on the Reapers and buy us the time we need to get to the entrance."

Rachel looked around at the two marines and the Alliance engineer that would be her support team, and she found herself frowning. She trusted her fellow soldiers implicitly, but she didn't like being apart from Illitha. They worked well together. She held her rifle out to Private Tandis.

"Here. Give me that Valkyrie."

"No way. You're not taking Julie," the marine shook his head, clutching the weapon more tightly.

"W-What are you doing?" Illitha stared at her.

"I want one of the heavy rifles, so that I can go with you."

To her consternation, the asari shook her head. "N-No. I want you on this side of the Reapers, keeping pressure on them."

"I'm sticking with you," Rachel insisted stubbornly.

Illitha surprised her by grabbing the plating at the collar of her armor and jerking her forward. The sudden and unexpected tug caused her to almost stumble into the asari. Before she could recover, Illitha was speaking into her ear.

"P-Please do as I ask," the asari hissed. "I need someone I trust covering me from this side. A-And if the person who has been with me the longest will not trust my orders… how will the rest of these men?"

Rachel slowly stepped away from the asari, regarding her thoughtfully. She glanced around at the marines, and saw several of them looking at her with expressions that suggested they thought she'd just been reprimanded instead of pleaded with. She bowed her head.

"Sorry Spectre," she murmured softly, deciding to let the men think they were right. She hadn't intended to harm Illitha's ability to keep the respect and trust of the others, but she could see how the asari could be right about the results if she didn't obey orders. "It won't happen again."

While she couldn't see the asari's eyes through the visor of her helm, she could tell from the subtle shift in Illitha's posture that the asari was grateful just the same. The young engineer turned and surveyed the scene below, activating her omni-tool and opening a comm channel.

"T-This is Illitha T'Zari," she announced. "My team is here. I am glad to see you've held out. Keep your heads down and stop throwing the incendiaries... We are coming to you." Without waiting for her signal to be acknowledged, she gestured toward the rocks and gave the order. "Go! When you are in position, we begin moving. Do not fire until you see my barrier go up."

Rachel nodded and exchanged glances with the others on her small team, and then they all moved quickly and quietly down the slope to the waiting cluster of rocks. Once they were in position and all of them had cover and a good firing position, she glanced back at the lip of the crater. Illitha and her two escorts were already moving down the slope, and Jay and his bodyguard were settling themselves at the edge. She knew that by the time Illitha's barrier went up, Jay would have a Reaper's head clearly in his sights.

The Reapers were so focused upon the mouth of the cavern that they never turned around. Illitha and her escort were able to move halfway down into the bowl before they were at risk of being spotted. Rachel picked a target and waited, knowing that the asari's barrier would go up at any moment.

A shimmering dome of faint blue light appeared around Illitha's group, and all at once, Rachel and her team opened fire. The sudden attack caught the Reapers by surprise, and several of them fell within seconds. The sharp crack of the sniper rifle echoed over the din of gunfire, and a Reaper turian stumbled backward, the subtle flash around it indicating that its shield went down. A second crack sounded almost immediately, and the turian's head snapped backward violently. Rachel sighted the cannibal beside it and fired. Most of the cannibals were plated with dark bands of armor, so they didn't go down easily now that they were turning to face her, but she still managed to put enough bullets into vulnerable spots to kill the creature before it could fire more than a handful of shots in return.

Rachel and her team did their best to keep the Reapers' attention off of Illitha and her escort, but the advance of the asari's team still drew attention, and she could see shimmers run through the barrier as it deflected fire from Reaper troops. Tandis and the other escort quickly fired on any Reaper that assaulted them, but Rachel could only imagine that the strain would add up for the asari. Unfortunately, she'd learned in the Exogeni Tower that Illitha couldn't maintain the barrier and move very quickly at the same time, so it was all they could do to draw the enemy's focus and give the group the time to cover the distance.

When Illitha's group was close to the entrance, Rachel saw the asari's escorts suddenly run out of the protection of the dome and down to the cover at the cave entrance. Though she knew intellectually that the asari would have ordered them to go, it still angered her to see the marines leave Illitha as the sole target in the open.

The asari turned and walked backward once she was alone in the open, and more and more of the Reapers were firing upon her. Once both marines were in cover at the entrance, they started firing out at the Reaper troops, and Illitha dropped the barrier and went for cover with the rest. Rachel could tell, however, that Illitha was exhausted and in pain. She wasn't running… she was stumbling toward cover, and cradling her injured arm with the other hand. The blonde saw a Reaper cannibal launch a grenade toward the entrance, and it felt as though her heart leapt into her throat. She wasn't even aware that she screamed the asari's name, but she was sprinting out of cover in an instant, running toward the Reaper forces and spraying them with fire as she closed the distance.

There was an explosion at the cavern entrance, and Rachel saw the asari kneeling on the ground, being pelted with enemy fire. She had been focused on her target and hadn't seen what happened. As she took cover, she saw Illitha's hands go up, and saw a vague dome flicker into view a few times, but it didn't stay up. The asari collapsed.

Rachel saw Private Tandis dart out into the open to grab Illitha and drag her to safety, but it didn't help to ease Rachel's fury any. The blonde leapt over her cover, firing point-blank at the face of a Reaper cannibal when it turned to strike at her. When its body hit the ground, she darted past the boulder that had been the cannibal's cover and charged her next target, firing relentlessly as she moved. She could hear shouts and additional gunfire behind her, and she knew that the rest of her group had followed her into the charge. The blonde, however, was no longer thinking clearly. Heartsick over the thought that Illitha might be seriously hurt, she was giving outlet to the anger that filled her, mindlessly seeking out one target after the next and ignoring the return fire that struck her shield. Only when the defensive barrier collapsed did she pause, and then only long enough for the shield to recharge.

_One of these people we're rescuing had better be worth this,_ Rachel raged inwardly. _If we lose Illitha to save a bunch of scared civilians, I swear I'll lose it…_

* * *

**Prothean Ruins, Sublevel Two…**

Prathus slowly crept down the staircase, with two Alliance marines close on his heels. After dropping off his extra supplies at the archive and checking in on Neela, the captain, and the civilians, Prathus and two volunteers began a sweep of the complex. They had searched the upper levels of the ruin already, and their sweep had been relatively uneventful. They stumbled into a few stray Cerberus turrets, but no one was seriously injured, and there had been no sign of surviving Cerberus troops. When the three of them had reached the main stairwell on level three, Prathus found a few droplets of salarian blood mixed in with the dust on the floor, and a horrifying thought occurred to him at that moment.

At Fulton's Folly, Salik had wired the warheads stored in the complex for detonation. If the salarian came up with the idea of overloading the reactor powering the ruins, he might actually kill them all. The turian sincerely hoped that the former STG operative had been too injured and preoccupied with escaping the complex to put any sort of contingency plan into play. But as was the case in Fulton's Folly, he respected the salarian's intelligence far too much to assume that they were safe. This was what brought his small search team down into the bowels of the complex, to make certain that the reactor had not been tampered with.

However, as they were descending the final flight of stairs and the hole in the wall that led to the reactor area came into view, Prathus spotted a smear of blood upon the railing that lined the stairs. He paused and gestured to it, and both of the marines behind him nodded to show that they understood the possible danger. Prathus limped down the last few steps in near-total silence, crossing to the crumbled wall and pressing his back against the intact portion beside it, waiting until his companions were in place.

When he leaned out to get a look into the dark room beyond, he could see nothing but the outlines of the columns and the distant green light of the reactor itself. He kept his rifle trained upon the room beyond and waved the marines forward. The two humans had helmets with night vision, so in darkened areas he was forced to let them go first. He watched them disappear into the shadows to the right and left, waiting impatiently for their signal to move inside.

Two soft pings reached his omni-tool, and at the sound, the turian's posture stiffened visibly. It was their prearranged signal for hostile contact. He left his spot by the door and slowly moved into the room, keeping low and scanning his surroundings for any sign of enemies hiding amongst the shadows. Eventually he spotted the two marines. Both had taken cover behind columns near the reactor, and they waved him over. He crossed to their position in silence, pressing against the column beside one of them and waiting for some explanation of what was going on.

The marine next to him simply pointed to his eyes and gestured toward the reactor. Prathus leaned out of cover to take a look, half-expecting to find a massive bomb wired to the reactor's housing. Instead, he saw the reactor exactly as it had been the last time he was in the room, with the web of portable Cerberus generators next to it. However, just beyond the generators, he spotted a slender, armored form, leaning against the wall. Bathed in the green glow of the reactor, Salik's body almost seemed to shimmer slightly. The salarian's eyes were closed, and he didn't appear to be conscious.

_After all he's done… this seems so anti-climactic_, Prathus thought sourly.

He gestured for the two marines to cover him, and he slowly stepped out into the open. He moved with extreme patience and care, studying every inch of the ground ahead as he walked, wary for any sign of proximity mines or other traps. He saw nothing to indicate anything dangerous in the path ahead, and the salarian didn't move… until he was just a few meters away. The salarian's omni-tool flared to life as he passed the last of the Cerberus generators, and Prathus's rifle swiftly came up, trained upon Salik's forehead. However, it was only an automated alert, triggered by his proximity, it seemed. The salarian's eyes snapped open, and he turned his head to regard the turian. But he didn't move to defend himself.

"It's over, Salik," Prathus growled, feeling on-edge despite the salarian's lack of hostile activity.

"Indeed," the salarian said wearily. "Sniper fire is difficult to anticipate when planning an operation," he sighed. "Injury is always a possibility, but adjusting to compensate can be tricky. Felt fairly certain one of you might deduce that a reactor breach could be used as a contingency…"

Prathus felt a chill run through him. "And let me guess… You've already placed the charges, and they're connected to a VI monitoring your vitals…"

"Incorrect," the salarian shook his head, pressing a hand to the hole in the armor on his shoulder, shifting position with a visible wince. "Unfortunately, we were not carrying sufficient quantities of explosives to breach the exterior shielding of the reactor. Even if the reactor _were_ breached, it's unlikely it would do more than collapse a small portion of the floor above. Perhaps create structural instability one level above that. Insufficient energy output for the destruction of the entire complex."

"Then why come down here at all?" Prathus's mandibles twitched reflexively in agitation, as if his body understood something that his mind hadn't yet grasped.

"Your small contingent of misfits has proven a consistent detriment to our goals," the salarian frowned. "Even cost us the life of a valuable and competent colleague. Despite my injuries, it seemed necessary to provide enough of a trail to draw at least a few of you to a predetermined location. Had hoped to get a few more…" Salik's hand shifted to his omni-tool.

Prathus was unwilling to take the chance that Salik could trigger some sort of trap. He immediately fired a single burst into the salarian's forehead. To his astonishment and panic, the rounds caused the salarian's head to flicker instead of leaving a bloody hole in their wake. It was then that he realized what a mistake they had made.

_A holographic decoy…_

The poor lighting and the glow of the reactor had worked to the salarian's advantage, masking the subtle glow that typically gave away such holographic deceptions at close range. Combined with refinements to the realism courtesy of Reaper technology, he had never even considered that he was looking at a hologram. The turian's gaze immediately went up to the ceiling. He had been focused upon the floor when he approached, expecting a proximity mine or some other trap. He'd never looked up. Sure enough, when he glanced up now, there were small mines affixed to the ceiling all around the reactor.

"Run!" he heard one of the marines cry.

"Too late," Salik whispered. His image flickered and vanished, and the small projector that had been responsible for creating it dropped to the floor.

Prathus closed his eyes. He didn't even bother trying to run. The salarian had outmaneuvered him again. Thankfully, beyond an initial flash of pain when the mines detonated, he didn't suffer. It was over in an instant.

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* * *

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**Author's Note: Thank you again to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited/followed or otherwise given any attention at all to my story. I am really happy to be entertaining a few people out there, and I hope that I can continue to do so going forward. Barring any unusual changes in my life, the next Chapter of the story will go up Thursday morning.**

**As for this Chapter, I don't have a whole lot to say. Wrapping up the crew's conflict with Cerberus (mostly, anyway), has been a long time in coming, and I knew it couldn't happen without cost, but the heaviest costs to date have always come from dealing with Salik and his friends. This last part has been something that was in my head for a long, long time, and hopefully it came across the way I've always pictured it in my mind. I actually really came to like Prathus over the course of the story, as I like all of the characters. I enjoyed building his partnership with Zaeed, and I liked his role overall. It really saddened me a bit, knowing what was eventually in store for him. And of course, I think anyone who has read the story to this point and gotten to know the cast of characters will realize that the aftermath will be... rough.**

**And though it feels strange to follow such a somber finish to a Chapter with a cheerful farewell, it must be done! I hope everyone had a great week, and that wherever Spring Break falls in the scheme of things, that it was/will be awesome for those of you in college. Have an excellent weekend! :)**


	52. Chapter 52: Grief

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Fifty-Two: Grief

.

**Second Level, Prothean Ruins…**

Zaeed's fingers rubbed back and forth across his knuckles absently as he stared at the man before him in frustration. The Cerberus commander's face was a bloody mask of bruises, his eyes were gone, and for the last hour, the mercenary had been trying to beat information out of him with little success. At this point, he had to admit that the continued punishment was more to salve his frustration than to get answers. Even though there was kinetic padding covering his hands, his knuckles were still becoming tender from the multitude of blows he had delivered.

"I can't give you what you want…" Pavv mumbled, the words barely intelligible because of the swelling in his lips. "I don't know…"

Zaeed clenched his jaw and resisted the urge to hit the man again. "So Cerberus is organized into cells, and no single cell is aware of what the others are doing…" he repeated what the man had told him fifty minutes earlier, after the interrogation was barely started.

It had sounded like a convenient excuse to make him stop the torture at the time, but now he had to adjust to the idea. It had just sounded so far-fetched that a man in charge of a Cerberus team as large as the one they'd encountered would have no idea where their leader was stationed. It was difficult to believe that he had never been invited to Cerberus headquarters to speak to his superiors in person, or that no one in the organization ever spoke of other projects. He picked up the man's omni-tool from the table where he'd placed it when he took it from him. He hoped that one of the asari or an Alliance engineer might be able to break any encryption on it so he could sift through the information for a new clue.

"And you have no buddies in other cells? No one ever talked about any other Cerberus operations? No assets or remote bases you once visited?"

Pavv shook his head listlessly. Zaeed scowled, trying to adjust to the reality that he'd had his final chance to get the information he sought, and it had been a failure. He was convinced that Pavv knew nothing of relevance. No one could have taken the amount of punishment the man endured and hold back what they knew. Any sane person would have confessed long ago, just to get the pain to stop. He sighed.

"Your transmissions mentioned a shuttle and a ship," Zaeed growled. "Where is the shuttle? Where is the ship? How many people are left aboard?"

"I…" Pavv hesitated.

Zaeed immediately punched the man in the ribs, drawing a strangled grunt out of his prisoner. Bound to the chair as he was, Pavv could offer no resistance and couldn't roll with the punches. "Stop," the man wheezed the word, struggling to draw breath. "The shuttle is waiting at an abandoned farm east of here. The nav-point is on my omni," he mumbled.

"How many men are with it?"

"Two," Pavv answered. "The pilot and one escort."

"And the ship?"

"Orbiting Borr, waiting for a signal to set up a rendezvous…"

Zaeed knew the name. It was the gas giant neighboring Terra Nova. "Remaining complement?" Zaeed prompted.

"I don't know exactly," the man said slowly, and then quickly added, "A token security force and a crew of maybe twenty?"

"Twenty?" Zaeed repeated. "Plus all the ground forces and equipment we've seen here? You're not talking about a small transport vessel. You're talking about an actual frigate or cruiser."

"It's a frigate," the man nodded.

Zaeed was about to ask more about the ship when a violent tremor ran through the floor beneath his feet. The feeling was accompanied by a distant rumble, and the room immediately went dark. The mercenary fumbled for his helmet, and even as he was slipping it on, he growled the next question.

"What was that?" he demanded. "Your people set up some kind of booby trap?"

"No," Pavv quickly shook his head. "We set up turrets. Ambush teams. Nothing that would have shaken the complex like that."

Zaeed glared at his prisoner, studying his bruised and bloody face now that he had his helmet's night vision to assist him. If Cerberus hadn't planted explosives in the complex, that left one possibility. And he was far less enthusiastic about the portent of the rumbling if it was Salik's handiwork.

"All personnel, this is Zaeed," he announced once he had a channel open to allied forces. "What just happened? We need all teams to report in."

"_We've got a complete loss of power down here,_" the quarian's voice was the first to answer. "_It sounded like there was an explosion somewhere in the complex. Selura and I are okay down here. The civilians are scared, but no one is hurt._"

"_This is Mills_," another voice joined the channel. "_I'm on the top level with Private Olimar. We're both okay. We've got a total power loss up here as well, but we didn't hear any explosion. Must have been in the lower levels somewhere._"

_"This is Corporal Rivera_," another voice reported. _"I'm stuck in a room on level two. The power is down, and the door won't open. I felt and heard the rumble of the blast from here, but I don't think it was on this level."_

_"Rebecca Tillman here,"_ the doctor's voice was the next to join in. _"I'm in the same situation as Corporal Rivera. I'm in a room just down the hall from the archive with the asari captain and Private Ackerman. We're all safe, but power is down and the door won't open."_

Zaeed waited for Prathus to report in, but following the doctor's report, only silence issued forth from the earpiece in the mercenary's helmet. He was about to ask specifically for an update from the turian, but the quarian beat him to it.

_"Prathus?" _Neela's voice was filled with concern. _"Prathus, answer me!"_

"Who saw him last?" Zaeed demanded.

"_He was down here about two hours ago_," Selura answered. _"He dropped off a bunch of gear and said he was taking some men to search the complex for Salik."_

"Anyone seen him since?"

"_He and two men came into the infirmary around that time. He wanted to check on his captain," Rebecca reported._

"Mills, you and your buddy get down here to level two," Zaeed ordered. "The three of us are gonna find the source of that goddamn explosion. The turian might need help."

_"Roger that,"_ the marine answered.

"I hope the alien scum is dead," Pavv's hoarse voice drew Zaeed's attention once more, and the man half-chuckled, half-coughed, apparently amused by the prospect.

Zaeed wasn't particularly angered by the man's bigotry. He expected that sort of idiocy from someone high-up in the Cerberus organization. However, he was done asking questions of his prisoner, and that made the man's presence a liability. So he picked up his rifle and fired a shot into the man's forehead. Then he turned and headed for the door.

That was when he encountered the flaw in his situation. Two other people had mentioned being trapped, and he hadn't thought anything of it. But with the power down, none of the doors were going to open. And the heavy, stone doors throughout the Prothean structure were bound to be extremely difficult to breach. Omni-tools weren't designed for cutting through stone.

"Mills, come in," he opened a channel to the marine.

_"I was just about to report in," _the marine answered. _"We're trapped on the top level. Without power, the door leading into the corridor won't open."_

"Damn it," Zaeed growled. "Cerberus had a mining laser in a store room on the second level. There's a room on the first level with a hole leading down into the area. And that door, if I remember right, is stuck halfway up. If anyone has a clear path, we're gonna need that equipment to breach these doors."

_"The archive room door is not like the others," _Selura responded. _"It toggles between open and closed instead of closing automatically. And I do not recall there being any doors on the stairwell. I should be able to reach the equipment eventually. But… I do not have night vision, and it is pitch black in here. Even if I find my way, I do not think I could carry it alone… maybe some of the civilian women could help, but I do not think they will leave the children… and Neela's conveyance is disabled."_

Zaeed swore, pacing around in the small room in which he was now trapped. They'd been so busy fighting Cerberus that when he heard Salik was injured, he had just assumed the salarian would flee the structure and withdraw to a safe place to deal with his wounds. He was certain that the salarian had done just that, but of course he or his companion would have taken a few extra minutes to set up some kind of trap. It was just the sort of devious thing Salik had done at every point on his mission. Whether he was shooting the help when they were finished, leaving AI to guard his ship and destroy it if necessary, or wiring a bunch of Thanix missiles to overload, he had always been a step ahead.

_"Let me see what I can do_," the asari's voice interrupted his angry musings. "_But I need you men on the upper level to climb down to the archive to guard everyone. I will not leave Neela here unprotected if there is any chance that Salik may still be in the complex."_

Zaeed allowed himself a smile. The asari had the right idea, just the wrong way to go about it. "Can you men get to the archive chamber by climbing down?"

"_We're isolated from both of the rooms with holes in the walls, but we each have a couple of proximity mines left. We should be able to blast our way through the wall in this room_," Mills answered.

"Do it," Zaeed nodded. "But let the asari stay with her friend. You have night vision. Once you two are down there, you have a clear path to the Cerberus mining laser. The two of you can use it to get us all out of our respective prisons."

_"We're on it,"_ Mills announced.

Zaeed sighed and sat down against the wall, glancing at the body of his prisoner, which had fallen over backward in the chair when he executed the man. He couldn't recall any operation he'd been a part of that had gone so consistently wrong since Shepard had screwed him out of his revenge upon Vido. He was a professional, and that required patience, but his patience was wearing thin. He wanted to find that Cerberus shuttle, put a willing team together, and get his hands on that ship. It was about time he got the hell off of Terra Nova. There were no more ways to hurt Cerberus on the planet. He needed to get back to his revenge upon the Illusive Man. If Prathus was dead, and Zaeed was fairly certain that he was, his vow to help find Salik had died with him.

Zaeed frowned at the thought. He'd had many teammates through the years. Soldiers, mercenaries, assassins, spies… He'd worked with just about everyone. However, few of them had been quite as comfortable to work with as the turian had become. He couldn't exactly say they were friends… he barely knew anything about Prathus. But a part of him wanted to see Salik pay for the turian's death.

_Maybe it's worth staying just a little longer…_ he thought. _But once that bastard is dead, I'm gone._

* * *

**Calitori Crater…**

Illitha had almost been to cover when she saw one of the cannibals launch a grenade into the mouth of the cavern. She had immediately put all of her energy into her barrier, placing herself between the explosive and the men and women hiding behind the rocks nearby, hoping to shield them from the shrapnel. The explosion had shattered her barrier and knocked her flat, and by the time she got to her knees, she was being pelted with direct fire from the Reapers. Only her tech armor and the Alliance protective gear kept her from being killed; several of the bullets had managed to penetrate both. She tried to bring her barrier back up, but her strength was failing and she couldn't maintain it. The last thing she remembered was hearing someone shrieking incoherently over the sounds of weapons fire.

When awareness returned, she could feel something cool and damp being pressed against her forehead, and she could hear hushed voices in conversation nearby. There were no sounds of gunfire, shouts or explosions, and so she assumed the fighting was over. There was a dull, throbbing pain radiating throughout her left side, so she resisted the urge to move; she had no idea how badly she'd been injured. She opened her eyes, blinking in an attempt to adjust them to the gloom of the cavern. There was a dark-haired human woman kneeling beside her, gently pressing a damp cloth against her brow. When the woman noticed that her eyes were open, she smiled.

"Hey, she's awake!" the woman called, and then returned her attention to Illitha. "Lie still. You've been shot a couple of times."

Rachel appeared in her field of vision, kneeling beside her and gazing at her anxiously. The blonde's face was tear-streaked… the trails were clearly visible as clean marks upon her otherwise grit-covered skin. Illitha smiled up at her, giving a small nod in hopes of reassuring her.

"I-Is everyone else alright?" she asked, looking around at the growing number of people standing around her. Rachel laughed at the question, and Illitha looked up at her in confusion.

"You…" Rachel shook her head. "You put yourself in the blast radius of a grenade, get shot, collapse and scare the hell out of me, and the first question you ask is 'is everyone else alright'?" the blonde smiled, shifting her gaze to the men standing nearby. "I told you she was one of a kind."

"Your team is fine," a man she didn't recognize answered her. She studied him curiously. He was clean-cut and clean-shaven, and his face had the angular, sharp, handsome features that most humans seemed to find extremely attractive. "And thanks to you, what's left of our group is still alive too. Thank you, Spectre. If you hadn't arrived when you did…" he trailed off.

"She pushed us through a two-and-a-half kilometer run to get here as fast as possible," Jay spoke up. "She was insistent on getting here to save you all."

"I think introductions are in order," the dark-haired woman smiled down at her. "Your friends have already introduced themselves and told us who you are. I'm Kaylee Willis, and this is my boyfriend, Shawn Reilly," she gestured to the handsome man that had thanked her. "The man over there is Jerry Dannis," she pointed to a tall and thin blonde-haired man, who smiled and nodded.

"This is Detective Vance Kilpatrick," Rachel took over, gesturing to a red-haired man in a uniform Illitha didn't recognize. It reminded her somewhat of the C-Sec uniforms on the citadel.

"Colony security?" she guessed.

"Yes ma'am. Black Sand City Security," Vance nodded. "We evacuated a group of civilians to this position when our town was overrun by Reapers a few days ago. We thought we'd lost them, but they managed to find us here. We lost a lot of people here, but these are my remaining men, Darnell Jackson, Ed Grendel, Mick Vanderhoff, Alex Dimattio, Lee Chen, and Zack Olean."

Illitha struggled to remember all the names and faces. It was a larger group than she'd expected, and she had been horrified by the number of bodies lying outside when she first got a look at the scene, which suggested their group had once been much greater.

"How bad are my injuries?" Illitha finally asked, raising her head in an attempt to get a look. "My side is aching. I-I cannot really tell exactly where I am hurt."

"You've got two bullet wounds in your side," Rachel told her. "One just above the hip bone and one just below your ribcage. We need to get you back to the doctor so she can look at you. These people were kind enough to apply some medigel to stop the bleeding, but the lower wound looks bad," the blonde admitted, and the worry returned to her expression.

"We'd like to come with you," Detective Kilpatrick was quick to suggest. "We stand a better chance with a Spectre than we would staying out here on our own. And we can be useful. We're not military, but most of us are colony security. We're trained with firearms and have experience under pressure. Mick here is a demolitions tech," he added, pointing to a short, stocky man with an extremely wide and prominent jaw that was graced with a sparse beard.

"My boyfriend and I aren't military or security," Kaylee added, "but I am a geologist, and Shawn is an avid rock climber and outdoorsman. We can help with support, exploration… whatever you need. We'll pull our weight."

"O-Of course," Illitha nodded, still struggling to adjust to the situation. "I-I never intended to save you all and then just… leave you here."

Illitha sighed inwardly. It was disconcerting to have so many people deferring to her judgment, even after they'd lied to so many people by saying she was a Spectre already. Part of her wanted desperately to turn command of the group over to the captain when she recovered. But now that everyone thought she was a Spectre, she didn't see how she could do it without exposing the lie and risking the loss of all the support. With all of these people and her crew added to the Alliance forces, she was now essentially in command of a group numbering almost thirty people.

Pings went off all around Illitha, and she noted that all of the Alliance soldiers were now activating their omni-tools. Apparently the transmission they were receiving was not being broadcast to anyone else in the group.

"I got it," Rachel announced, and activated the channel over the audio emulator on her omni so that everyone could hear it.

_"All Alliance forces this net, this is a priority one alert," the transmission began. "This is Captain Yoshinobu Shirakawa. All forces are hereby ordered to travel with all possible speed to the attached nav-point. Dotterstown is under heavy assault by Reaper forces. We have a high-priority objective and need all available forces to assist. I say again, this is a priority one alert. This objective _must_ be taken or we may very well lose this planet... All available forces rally to the indicated position. We are holding out as long as possible before beginning our offensive, but everyone needs to drop what they're doing and head here now. We commence our operation in seven days…"_

"Fuck me," one of the security officers muttered under his breath.

"Dotterstown?" Illitha looked around at the assembled group in confusion.

"It's the second-largest city on Terra Nova," Rachel explained. "There was a small Alliance base there, but it's mostly industrial centers, embassies, and homes."

"Wh-What did he mean by 'priority one alert'?" she asked. "Is it as self-explanatory as it sounds?"

"Pretty much," Private Tandis nodded. "Top priority. Nothing else is more important."

"How far is Dotterstown from here?" Illitha asked, and started to sit up. However, when she moved, Rachel and Kaylee both put their hands on her shoulders to hold her down.

"Spectre, you can't get up," Kaylee admonished her. "You may not be feeling it because of the medigel and the painkillers, but one of these bullets may have hit vital organs. The medigel sealed the wounds, but you need surgical attention."

"We'll assemble a stretcher out of some of the supplies," Detective Kilpatrick offered, and he and several of his men walked away.

"We'll carry you back to the doctor," Rachel assured her. "We have a week to get to the nav-point coordinates. That gives us plenty of time to get you patched up and back in the fight. If your captain will be back up by then with the severity of her wounds, you should be okay in a couple of days at most."

"Her captain?" Kaylee repeated. "I didn't think Spectres had any superiors other than the council…"

"They don't," the girl's boyfriend, Shawn, quickly spoke up.

"I didn't mean it literally," Rachel was quick to cover herself. "There's an asari ship captain here. She was in command of the vessel that brought the Spectre to the planet."

Illitha watched the two humans, and saw both of them nod, the hints of suspicion fading from their expressions. She sighed. Apparently the humans were buying the lie, and for some reason that filled the engineer with regret. She was afraid of losing the support of all the Alliance soldiers and civilians if they found out the truth, but a large part of her wanted to pass all the responsibility off to someone else.

"Wait," a thought suddenly occurred to her. "Y-You said you treated me with medigel and painkillers. You have medical supplies?"

"Yeah, tons of them," the brunette nodded. "When we evacuated the city, we brought everything we could carry from the university med center. We had a doctor too, but he… he was…" she glanced out through the cavern entrance.

The woman didn't have to say anything else. Illitha immediately understood. She closed her eyes and sighed. All of the fighting and death was really starting to wear upon her. She had no idea how career soldiers ever dealt with it. She definitely wasn't cut out for military life.

A ping sounded from her omni-tool, and she regarded the device warily as she activated it.

_What else could possibly go wrong today_, she wondered.

_"Illitha, are you there?"_ Selura's voice greeted her. The scientist's tone was subdued.

"I-I read you," Illitha answered. She was already getting the sinking feeling that this was going to be bad news. "What is it?"

_"I… I do not know how to say this except to just… say it,"_ Selura warned her. _"Prathus is dead. There was an… an explosion… A trap of some kind…"_

Illitha felt tears flood her eyes, and she was sobbing before she could contain her grief. Every sob sent a little jolt of pain through her, but she couldn't stop herself. Rachel grabbed the omni-tool from her hand and deactivated it, and then leaned over the asari, putting her hands on her shoulders in an attempt to hold her still. Illitha reached out and grabbed the blonde, clinging to her desperately.

The young asari suddenly felt like she was drowning. She'd been devastated when she thought she was going to lose the captain, and then the human doctor had miraculously saved her. But now her very worst fear had come to pass. She'd lost someone she cared about. Her mind struggled to adjust. It was just so… heartbreaking… to think that she would never hear Prathus's voice again. One of her closest friends… he had practically been family. Her thoughts went immediately to Aida and Neela, and she knew that this would hit them just as hard.

She still had no idea where her best friend was, and wondered now if she'd lost Aida too. Her misery quickly overwhelmed her at that point. All her attempts to radio her friend on the trip south had been met with silence, and she got the sinking feeling that she would never see her again.

She never even noticed that the other humans slowly drifted away, leaving her alone with her grief. Only Rachel remained with her. The blonde was her anchor… someone she could cling to so that her grief wouldn't drown her. She held onto the girl with an intensity that was probably very uncomfortable for her, sobbing bitterly all the while.

* * *

**Archive Chamber, Mivian Heights…**

Selura sat quietly atop the isolation pod that was Neela's home, working under the lights of a portable lighting unit, using her omni-tool to carefully melt two separate pieces of kinetic padding together at their edges. As she worked, her gaze frequently shifted to the face of her girlfriend, asleep in the pod beneath her. Neela had cried for an hour after Zaeed and the other humans had finally located the source of the explosion and discovered the crushed remains of the turian. The entire day had been horrible for Neela, and by extension, it had been horrible for the asari as well. Separated from the girl she loved by the glass of the isolation pod, she was unable to hold her hand, pull her close, or otherwise comfort her in any way except verbally, and nothing she said would ever make any difference, she knew. Neela had eventually cried herself to sleep. She was only glad she'd been able to pass one of the dextro-based meals Prathus had dropped off with his supplies to the quarian through the pass-through area of the pod and get her to eat something before news of the turian's death came in.

The young scientist hadn't known Prathus well. During her time aboard the ship, he had been less than cordial to her for the most part, and she had avoided the turian as much as possible. However, she knew how Neela felt about the crew of the _Sileya_. Like the crew aboard her birth ship, she considered her crewmates to be family, and she was devastated by the loss of one of them. Prathus's death had raised questions for the quarian about Aida's fate, and Neela had spent some time tearfully trying to contact Aida's omni-tool. However, the asari never answered. Despite Selura's insistence that the asari could still be alive, Neela had been mourning them both as lost ever since. It tore the scientist apart to see her girlfriend so miserable.

Selura was hard at work on Neela's suit. After the events of the past few days, being isolated from Neela and unable to help her, she was determined to get her work done so that Neela could be free of the pod. She had to pause in her work frequently and scan it with her omni-tool, using the measuring program installed in the omni to compare her work to Neela's body measurements and scans of the quarian's old suit so that she was sure the garment would fit. But she was determined to work hard at it until the suit was complete.

The sound of someone's footsteps drew her attention. Since the civilians were mostly sleeping on the walkway around the moat, she looked up to see who was entering, and saw the blonde marine that had been with Illitha stride into the room, looking weary and morose. She was glad to see that the blonde was there, since it meant Illitha and her team had returned from their rescue operation. Selura set her work aside and carefully slipped off of Neela's isolation pod. She walked over to meet the blonde where she'd seated herself on a crate.

"You look as miserable as I feel," she commented as she approached.

"Yeah, well…" the blonde sighed, looking past Selura to where Neela was asleep in the pod, "I'm sure you understand how much it takes out of you to see someone you care about grieving over the death of a loved one."

Selura nodded, glancing back at her girlfriend. She slowly sat down beside the blonde, curious to know more about the situation. As an outsider with no military experience, she'd been kept out of the loop regarding all the military information. Zaeed didn't care enough to share, and none of the Alliance members bothered. She knew they'd all received a transmission of some kind, but she didn't know what it was about.

"What the hell happened?" the blonde suddenly asked. "I spent a couple of days traveling with Prathus. He was smart. Careful. Professional. How did he get killed?"

"I do not know," Selura sighed. "There was some sort of explosion near the reactor. The ceiling caved in on him and the other men in his search team. Zaeed did not seem to think he suffered. We assume it was Salik's handiwork."

"God damn it," the blonde swore. "That bastard just keeps taking and taking from us. I can't wait to shoot him in the face like I did his friend."

"His friend?" Selura repeated.

"Yeah," the blonde nodded. "He had two other salarians on his team. All indoctrinated. Illitha beat one up north. She pinned him down and caught him in a biotic black hole. I shot him so she wouldn't have to."

Selura's eyes widened at this revelation. So that was who had taken the shot that wounded the captain… She hadn't been aware that there was more than one of them. Knowing that there were two indoctrinated salarian agents on the planet didn't help her to feel any better.

"I'm Rachel, by the way," the blonde introduced herself. "We were never formally introduced."

"Selura Leneur," Selura bobbed her head in greeting.

"Nice to make your acquaintance," the blonde muttered. Her lack of enthusiasm was understandable, given the tone of the day.

"Could you tell me… what is going on with the Alliance? I saw that some of the soldiers got a transmission, but I couldn't hear it. They seemed disturbed."

"There's a big offensive taking place up north, in a city called Dotterstown," Rachel explained. "Alliance command has called for all allied forces to assist. They're starting their offensive in a week… so that there's time to gather enough manpower, I assume."

"How far is Dotterstown from here?" Selura asked.

"Illitha asked that same question, but never got her answer. We were interrupted by your call," the blonde sighed. "It would take us well over a week to walk there. But Illitha put our engineer on the task of repairing the shuttle outside. If he can fix it within the week, we could fly there in a matter of hours."

"Where is Illitha?" Selura asked. "I expected her to come and check on Neela."

"She was wounded during the rescue," Rachel frowned. "She'll be fine, but one of the bullets hit… I guess it would be the asari equivalent of the kidney? The doctor is patching her up as we speak."

Selura frowned at the news, but at least Illitha would be okay. She hated this war and everything about it. Terra Nova was a place she never wanted to see again once they finally managed to escape from the planet.

"I understand you guys had some problems here, too," Rachel commented. "Other than… you know…" she trailed off.

"Yes," Selura said softly. "The explosion tore through the power conduits that ran through the ceiling to supply power to the rest of the complex. A few of the Alliance marines had to use a mining laser to cut holes in doors all over the ruin to free people and access important areas…"

"I saw the huge hole cut in the door of the infirmary," Rachel nodded.

"We are using the Cerberus generators and portable lighting units to provide light, but without power, this place can only be a temporary shelter for these people," Selura looked around at the civilians. "They will have to find another place or at least move to the prefabs outside eventually."

"Yeah," Rachel shrugged. "It's probably better that they don't stay in one place for too long anyway. This complex didn't save the Protheans. We can't rely on it to save us either."

"So we are truly planning to join the fight in Dotterstown? With just the handful of soldiers here?" Selura was unconvinced that they had any business being part of a major offensive. She was not even trained for combat. Her biotics were practically non-existent, and Neela's ankle was broken.

"Our superiors stressed that the objective was of major importance. They said if this op failed, it could mean the loss of the war."

"What on Terra Nova could possibly be that important?" Selura wondered aloud.

"I have no idea," Rachel shrugged. "We were discussing it throughout the walk back. No one can think of anything that vital in Dotterstown. There are a bunch of factories and production facilities there, the embassy, and a ton of homes…"

"Wait," Selura raised her head. "The embassy?"

"Yeah…" Rachel stared at her uncertainly. "What are you thinking?"

"One of the project members at my company was working on the creation of a routing system for quantum entanglement communicators before I left for this trip," Selura explained. "The rumor was that your people had installed quantum entanglement communicators in all of their colony embassies that connected to Alliance command and to your embassy on the Citadel… My people wanted to eclipse that technology by expanding upon it."

"They're going for the embassy," Rachel's expression reflected the sudden realization. "The QEC would allow them to get a distress call off world even with the FTL comm buoys down. They could call in reinforcements!"

Selura nodded, feeling a tiny sliver of hope for the first time in days. "There do not seem to be many Reapers here. If the Alliance sent enough ships, they might be able to seize control in orbit and bombard the Reapers down here. They could retake the planet."

Rachel practically bounded from her seat, striding toward the door. The asari stared after her in confusion. The shuttle would take days to repair, if they could manage it at all, so it wasn't as though they could leave…"

"Where are you going?" she called after the human girl.

"I have to gather the others and let them know our theory," Rachel told her. "And we need to make _sure_ that shuttle gets fixed," she added.

"How do you intend to do that?"

"I'll let you know when we figure it out," Rachel assured her as she disappeared through the doorway.

Selura sighed and nodded. She hated being out of the loop, but the Alliance soldiers knew Terra Nova, and she did not. If there was a place nearby where they might find replacement parts, she would be useless in discussing it. She rose from her seat and walked back over to Neela's pod, staring at the tear-stained face of the quarian through the glass. Satisfied that for the moment, her girlfriend was sleeping peacefully, she carefully climbed back up to her spot on top of the pod and resumed her work. She was hopeful that within a day… maybe two… she might have the suit complete enough for the quarian to try on. Then she would only need to figure out how to modify a helmet to complete the outfit.

"And some armor plating," she murmured aloud. If they were going to be heading into battle, she would have to modify some armoring from the human suits she had dismantled to create Neela's new gear. Installing a shield generator wouldn't be hard, but melting down and reforming the ceramic plating would take time.

* * *

**Prothean Ruins, Infirmary…**

Illitha stared dully at the ceiling overhead. There was a terrible ache in her side where the human doctor had repaired the damage done by the Reaper bullet, which had passed directly through one of her internal organs, but she didn't even notice the physical pain. Because the agonizing ache in her heart was overpowering everything else. The reality of the situation was starting to sink in. Prathus was gone, and it seemed like the turian's death had taken some of the light and cheer out of the world with it.

It wasn't that the turian had been a particularly cheerful individual. He had been family. Illitha held more respect for the turian than she ever had for her own father. Prathus had always seemed to try to avoid getting close to any of them, but Illitha had seen through that façade. The turian had always supported his crewmates when they needed it. He had protected them, trusted them, and – at least in Illitha's case – helped her to trust herself.

_"It seems to me that a lot of diplomatic vessels, survey missions and civilian transports missed out on a damn fine engineer."_ She could almost hear the turian's voice as she remembered what he had said. It had been just after she'd killed the batarians to save Aida. She had been berating herself and doubting her worth as usual, and the turian spoke those words. He had pointed out that she conquered her fear and did what had to be done. Those words had truly struck a chord deep inside of her.

Much of what she had accomplished since that day had surprised her, but even though she saw Prathus look at her with a sense of amazement since they had found one another in Fulton's Folly, she'd gotten the impression that his astonishment was not over what she was doing, but over the fact that she was learning to trust her instincts. He had never seemed amazed about her actions… only her reactions to them.

_Goddess, I miss you already…_

It had been an extremely trying day. In one day, they'd almost lost the captain, she had been seriously injured twice, and Prathus died. If they'd thought Fulton's Folly was a disaster, this rescue mission had been a catastrophe. The fact that everyone was saying the explosion was Salik's handiwork and not Cerberus' deed only made it sting even more. Illitha had hesitated when she had her gun trained upon Salik's comrade at Fulton's Folly. If she got her sights on the salarian traitor himself, she would not feel the same sense of hesitation. Not anymore.

_I need to get up. I need to find something to do_...

The engineer had only been awake for about an hour since the surgery, and she was already going a bit stir crazy. With nothing to do but stare at the ceiling, at the comatose form of the captain on the bed beside her or the snoring Alliance soldier in the bed on the opposite side, she was thinking far too much about the things she had lost in this war. The weight of it all… Prathus, McSween, Jack and Danny were all dead, Aida was missing, the _Sileya_ was gone… she felt like it was slowly crushing her spirit while she lay there and stewed in her grief. She couldn't even cry anymore. She had bawled initially at the news, but she no longer had the energy for it. She could only wait for the pieces of her broken heart to try to mend themselves.

"Illitha?" a soft voice addressed her from the door.

The asari raised her head just enough to get a look at Rachel where she was hovering in the gaping hole through the stone door. She said nothing. She was too exhausted to speak. She just wanted to close her eyes and sleep until this stupid war was over.

"How are you?" the blonde asked hesitantly. Illitha could see the concern in her eyes, but she could also tell that the girl was here for more than to just check up on her. Rachel seemed to have something important to say, but to be afraid to say it.

_Probably more bad news…_

"I will live," Illitha said simply.

"I'm sorry… about Prathus," Rachel stepped through the hole in the door, hands clasped together in front of herself. "I didn't know him well, but he seemed like a good man… uh, turian… You know what I mean," the blonde fell silent.

"He…" the asari trailed off. She had been about to say 'was', and the word carried so much weight that she couldn't utter it. She didn't want to talk about Prathus right then. It was too hard to discuss his loss. "W-What is on your mind, Rachel?" she changed the subject.

"I'm sorry if this isn't the right time," the blonde began.

"Just tell me," Illitha's tone was flat. _I just want to sleep. Say it and go. Please._

"Me, Zaeed, Corporal Rivera and Detective Kilpatrick were talking about the offensive that's being put together in Dotterstown," Rachel said softly, leaning against the wall. "Your friend Selura came up with a brilliant idea about the possible goal of the offensive, and if she's right, this really needs to work…"

Illitha remained silent, waiting for the blonde to continue.

"Uh…" Rachel seemed to grow uncomfortable with the silence. She had obviously been waiting for Illitha to ask a question. "We… We think it's going to be an attempt to take the embassy there. There is a QEC there that links directly to Alliance command and the Citadel. It could be our only chance to get a request for help off world."

"I understand," Illitha said softly. "Whatever you all decide will be fine with me…"

"Illitha," the blonde frowned and stood away from the wall, shuffling her feet nervously.

_Goddess… Just say what you have to say and go…_

"You're the Spectre here," the blonde finally murmured. "Zaeed and I would be happy to take the reins and let you and your friends grieve like you deserve. But… The people we've picked up along the way… the soldiers and especially the security guys and the civilians… they want the Spectre involved in the planning."

Illitha closed her eyes and sighed wearily. _I am not a Spectre. Why does this stupid lie have to continue to haunt me? If these people knew the truth… Maybe now is the time to tell them. Let someone else be in charge. I do not care anymore._

Unfortunately for the asari, even as she thought those final words, she knew in her heart that they weren't true. She _wanted_ not to care anymore. But she did. There were people that trusted her. Whether she deserved it or not, people looked up to her. It may have been a lie that caused her to inspire people, but she inspired them just the same. She resented it, but she knew they needed it. Still, she was angry at their insistence on disturbing her recovery and her grief, and she had a few things to say to these people. Maybe it was her upset guiding her actions, but if she lost their support because of her anger, she didn't particularly care at the moment.

"Help me up," she finally said.

"No, that wasn't what I meant," the blonde protested. "We can move the discussion in here-"

"And risk disturbing the captain's rest? No," the asari shook her head. "Help me up."

"You just underwent surgery," Rachel shook her head. "You're not getting out of that-"

"Help me up so I can keep the wounds from reopening, or I will climb out of this bed myself, consequences be damned," Illitha snapped.

Rachel seemed taken aback by the asari's attitude and her rare display of temper, but she also apparently took her at her word, because she hurried over and carefully slipped an arm around her lower back, slowly assisting her to her feet and helping her to keep her back straight so that she wouldn't risk tearing the wounds.

"The doctor won't like this," Rachel warned.

"Spectres apparently do not have time to be injured," Illitha muttered. _Or grieve… _She knew she was behaving like a child, but if these people wanted to treat her like some mystical heroine whose sole purpose was to save them, she would play the part. She did her best to keep her body rigid, leaning on Rachel as she staggered along.

The instant she stepped into the room where the others had gathered, all eyes came to rest upon her. The doctor immediately hurried over to support her from the other side, frowning angrily.

"You are in no condition to be out of bed. We have to return you to the infirmary-"

"No," Illitha said the word forcefully, and glared at the people assembled in the room. Not only were the four people Rachel had mentioned present, but there were a few civilians, Jay and Elliot, and several other soldiers and security personnel. "A-Apparently, I cannot be allowed to rest. It seems that this colony's security and military cannot work together without the Spectre being present to oversee every detail. The fact that I just lost a dear friend and underwent surgery apparently means nothing…"

"Illitha..." Rachel frowned.

"I am here. You all wanted me here, I am here. So either discuss whatever it was so vital I be here to discuss, or deal with it yourselves…" Illitha continued to glare at the assembled group, and saw several faces flush with shame. Most of the people present suddenly looked uncomfortable. Only Zaeed remained apparently unfazed, staring at her with an unreadable expression.

"Well?" she prompted when no one said anything.

Detective Kilpatrick cleared his throat before speaking. "Dotterstown is too far from us to walk the distance, especially if we have to wait a few days for your injuries to heal as the doctor tells us," he began.

"I apologize if my injuries are an inconvenience to you," Illitha snapped. _You are being a child, Illitha… Stop it._

"I think what he's getting at," Corporal Rivera took over, "is that we need to get the shuttle up and running before we can head over to the nav-point to meet up with the Alliance forces that are gathering for the assault."

"I am in no condition to perform the repairs," Illitha shook her head. "There… I believe there is an engineer among the Alliance ranks. Have him start working on it."

"He is," the corporal assured her. "But one shuttle will never carry thirty of us at once. We would have to make multiple trips, increasing the risk of running into Reaper air forces. Zaeed had an idea, and we were discussing it."

"I interrogated the Cerberus commander," Zaeed informed her. "But you really didn't need to be here to discuss it."

"I know," Illitha agreed with a scowl. She knew she'd made her point, but really couldn't help reiterating it. These people were soldiers and security. They were capable of planning and fighting without the help of a Spectre. She wondered how they would react if they found out now that she was just an engineer.

"Cerberus has a shuttle and a ship, as you know," Zaeed continued. "Their shuttle isn't too far from here, guarded by a single pilot and one escort. While the Alliance works on getting the shuttle here repaired, I want to take a team and go seize the second shuttle. We need it."

"I… It… S-Seems reasonable to me," Illitha's gaze swept over the rest of the group. "So what is the problem?"

No one seemed to want to speak. Illitha realized as she looked at the faces of the gathered men, that they really hadn't needed her at all. They just wanted the reassurance that the Spectre approved of the plan and was going to continue to fight with them… The smoldering anger that had filled her since Rachel told her that the people wanted her involved ignited into an inferno. Her hands clenched into fists, and she had to force herself to calm down and keep from screaming at them all. She swallowed and kept her voice as even and calm as possible, though she couldn't keep the iciness from her gaze.

"This man is a mercenary with a great deal of experience," she told them. "I understand that when you all hear the title 'Spectre', you think of the propaganda. The finest the galaxy has to offer, right hand of the Council, and so forth…" she swallowed. "B-But I am really just an outsider, fighting to do what she thinks is right. You cannot rely on me to do everything for you. This is _your_ colony. Y-You need to come together, work with your fellows, and f-fight to keep it. I am not infallible, obviously," she gestured to the medigel plastered over her side where the shirt had been cut away. "If I die, does that mean you lose the war?"

"Military and security forces, even many civilian governments have a command structure," she reminded them. "Corporal," she turned her gaze upon Jorge Rivera, "Y-You are the highest-ranking soldier left here. That means you are in charge of the Alliance forces. Detective," she shifted her gaze to Kilpatrick, "If I am not mistaken, your title makes you the highest-ranking member of your security forces present… Zaeed and I are not part of your command structure. Why do you look to us to lead you?"

"You're a Spectre," Corporal Rivera said simply. "That makes you the ideal candidate to lead."

Illitha sighed. "Y-You are missing my point. You served under a commanding officer, yes?"

"Of course," the corporal nodded.

"So if your commanding officer was not present, then who was in charge of the men with you?"

"I was," the man said, a bit more softly.

"I-If you want to look to me to lead, that… it…" she swallowed and checked the urge to sigh again, "that is fine. But you must continue to operate as a military organization, all of you. There is a command structure in place… use it. I-If I am busy or indisposed, look to Zaeed. He is a skilled soldier with a wealth of experience. If neither of us is present, use your own command structure. Report to us if a decision impacts the whole group, but exercise some independent thought… You have brains. Use them."

Illitha looked at the thoughtful expressions on some of the men's faces, and she thought that she might finally have made her point, even if she had been forced to once again cement herself in the role of leader to do it.

"A Spectre could be stepped on by a Reaper as easily as anyone else," Illitha said softly. "Y-You cannot look to me as your sole chance of winning this war. Victory… It w-will require all of us, working together."

"Understood, Spectre," the corporal saluted. Several of the other men in the room were nodding their heads.

"W-We need to get the shuttle working. We need to restore power to key areas of this complex. A-And we need to seize that second shuttle," Illitha reminded them. "Corporal, Detective," she looked at each man in turn, "Please… R-Report to me once a day each to keep me updated, and… and come to me at…" she activated her omni-tool and checked the local time, "…27:30, so that we can cement the command structure. But other than that, I w-will ask that you all give me the time I need to rest and to mourn the loss of my friend. Please."

"Aye aye," the corporal nodded.

Illitha saw the Detective nod his head as well, and she looked around at the others, waiting for a moment to see if anyone else had anything to say. When no one spoke, she glanced at Rachel, who turned and started assisting her from the room without having to be asked.

Once they were out in the hall, the blonde sighed.

"Was it really necessary to lay that kind of guilt trip on them all? They were just scared. They wanted reassurance…"

"They are soldiers and security officers," Illitha corrected. "Other people look to them for protection. They should not be looking to me. Th-They did not even need me. I had no input to give on the things they were discussing, nor could I help them accomplish it."

"Well, you made some fine points," Rachel admitted. "But I really don't think you had to take your anger out on them. I could have just told them you wanted to be left alone to recover…"

"No," Illitha shook her head. "Apparently, it needed to come from me."

"You were wrong about one thing, though," Rachel told her.

"I was? What?"

"Corporal Rivera isn't the highest-ranking member of the Alliance left in our ranks."

"Really?" Illitha was surprised. "I-I was not aware we had anyone with a higher rank left. Who is it?"

"Doctor Tillman carries the rank of lieutenant."

Illitha's brows rose. She hadn't been aware that Alliance doctors were actually part of the military command structure. She had always assumed they were just civilian medical personnel that happened to work in Alliance bases.

"Putting a solid command structure into place isn't a bad idea though," Rachel admitted. "Organizing the men into units couldn't hurt either. At the moment, I don't think there's more than two men from any single unit in our group."

Illitha nodded slowly. She hadn't really considered that. But it was, she supposed, just a product of her ignorance in matters of military operation. As Rachel helped her get settled into her bed, she mulled over the idea, adding up the numbers in her head. She had ten surviving marines, seven security personnel, one engineer, one doctor, and five civilians… not including herself, her friends, or Zaeed. Perhaps organizing them into defined squads would help to put the soldiers in a more comfortable structure, would help the combat-willing civilians feel like they belonged, and would allow them to more easily delegate tasks under pressure…

"Could you come back at 26:30 local time?" Illitha asked once she was settled in her bed. "I… I would like your help in organizing the men into functional units. I… I do not know much about military operations. But I would like to be able to present the squad rosters at the meeting with the men at 27:30."

"Of course, Spectre," Rachel said softly. "Until then, take the time that you need for yourself. I'll see to it that you aren't disturbed until the meeting. Except by the doctor, of course," the blonde smiled.

"Thank you."

When the human left the room behind, Illitha sighed. While she had asked to be left alone to recover and to grieve, the truth was, as soon as she was alone in the silence of the infirmary once again, the ache in her heart returned to plague her full-force. While she'd been yelling at the men, that ache had faded to a tolerable level. She knew it would probably never go away completely, but she was starting to think that perhaps she needed to keep herself occupied just the same.

To that end, she activated her omni-tool and deployed Crawler. Using the remote feed to guide the drone, she started sending it around the facility, capturing images of the various people in the complex and storing them in the drone's memory banks as friendly forces. When she deployed the drone in the future, she wanted to be able to simply tell it to attack without having to designate friendly targets first. And while she worked on that, she started thinking of other projects to keep herself busy. There were many small things that could be done.

.

* * *

.

**Author's Note: The most important thing, as always, is to convey my sincere thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited/followed or otherwise given any attention at all to this story. Though I've been struggling with time management of late, I am doing my very best to keep on schedule so that I can hopefully continue to entertain those of you who regularly come back to read more. It means a lot to know I'm keeping some people interested, and I'm doing my best to keep it up. :)**

**I know the overall tone of this Chapter is somber, but I really felt that the aftermath of Prathus's death was something that couldn't be glossed over. Plus, after all the excitement of dealing with Cerberus and the conflict with Salik in the past few Chapters, a little downtime for the characters to sort out their feelings was necessary. Hopefully it all worked. Grief for lost loved ones is always a tricky subject to tackle, and I spent a lot of time agonizing over this Chapter and parts of the next in an effort to get it all just right.**

**Also, several people have mentioned Aida's conspicuous absense from the story of late. As I've said in PMs responding to questions about her, unfortunately there is only so much that can happen to a person trapped in a cell with no one to talk to. But I promise, I haven't forgotten her, and while my no-spoiler policy prevents me from promising she will be in the next Chapter specifically, I can promise that she does make an appearance again before long. Please just hang in there a little longer. :)**

**Unless something unexpected comes up in the near future, my next update should be next Tuesday morning. So until then, I hope everyone has a great weekend! And thanks again for reading!**


	53. Chapter 53: Comfort

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Fifty-Three: Comfort

.

**Archive Chamber, Prothean Ruin…**

A moan of contentment passed Illitha's lips as she stood beneath the stream of cool water, letting weeks of accumulated dirt and grime wash away from her skin. The doctor had done her best to clean the asari up during the few days prior while she was confined to her bed in the infirmary, but it just wasn't the same as an actual shower. And in that moment, as she let the water run over her head, she was more thankful than she could say that she had saved the civilians from the Reapers at the remains of F.O.B. Alpha-5.

Not that she ever regretted saving them. She had been happy to do it. But when she'd been informed that one of them, a water filtration technician by trade, had constructed a filtration system and shower using some of the Cerberus tech they'd captured, she had been ecstatic. She hadn't been able to truly bathe in weeks… she'd been limited to washing important bits with water from her canteen during the rare moments when she could find a little privacy. But given the scarcity of fresh water while she was in the city, those opportunities had been few and far between. It was better to drink the water than wash with it. Truth be told, she'd started to feel absolutely wretched as a result of the built-up grime.

It was an ingenious little system the young woman had constructed. The walls of the stall had been formed from a patchwork of pieces from Cerberus crates, and the filtration system had been more-or-less preassembled… Cerberus needed to drink like everyone else. A series of tubes and a suction pump pulled water out of the brackish moat that surrounded the Prothean archive, heating it and filtering the impurities out of it before spraying it into the stall. Pre-existing holes in the walkway that encircled the archive allowed the water to drain away naturally.

Stacks of crates had been piled around the area to provide privacy for people to dress and undress, and a Cerberus generator and portable lighting unit outside the stall provided light to the area. Although it was a little awkward at first for the asari to hear so many people milling around in the same room where she was bathing, once the water started pouring over her, any embarrassment instantly fled.

It had been four days since Prathus's death, and while the pain of that loss had not faded in the slightest, the pain of the asari's wounds had dulled considerably. With the regenerative stims pumped into her system and a few days of bed rest, the injuries were well on their way to healing. Another day or perhaps two would see her fully recovered. It was a relief to have the benefits of proper medical treatment available once again. Already, the small shrapnel wounds all over her body were gone… not even scars remained. Only the stab wound in her forearm and the gunshot that had pierced her abdomen still bothered her at all.

The captain remained comatose, but the doctor had repeatedly assured Illitha that the elder asari's wounds were healing nicely. Scans showed healthy brain activity, and the expectation was that the former commando would wake at any moment. Given how close the captain had come to death, it was as favorable an outcome as anyone could have expected. Illitha was desperate to see her captain's eyes open again. She'd been without the guidance of someone with experience for so long, and it would be a tremendous relief once she had that stabilizing force in her life once again. She was just trying to figure out how to pass command to her employer without it seeming out-of-place to the people following her.

"Illitha?"

Rachel's voice came from just outside the shower stall, and the asari gasped, reflexively drawing her arms in close to her body, hiding herself as best she could. Even though the shower had a solid door to hide her from view, she just couldn't help her instinctual response in that situation.

"Uh… y-yes?" she called out. She had the sinking feeling that if the blonde was interrupting her shower, something bad had happened.

"Private Rowan says there's nothing he can do," the blonde reported.

Illitha's shoulders sagged, and she nodded slowly. She had expected as much. While the surviving Alliance engineer was becoming an expert at improvising and repurposing all sorts of tech to suit their needs, there were some tasks they just didn't have the right materials to accomplish. As an engineer herself, Illitha understood that sometimes a result was simply unattainable.

"He's really sorry," Rachel continued, "but he says we just don't have wiring that will stand up to the current that the reactor puts out. At least not without excavating walls all over the ruin to find the main line in the outlying areas…"

"That would take weeks," Illitha shook her head. "He… I… Tell him I appreciate his efforts."

"Aye aye, Spectre," Illitha could hear the blonde's grin in her tone. She always grinned when using that particular title.

"What about… M-Mick?" she hoped she'd gotten the name right. She'd done her best to memorize the names and faces of everyone that was now essentially under her command, but she was still mixing them up from time to time, especially in regard to the security personnel they'd rescued from Calitori Crater. She knew she wouldn't have that problem after she'd had a chance to talk to them all in person, but since she had been working from a datapad with names, photos and dry statistics about her people, it had all started to blur together.

_I will have to walk around and talk to everyone once I am finished bathing… Then I will not have this issue anymore._

"Last update I got from him said he's making progress. But the shuttle engines aren't yet running. Should I send Private Rowan up to give him a hand?"

"No," Illitha made her decision quickly. "L-Let him know he can have support if he needs it. But give him the opportunity to make good on his offer. I-I do not want him to feel as though we have no confidence in his abilities."

"Okay. I'll pass along the message. What do you want Rowan doing in the meantime?"

"I… H-have him break into the encryption on the omni-tools we collected from the b-bodies of the Cerberus troops. Wipe their memory cores and g-give one to Jay, Elliot, and anyone else who doesn't already have one."

"We should set up a handful of squad channels and two or three for your entire command too," Rachel suggested. "Quick communications presets that we can access by voice command in combat…"

"That is a good idea," Illitha nodded. Inwardly, she sighed. _My command… What did I ever do to deserve a command? I lied…_ She shook her head in disgust. However, the talk of communications brought another idea to mind. "W-When he is finished with the omni-tools, give him my helm and ask him to install an internal earpiece and microphone so that I can communicate without the need to activate my omni's systems."

"Aye aye, Spectre," she could tell by the audible rap of a boot against the walkway and the sharp whoosh of cloth quickly changing configuration that the blonde had saluted.

Illitha shook her head again, though this time she couldn't help smiling. She wasn't sure what she would have done had Rachel not been with her through the entire odyssey of the war to date. Thinking of all the support the blonde had given her helped her to push her misgivings over command to the back of her mind. She found herself blushing instead as her thoughts turned to more romantic areas regarding the young human, and reprimanded herself for letting her imagination shift in that direction. Rachel was a wonderful friend. But she was not interested in more.

She was just losing herself once again in the soothing coolness of the water cascading over her when the sound of heavy boots caught her attention, and a gravelly voice interrupted her relaxation.

"Hey asari…"

Illitha's eyes narrowed at both the sound of the mercenary's voice and the chosen form of address. _During my shower? Seriously? Can these reports not wait until I am dressed and elsewhere?_ She could forgive Rachel for the interruption, but she could also admit that in the blonde's case, it was largely due to her admiration for the girl that she hadn't been so upset the first time.

"What is it?" she asked with a sigh.

"We have a complete success on the op," Zaeed reported. "They never saw us coming. One working Cerberus shuttle is now parked outside. Plus a half-dozen modified Mattock rifles, a case of proximity mines, a case of grenades and two Cerberus automated turrets that were stowed in the deployment racks."

"Modified rifles? Modified how?"

"They've been converted for fully-automatic fire. But the Mattock was definitely the baseline design. Current registry information embedded in the reader chip calls them 'Harrier' rifles."

"W-Why were the Cerberus troops not using them?" Illitha wondered aloud.

"They were, as it turns out," Zaeed answered her. "I checked the weapons we rounded up from the dead. There are a handful of them mixed in with the Mattocks. It's just a guess, but from the numbers, I think the base troopers were armed with Mattocks, and the ones in the heavy armor were carrying these Harriers."

"Then you sh-should take one for yourself… and w-would you please distribute the others to Rachel, Rivera, Mills, Kilpatrick, and… w-whoever else needs them?" she faltered on any more names. She would have preferred they be given to everyone, but doubted there were enough. The four she had mentioned were the chosen leaders of the four squads she had organized with Rachel's help. She couldn't decide who else should be given better weapons.

"I'll stick with my Mattock," Zaeed muttered. "But I'll see that the right people get the Harriers."

"Thank you."

"One more thing," Zaeed's voice dropped a little. "I have an omni here that I took from the bastard in charge of Cerberus. You're the one that hacks Reaper code without breaking a goddamn sweat. I don't want anyone else trying to break the encryption on it. I'll leave it on this crate."

"What do you hope to find?" Illitha had to ask.

"At the very least, transmission frequencies to contact the Cerberus ship in the system and access codes to their mainframe. Hopefully more information on their ops in the area, but we'll need the first two at the very least if we expect to take that damned ship without them blowing us out of the stars on approach…"

Illitha nodded slowly. It made perfect sense to her, and she'd never even considered it. She sighed. She definitely needed people advising her who had some measure of military training and know-how. Had it been up to her to plan, she would have simply flown out there and tried to dock with the ship by bluffing them on the radio. If Cerberus had an access code requirement or the like, her plan would have seen them destroyed on approach.

Despite this grim realization, as the sound of the mercenary's bootsteps receded, Illitha found herself smiling. While she didn't particularly like Zaeed's attitude and found his intensity a little intimidating, there was one thing she had come to like about dealing with the man. He bristled when she said anything that could be interpreted as her giving him an order, and so she was forced to _ask_ him to do things, like she would have done if she were still just a humble engineer. She enjoyed being able to drop her 'Spectre and Leader' persona now and then, even if it was only with one or two specific people.

She stepped back half a step, closing her eyes and letting the water cascade over her head. She knew she had gone well over the allotted time for her shower, but she doubted anyone would begrudge her the extra minutes. No one had complained when Rachel was in the same position… largely because both of them had been without a shower for weeks. She had truly needed this chance for relaxation…

"Spectre?" An unfamiliar voice from outside the shower interrupted her again.

_Really?_ The asari put a hand to her head, trying to suppress her growing irritation. There were many prices of command, it seemed…

* * *

**Workroom, Prothean Ruins…**

Selura watched as the dark-haired human she had come to know as Kaylee entered the room, together with another woman the asari didn't recognize. Between the two of them, they carried a Cerberus crate filled with what looked like black sand. They placed the crate next to the asari, and Kaylee thanked her companion, sending the girl on her way before turning to face the scientist. Selura regarded the woman with a smile, reaching down and dipping her hand into the rough, almost crystalline material. It felt more like a huge tub of salt than sand to the touch.

Selura had been hard at work for days on Neela's new suit, and had the full body suit finished… minus the armoring. That could come later. She was in the process of assembling filtration elements for the mask, using Neela's original as a guide. She'd been happy to see that Cerberus hadn't destroyed the things they'd taken from her when she was captured.

Over the past few days, she'd spent most of her time working on the suit or spending time by Neela's side. However, when she needed a break and Neela wanted to be alone, she had spent some time talking to the civilians for distraction. This was how she first encountered Kaylee Willis, a geologist that had come in with the group Illitha had rescued from Calitori Crater. While they had been talking, the subject had naturally turned to Neela and her suit… the quarian was the subject of many curious stares and questions among the civilians. Selura had confided her lack of ideas in regard to the problem of building Neela's helmet, and the human woman had offered a solution.

"So this is it?" Selura asked.

"This is it," Kaylee nodded. "It has a silicate structure not unlike actual sand, and when subjected to extreme heat, it melts into a thick, gelatinous material and then crystallizes as it cools. Pockets of it are found in mountains all over Terra Nova. It wasn't hard to dig up."

"Pun intended," Selura snickered at the joke, and the woman's grin told her she was correct.

"There's more in that natural cavern right outside the first door in the ruin if you need it. Melt a bunch of it in a tray or pan, press the mask into it once it's all liquefied, and let it cool. It'll work as a mold. I promise."

"I cannot thank you enough," Selura smiled at the woman. "And Neela will be grateful as well."

"How is she doing?"

"She is… struggling," Selura said softly, her expression clouding with worry. "Prathus was like family to her. It has not been easy. Especially while she has been cooped up in that isolation pod with everyone staring at her…"

"At least you solved that problem," Kaylee pointed out.

Selura nodded. After having children staring at the quarian for the better part of a day, she had seen Neela's agitation growing in leaps and bounds. So she had paused in her work long enough to finish cutting apart the brake assemblies on the pod, and had wheeled Neela into the infirmary, where she could enjoy some privacy.

"Thank you again," Selura reiterated, bending and lifting the crate up onto the table. She was relieved to be able to work without pain once again. After the dose of regenerative medication the doctor had given her, the last of the ache in her arm had faded, and the wounds in her abdomen were gone. She was uninjured for the first time since arriving on Terra Nova. Were it not for Neela's suffering, she would have been happy.

"I'll leave you to your work," Kaylee offered, waving as she stepped out of the room.

Selura smiled at the woman's departure, and started looking around for something heat-resistant that she could use as a melting pot for the silicate material. Her newly-claimed omni-tool had been uploaded with incineration tech – something Illitha had insisted they all have at their disposal – and she knew that the heat of such blasts would be enough to melt the material, but only if she could find a container that wouldn't melt first.

She would have to check on Neela soon, she knew. The quarian had been terribly closed off since Prathus's death, and it hurt the young scientist to be kept at arm's length by the woman she loved. It was clear that Neela was in pain, but Selura had no idea how to help her. She had been afraid over the past couple of days that Neela might decide to break off their relationship. It was painfully obvious that the quarian was struggling over the loss of her friend, and Selura feared that she would decide to distance herself from everyone else to avoid the pain of losing more people she loved. Selura was almost desperate to finish Neela's suit, if only so that she could hold her and try to bring down the wall Neela had put up between them.

A loud tapping upon the stonework of the ruined door startled her out of her search, and she whirled around to face her visitor. She found the teenage boy, Elliot, standing in the gaping hole in the door, grinning at her.

"It's here," the boy announced.

Selura grinned. She had no need to ask what it was that the boy was talking about. She'd spoken with him, and learned that his brother was going with Zaeed as part of the team that was seizing the Cerberus shuttle. She intended to make use of the shuttle's environmental seals and decontamination equipment, to allow Neela to get out of her isolation pod. This would also be her chance to get Neela into her new suit. She just needed to finish the mask. A few hours, and maybe Neela would be free of the pod's confines…

_I just hope it cheers her up a bit…_

* * *

**Reaper Facility, Southern Scott…**

_Yes, yes… There it is…_

Aida stared intently at the barely-visible seam running the length of one of the cell's walls, and she found herself grinning at the tiny gap she saw there. She looked around frantically for something that she could jam into that miniscule opening… something long enough to be used as a lever to pry it open. She had no idea what had driven her to begin studying that wall, but she was glad she'd followed her instincts. The whispers in the shadows grew just a tiny bit louder as she sought something… anything… that she could use to enact her escape.

Above her, she spotted a series of long, thin bars upon the ceiling, forming a sort of grate that hung down about a centimeter from the surface over her head. She had often wondered what the purpose of the bars was, as there was no opening for them to cover, and no sign of any other need for them. She leapt and tried to grab them, only managing to finally catch hold of one after several tries. The one she grabbed immediately bent and snapped free of its moorings under her weight, and she crashed to the floor, wincing at the impact.

Once she recovered from the unexpected fall, she turned the broken object over in her hands, staring at it in wonder. It was lighter than she expected, and wasn't a bar at all. It was a hollow section of tubing, with small holes in one side of it. Looking up, she could see the tubing disappear through the ceiling.

_It is some sort of dispersal system. It is meant to spray something into the room. Perhaps sanitizer, after the Reapers have executed the occupant… Would they care about sanitation?_

The thought was grim, but Aida was ecstatic. That had worked better than she had ever dared hope. For the first time in… she didn't even know how long she'd been stuck in that cell… but for the first time, she felt hope. She placed the tubing on the ground and stomped on one end repeatedly, flattening out the material as much as she was able. Then she picked it up, her hands shaking with excitement… or perhaps as a result of hunger… and returned to the wall. She carefully worked the flattened end into the gap in the surface, and then pulled on the tubing with all of her might, trying to pry the door open. It was a desperate plan, but somehow, she knew it would work. She _knew_ she would be able to get out. And once she did, she would escape from the facility or would die trying…

She worked at her task until she was horribly overheated and her mouth was dry. The tubing was slowly being twisted into a shape that no longer resembled its original form by the pressure placed on it. However, after what seemed like an eternity, there was a sudden, loud crack, and the entire wall shifted outward several inches. The sudden widening of the gap caused Aida's makeshift lever to pop free of its place, and Aida fell backward, striking her head upon the floor. She rolled over with a groan, clutching the back of her head in agony, but the pain only slowed her down for a moment.

_It worked!_

She scrambled to her feet and over to the opening, and she could see a dimly-lit hallway outside. She braced her shoulder against the door and shoved with all of her might, slowly forcing it open until she could squeeze herself through. When she stumbled out into the hallway, she had to resist the urge to cheer. Instead, she pressed against the wall, looking up and down the corridor for signs of hostile figures.

_I guess they never thought anyone could escape from their jail_…She grinned at the thought.

Since she had no idea which way would lead to an exit, she just chose a direction and started walking, trying to shut out the sounds of crying, muttering and screaming from the cells around her. She couldn't afford to let everyone out, though she was sure in days past she would have done so. Now… she just couldn't risk it. She had a better chance of getting out alone, or with a very small group. Fortunately, as had been the case with her cell, there were no windows in the doors of any of the cells flanking the hall, so she didn't have to see the suffering of the humans around her… or worry that they would see her and draw the Reapers' attention by screaming for help.

She was halfway down the corridor when she passed a cell and heard someone whimpering inside. She wasn't sure why, but the sound instantly brought her to a halt.

_Candice…_

She paused and studied the access panel beside the cell door. After pressing a button experimentally, she was delighted to find that there was no security code enabled or ID scanner to bar access.

_The Reapers are overconfident_, she realized. _They never expected anyone to get free. There is nothing to prevent the cells from being opened from outside…_

She quickly hit the release trigger, and the cell door snapped open. The interior of the cell was illuminated only by a dim red light, just like in her own cell, but she could immediately see the small figure curled up at the far corner of the cell, staring fearfully toward the opening. When the girl saw her, her eyes widened, and she scrambled to her feet.

"Aida!" the girl shrieked, throwing her arms around her.

"Shhhh…" Aida admonished. "I am getting us both out of this place. But you have to be quiet and do exactly what I tell you…"

Candice nodded slowly, and Aida took the girl's hand, leading the way down the corridor and around the corner. She chose their path solely on instinct, since she'd been unconscious when she was brought into the cell block, or whatever this section was called. She simply had to assume that if she wandered around long enough without getting caught, she would find an exit.

Halfway down the new corridor, a sound once again brought her up short. She could hear someone muttering in a cell as they passed, along with a scraping sound that suggested someone was trying to pry the door open. While she still felt that it would be foolish to free too many people and risk having someone alert the Reapers to an escape, she felt compelled to open that particular cell. One more person could be a big help if they ran into trouble, and there was definitely something metallic scraping against the door, suggesting that whoever was inside was smart enough to figure out how to get free. Candice certainly wouldn't be of any use in fighting off Reapers… Perhaps the person beyond that door would. She hit the release for the cell, and the door popped open.

A figure rushed out of the cell and drove her back into the wall, drawing a fearful shriek from Candice, who was knocked down by her assailant's rush. Aida winced when the man slammed her into the surface, and raised her arms in a gesture of defense when she saw his hand drawn back, and spotted the dark piece of tubing in his grasp.

The blow never fell. "Aida?" the man asked in bewilderment.

Aida slowly opened her eyes and lowered her arms, staring at the bruised face of the man in wonder. "Harper?" She had never expected to see the Alliance soldier again. But she had to smile at her luck. What were the odds that she would free the same man that had been with her on the transport that brought them here? And a trained soldier, no less.

"How did you get out?" Harper asked.

"The same way you were trying," Aida pointed to the section of tubing in his hands. He had obviously torn it free the same way she had.

"Then it worked," Harper smiled. "I _knew _it would work."

Candice grabbed Aida's hand, and the asari smiled down at her reassuringly. Now she knew, beyond any shadow of doubt that they would manage to escape this place. They just had to be careful and take their time. Harper took the lead, and Aida was happy to follow him, keeping the little blonde girl close by her side.

Once they left the cell block behind and moved into other areas of the facility, they were forced on more than one occasion to duck into doorways or around corners to hide from passing Reaper troops. Aida even thought at one point that they were about to be spotted, as a husk passing through an adjoining corridor had stopped and stiffened, as if it had heard them or somehow detected them. After a moment, however, the creature simply resumed its original path.

Eventually they reached a door, which when opened, subjected them to the most awful stench of decay and rot Aida had ever experienced. She felt bile rise in her throat, and had to choke back the urge to cough, covering her mouth and nose with her hand in an attempt to block out the smell. Beside her, Candice did the same thing with both hands. Slowly, the three of them stepped through the door and out onto an open balcony overlooking a vast room below. Drawn perhaps by morbid curiosity, Aida stepped forward and looked over the rail into the area beneath them. She immediately wished that she hadn't.

The room was filled with bodies. Piles of corpses were arranged throughout the chamber, and living humans were working to load the bodies onto conveyors, which carried the cadavers into areas Aida couldn't see from her vantage. Her stomach heaved at the sight, and combined with the stench that her hand could not block from her senses, she was forced to turn away. She would have vomited, but as she hadn't been given food during the solitary portion of her imprisonment, there was nothing for her stomach to expel. Gagging, she looked around for some sign of an exit, refusing to even consider descending to the dreadful slaughterhouse below.

"There," she choked out the word, pointing across the room. There was a large exhaust port embedded in the wall about even with their current position, and it seemed the most likely place to find a direct exit from the facility. It had to lead somewhere, and it wasn't covered by a grate or fan…

Harper followed her gaze, and he nodded slowly. There was a very thin ledge that ran along the perimeter of the room, and even before he suggested it, Aida already knew what he was thinking. It would be a terrifying journey… the ledge was perhaps ten centimeters deep at most… and if they fell, the drop would surely kill them. But at least a fall would spare them the possibility of recapture and a return to confinement and inevitable execution.

"We can use the ledge," Harper finally suggested. "Follow me. And take it slow. If any of us falls, the Reapers will spot the rest of us for sure…"

Aida nodded, glancing at Candice uncertainly. She expected the girl to argue or protest, but instead, the diminutive blonde simply nodded, taking the asari's hand and squeezing it tightly. Harper carefully climbed over the railing of the balcony and edged his way out onto the ledge, his back pressed against the wall. Then he carefully shuffled along the ledge, making slow but steady progress. Aida climbed over next, and then paused on the other side of the rail and turned around carefully to face the child.

"Hold onto my hand, okay?" she urged. "I will not let you fall. I promise."

Candice nodded, and the child carefully climbed over the railing, waiting there while Aida eased herself onto the ledge. Once she was sure she had her footing, she reached out for Candice's hand. With the child gripping her hand firmly, they started working their way along the ledge together. It was a terrifying trip, and Aida had to stop more than once to assure herself of her footing when dizziness assailed her. But every centimeter closer to the exhaust vent she drew bolstered her hopes of escape. She just wanted to leave this horrible place behind, find her friends, and tell her captain exactly how she felt about her.

She did have a brief moment of uncertainty. It struck her as odd that the exhaust vent had no grating or enclosure to cover it, just as it seemed they had been able to avoid notice too easily. But she wasn't about to question their good fortune. She _knew_ they were about to find their way to freedom, and for that, she would take every blessing the Goddess could grant her.

She was finally going to get out.

* * *

**Cerberus Shuttle Alpha, Dig Site Theta-129…**

Neela shifted uncomfortably in the isolation pod as the quartet of soldiers pushed the pod up the ramp into the Cerberus shuttle. The four men were sweating profusely, and she had heard a good deal of swearing and grunting over the last fifteen minutes as they worked to carry the pod up the stairs from the lower levels of the Prothean ruin and guide it outside. Her eyes shifted to Selura, who was standing nearby with a small crate in her hands, looking more excited than she had seen her since before their departure from the hospital in the gorge.

The quarian had guessed from the beginning what their destination would be. She had heard about the capture of a second shuttle, and from the moment Selura entered the infirmary, she knew that they would be going to the vehicle. It had decontamination systems and would give them a measure of privacy. It was sweet of the scientist to look for time alone with her, and she had to admit it would be wonderful to get out of the pod for a little while… but to put these poor soldiers through the ordeal of carrying the heavy isolation vehicle up the stairs and then down again later… she wasn't sure it was worth it.

Neela closed her eyes and sighed. She was still struggling to accept the fact that Prathus was dead. It seemed so unreal. And the pain she felt over the loss was all-consuming. Selura had been wonderful to her while she grieved, but she just didn't have the energy to even thank her girlfriend for the attention and support. She couldn't feel anything but heartache and loss. She would have given anything for a reprieve. Something to take her mind away from the ceaseless misery in which she was mired…

"Thank you all," she heard Selura say as she bid the soldiers farewell.

Neela sighed and wiped her eyes, watching while the asari climbed the ramp and set the crate she carried on the bench, snapping open the lid and putting it aside. Once the crate was open, she hit the panel to close the door and start the decontamination cycle. Neela tried to offer the girl a smile, but she knew that her heart wasn't behind it. The dullness of her smile didn't seem to bother Selura in the least, however, as the asari kept grinning like a child on her birthday.

"Uh… Before we open your pod, I have to ask," the corner of the asari's lips curled upward. "What is the count on the number of times you are going to hit me? Should I lock myself in the cockpit for protection?"

"No," was all Neela said. She knew Selura was trying to make her smile, but she wasn't in a particularly jovial mood. The fact that the asari's smile faded didn't help Neela to feel any better.

_She doesn't deserve to be treated like this, _Neela reprimanded herself. _She's only trying to help._

She reached up and grabbed the emergency release handle, giving it a quick jerk to snap the canopy open. Even though she knew the interior of the shuttle was now sterile, she winced when she heard the hiss resulting from the loss of the pressure seal. Selura stepped forward to help lift the canopy to the side, and as soon as the glass was swiveled out of position, the asari was quick to grab hold of Neela's hand. Neela laced her fingers with those of her girlfriend, drawing an immense amount of comfort from that simple contact. Their hands didn't fit together properly due to the differing number of fingers, but holding the asari's hand still felt undeniably right.

"I'm sorry," Neela said simply.

"You do not have to apologize," Selura was quick to assure her. "I understand. You lost someone you care about. I know that hurts."

"You don't deserve to be ignored and pushed away just because I am unhappy," Neela persisted. She felt she owed her girlfriend a proper apology at least.

"It is fine," Selura assured her. But Neela could see in the girl's eyes that she had indeed been hurt by the recent coldness.

Neela managed a small smile, and saw the asari's smile blossom into something dazzling in response. She resisted the urge to shake her head.

_How did I ever get lucky enough to find her?_

"Thank you for bringing me out here," Neela murmured. "It will be nice to get out of this pod… even if it's only for a little while."

To her surprise, Selura's smile deepened at her words. The asari released her hold on her hand and turned, walking over to the crate she had been carrying when they entered the shuttle. Neela tried to get a look at the contents, curious for the first time as to what it held, but Selura's body was blocking her view.

"I brought a few things for you," the asari commented. "I had to open the crate before starting the decontamination cycle so that it would all be sterile and safe for your use. First, I brought this… for reasons I will explain momentarily," she announced, pulling a blanket from the interior of the crate and bringing it over.

Neela took the blanket, confused as to the reason for it. Terra Nova was a planet plagued by intense heat. Even though the interior of the shuttle was climate controlled, it was more than warm enough to do without a blanket. She watched the asari return to the crate, wondering what it was that she had up her sleeve.

"I also brought two meals," the asari announced, holding up two packages. "One for me, and one dextro-based entrée for the girl of my dreams," she added with a grin and a playful wink. Neela could feel herself blushing a little at the praise. "And two bottles of triple-filtered purified water. And last, but certainly not least…" the asari trailed off, reaching into the crate and glancing back over her shoulder.

Neela waited to see what would be coming out of the crate next, but Selura just stood there, grinning at her. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the quarian couldn't take any more.

"What is it?" she asked in exasperation. "Quit stalling, you bosh'tet!"

"_There_ is the girl I fell in love with," Selura laughed. "Welcome back!"

Neela had to smile in spite of herself. She shook her head in wonder. The asari always seemed to manage to brighten her mood somehow. It would take a lot more brightening before she would actually feel good, but it was a start.

"I have this," the scientist finally continued, and removed a garment from the interior of the crate.

At first, Neela didn't make the connection. It was a full body-suit that would cover a person up to the chin, and she could see hundreds of little metal points protruding from the kinetic padding from which the suit was made. It was only when she really started paying attention to the silhouette, and noted the narrowness of the waist, the width of the hips, and the shape of the boots connected to the garment that she realized what it was.

"It… You finished it?" she breathed the words.

"It may require some minor alterations once we get you into it, and I still need to melt down and mold some armoring to attach to these points of contact, but… yes," the asari's smile radiated her excitement.

"It looks wonderful," Neela's smile came a bit more easily now. It wasn't a quarian enviro-suit, but the fact that it was made by the hands of the woman she loved… and that it represented freedom from the isolation pod… both did wonders to improve her day. However, her smile fell after a moment. "But… without a helmet-"

As if she had been anticipating the words, Selura reached behind herself and pulled an almost perfect replica of Neela's old helmet out of the crate. The only difference she could see in the shape or appearance was that the new helmet's visor was only lightly tinted, more like those used by the Alliance soldiers. Neela's heart leapt. She didn't have to go back into the pod at all then…

"What do you think?" Selura watched her with a smile, but she could see a hint of anxiety in the girl's gaze.

"I think it looks fantastic, and I'm _endlessly_ grateful that you finished it," Neela smiled.

"Is it good enough to earn a kiss?" a teasing grin formed on the asari's lips.

Neela hesitated for the barest of moments. She truly was grateful that Selura had done so much work for her, and of course she loved her dearly, but she wasn't sure her grief would let her truly enjoy kissing her, and she really didn't want the asari's reward to be awkward due to her mixed feelings.

"Please?" the asari persisted, a playful pout replacing her grin.

Neela almost laughed at the childish expression. _Keelah… How can I say no to that?_ Finally she nodded her assent.

The squeal of joy that the asari emitted surprised her, and while she was sure it was partly for show, just to make her smile, she could tell that it wasn't entirely feigned. And that fact had her cheeks burning more than anything. She sat up and carefully swung her legs over the edge of the pod, wincing at the feeling once her broken ankle was no longer resting on a solid surface. But the pain was momentary. She slipped her arms around Selura's waist when the asari came closer, and their lips met in a soft and sensual kiss.

That little contact was electric for Neela. The taste of Selura's lips… the warmth of her body as she held her… the scent of her skin… it all combined to push the dull ache of loss to the background for the moment. Neela's arms tightened around the asari, and she deepened the kiss, desperately clinging to that relief from the pain. Selura seemed surprised at first, and then responded in kind. By the time their lips parted, both girls were almost breathless.

"Goddess," Selura breathed, "Remind me to make another suit for you next week…"

Neela couldn't help smiling. But there was something else lurking within her. That brief taste of intimacy had given her a temporary, but very welcome reprieve from the pain of grief. She was desperate to hold onto it. Unfortunately, just as she was about to draw the asari in for another kiss, the girl slipped out of her grasp and retrieved the suit and mask.

"I brought the blanket for you to cover up with," Selura explained. "I figured you might need help getting your injured foot into this thing, and then you can do the rest without me... So I'll step into the cockpit while you undress and you can cover yourself with-" the asari trailed off, her eyes widening in shock.

This reaction was in response to Neela's impulsive act, which was to pull her shirt up and off in one smooth motion, baring her torso to the asari's gaze. She didn't want to give herself time to second-guess her desires. She meant to give herself to the woman she loved before she could lose her nerve. She wanted to indulge in the intimacy and passion and release of it all… she wanted to experience something _good_ to take her mind off of all the grief and fear of the past days. And she didn't want the nagging feeling of doubt lurking in the back of her mind to stop her.

She could tell that Selura was shocked. But she also saw the asari's eyes drift downward after a moment, and felt a surge of warmth run through her. She shoved aside the wave of uncertainty that rushed through her mind and resisted the urge to cover herself for modesty's sake. Instead, she unfastened the Alliance-issue pants she wore and lay back, pushing them down past her hips, and then sat up and carefully worked them the rest of the way off, wincing slightly as she pulled them over the brace on her injured ankle. When she glanced up at the asari, the girl's expression was approaching something akin to full-blown panic.

"Neela…"

Selura's face had darkened to deep purple across her cheeks and down into her neck. She seemed to be trying to keep her gaze above the quarian's shoulders, but eventually lost that fight. Neela saw her attention drift downward, and she could almost _feel _the asari's eyes upon her as they swept every inch of her body. She shivered under the intensity of her gaze, feeling terribly vulnerable and exposed. Only her love for Selura soothed her anxiety and the nagging uncertainty she felt over what she was doing.

"Come here," Neela beckoned. Now that she was facing the possibility of true intimacy with Selura, she found herself feeling a bit lost. She actually had no idea what felt pleasurable to an asari… or the mechanics of being intimate with another female, and her doubts increased exponentially.

Selura swallowed audibly, and she slowly crossed the few steps to bring her within Neela's reach once more. Neela slipped her hands gently behind the asari's neck and drew her down into another kiss… this one softer and a bit more uncertain than the first had been. Selura's shoulders were tense beneath her arms, and though she could feel the girl's tenderness in the kiss, she could also feel the asari shaking.

_This is a mistake… I'm not… _She_ is not ready…_

She was just about to vocalize those thoughts when she felt the asari's hands settle upon the bare flesh at her hips. The simple contact sent a rush of warmth through her, and she shivered in anticipation of more, even while she doubted herself for ever starting this to begin with. When Selura's hands drifted upward along her sides both her doubts and her desires increased tenfold. One of the girl's hands drifted around her back, supporting her and holding her close, while the other hand glided inward and settled upon the swell of her breast, her palm brushing across the nipple. Involuntarily, a moan worked its way from Neela's lips at the contact. The quarian did her best to swallow her doubts, and her hands slid down along Selura's sides, seizing hold of the bottom of the asari's shirt. Selura drew back to gaze into her eyes.

Neela was horrified to feel a tear slide down her cheek. She was desperate for some way to ease her pain, but she knew she wasn't ready for this. Something of her anxiety must have been visible in her expression... or perhaps it was the tear alone… but Selura jerked her hands away from Neela's body and turned away, running her them up over her scalp crests.

"Neela… we cannot do this," Selura whispered the words, still facing away from her. She was shaking so violently that Neela could actually see her trembling.

Neela immediately started sobbing. Not because she was upset that Selura had stopped… she was actually more relieved than upset… she had been acting rashly. But she felt horribly embarrassed and stupid, and was afraid that by starting something she wasn't ready to finish, she might have made her girlfriend angry. She grabbed the blanket and pulled it up to her chest, burying her face in it. A second later, she felt Selura's arms encircle her. The asari's cheek came to rest against her hair, and she held her tightly.

"I am sorry," the asari apologized, her voice barely above a whisper. "I want this… I do. More than you can imagine… And… Goddess, you are beautiful…" Neela could feel the girl trembling still. "But… You are grieving, and you are in pain, and it is obvious _you_ do not really want this."

Neela's sobbing increased. "I'm sorry… I feel so stupid…" Her hand came up, and she tried to push Selura away. She just wanted to crawl into a corner somewhere and hide.

"No," Selura's embrace only tightened. "Do not let yourself feel that way. You are hurting and lost and you wanted to feel something… _anything_… other than that pain. I know." Selura leaned back slightly, and she put a finger beneath Neela's chin, gently but firmly urging her to look up. When Neela relented and their gazes met, she saw only sympathy and understanding in the asari's eyes. No judgment. No disappointment. "I _know_," Selura reiterated.

"How?" was all Neela could manage to choke out. She shivered when Selura's thumb gently wiped the tears from her cheek.

"Because I have been there," Selura said softly. "When my Aunt Nyrissa died, I was devastated," the asari explained, her voice heavy with remembered grief. "It seemed like there would be no end to the pain I felt. My neighbor, Issena, was there for me, and when she held me, because I had a little crush on her, it dulled the pain. I was desperate for anything that would give me an escape. I… I begged her to be with me. I confessed to her how beautiful I thought she was, and eventually… she gave in. But it was a mistake. I was not thinking clearly, and she did it out of pity. I felt ashamed and embarrassed afterward. And she couldn't look me in the eye anymore. We both regretted it."

Neela could barely see Selura's face through her tears, but she could hear the pain and the understanding in her voice. Selura had been exactly where she was, and had made the same impulsive choice and come to regret it. The asari was preventing her from making the same mistake. Neela bowed her head and cried, unsure what she could say. Knowing that Selura understood didn't make her feel any less embarrassed about what she had done. Selura simply pulled her close and held her, silently supporting and comforting her while she sobbed.

Neela had no idea how long she was there, clinging to the asari and sobbing. It was only when she began to calm down that Selura finally released her from her embrace. The asari gently took the blanket from her and wrapped it around her, carefully arranging it to cover her as much as possible, and then she knelt in front of her, carefully working her injured leg into the boot of her new suit. It fit over her toes perfectly and hugged her leg like a glove, though it was perhaps a little tight over the brace on her ankle. Once the asari had both of her feet in the new garment and had it pulled up to her knees, she paused, looking up at Neela with sympathy.

"You cannot let yourself feel embarrassed," Selura urged. "If I really thought you were ready to be with me in that way… I would have been all too happy to continue. But I love you. With all my heart. And when that time does come, I want you to have no regrets afterward."

Neela nodded slowly, but couldn't say a word. Selura gently lifted her legs, helping her turn to the side, so that she could lay back and finish dressing herself. Then the asari gave her a soft kiss upon the cheek, grabbed one of the water bottles, and walked into the cockpit, closing the door behind herself to leave Neela with some privacy.

Left alone to dress, Neela cast the blanket aside, still weeping softly as she pulled the suit up. Though she was distracted by embarrassment and sorrow, she was still impressed with Selura's work. The asari had replicated everything she was able to copy from Neela's old suit, including the waste management systems, though there was a noticeable lack of cybernetic interface ports. As she was pulling the garment up over her torso and sealing it, she noted that the material was significantly thinner over the fingers and the palms of her hands. It was so thin, in fact, that almost none of the sensation was lost when she ran her hand over the blanket at her side. She could feel the texture of the material.

A resurgence of tears trailed down her cheeks, but these were tears of thankfulness instead of sorrow. Selura had even had the forethought to consider not only protection from her environment, but the ability to retain some connection to the world around her. She closed her eyes, thanking her ancestors, the asari Goddess, and any other divine beings or entities in the galaxy that Selura had cared enough to prevent her from making a huge mistake, and that the asari didn't think any less of her for it.

* * *

**Cockpit, Cerberus Shuttle Alpha…**

The moment the door closed behind her, Selura slumped into the pilot's seat, feeling herself shaking once more. While seeing Neela break down crying had immediately put a damper on her desires, now that she was alone, those feelings returned full force. In her mind's eye, she could still see her girlfriend seated upon the edge of the pod's surface, gloriously nude and stunningly beautiful, inviting her to make her nighttime fantasies a reality. Tearing herself away from Neela had been the single most difficult endeavor of her life. She opened the bottle of water she'd taken with her and dumped half of it over her head, bringing a measure of relief to her fevered skin.

She'd done the right thing, beyond any shadow of a doubt. She would sooner die than leave Neela feeling as ashamed and miserable as she had felt when she was in the same position and made the same choice… but that didn't make it any easier to deal with the rush of desire she had felt – and still felt – from their brief contact. Horrible guilt plagued her over the lustful feelings she was experiencing… her girlfriend was miserable and hurting, and it killed her to see Neela feeling that way. But her hormones refused to be suppressed by her guilt.

"Goddess," she murmured, trying desperately to dispel her lustful feelings and relax. She still had to go back out there, possibly make some alterations to Neela's suit, and make sure that her girlfriend was calmed down and was not torturing herself with regrets for a simple, rash decision. And they still had a meal to share.

For the moment, she had to content herself with the promise that they would – _someday_ – finish what they had started. Or at least, so she hoped.

_Okay, that is enough…_ she reminded herself. Neela's state of mind had to be her first priority right now. She couldn't afford to dwell on her own desires. With that thought in mind, she stood up from her chair, still feeling a little weak in the knees, and knocked on the cockpit door.

"I'm dressed," Neela answered, sounding horribly morose.

Selura took a deep breath and nodded once, walking back out to rejoin her girlfriend, smiling brightly at the sight of her, covered up to her chin by the new suit. It seemed to fit her like a glove. She eyed the quarian critically, and then smiled softly. Perhaps they could eat before Neela tried on the helmet…

"Selura…" Neela bowed her head, wiping her eyes and seeming to search for the right words.

Selura reached out and took hold of the quarian's hand. As she had expected, she could feel the warmth of her skin through the relatively thin layer of synthetic weave that she'd chosen for the undersides of the suit's glove sections. She had done _extensive_ testing to determine the thinnest she could make the material without a risk of it being pierced by rough surfaces.

"Thank you," the quarian murmured softly.

Selura smiled. She didn't need to ask what she was being thanked for. The fact that Neela was expressing gratitude and not self-recriminations or regrets was a perfect start in her view. She only squeezed the quarian's hand a little more tightly.

"I love you," she said simply.

"I love you too," Neela finally looked up at her.

To her vast relief, she saw only the barest traces of regret and embarrassment in Neela's expression and in her eyes. She could much more clearly see gratitude and warmth in the depths of her gaze. Her hormones urged her to kiss the girl, but she firmly suppressed that urge. At the moment, she didn't think it would help either of them. Instead, she reached for the meals she'd brought. They might have been vacuum sealed, ready-to-eat dinners, but it made no difference to her. Any meal in Neela's company seemed like four-star cuisine. And after having seen Neela starve for six days until Prathus had arrived with dextro-based food, it made the asari very happy to watch her girlfriend eat.

"Can we eat later?" Neela asked suddenly.

"Of course… If you want," Selura was a little confused. She set the packages aside. "What would you like to do in the meantime?"

"I was just hoping you might… uh… that we could... cuddle? I would feel a lot better if you would just… hold me."

Selura swallowed and nodded. Neela turned on her side, scooting over to the far side of the isolation pod's surface, and Selura climbed up behind her, pressing up against her back and slipping her arms around her to hold her close. She was only too happy to give Neela the comfort she desired, and it was a relief to know that the aftermath of their brief encounter hadn't soured Neela on the desire to be close to her. Unfortunately, the closeness caused her desires to return full-force, and she felt horribly guilty over that fact. She wasn't sure anyone would have blamed her for what she was feeling, but still…

_When we go back inside, I think I may jump into that nice, cold moat…_ she thought with a rueful grin.

.

* * *

.

**Author's Note: Once again, thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited/followed or otherwise paid any attention to this story. The interest is greatly appreciated, and I'm doing my best to keep everyone entertained with this little tale. Hopefully I am continuing to succeed. :)**

**Continuing in the vein from last Chapter, this is one I've been anxious about posting... specifically for the last two sections in the shuttle. Anyone who has experienced a loss like this knows that sometimes you'll do some odd things for relief from the grief, but getting it just right was tricky. I must have rewrote those two sections a dozen or more times. I'm looking forward to seeing how it is all received.**

**I've also been looking forward for a while to getting some of the equipment upgrades to the group. Especially the Harriers, which one of my readers asked about _ages_ ago. You know who you are. :)**

**Unless something changes drastically to throw me off schedule, the next update will be on Sunday morning. Until then, I hope everyone has a great week, and I hope you'll come back for more!**


	54. Chapter 54: Deployment

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Fifty-Four: Deployment

.

**Scott, Capital City of Terra Nova…**

"Are you sure this will work?" Corporal Harper asked anxiously, looking down at the thirty meter drop from the exhaust port to the ground below.

Aida followed his gaze, trying to ignore the horrible stench being vented through the conduit in which they crouched from the slaughterhouse they'd just left behind. She'd been eager to breathe the fresh air upon escape, but now that she was on the threshold of freedom, she found herself simply trying not to gag. Breathing could wait a few more minutes.

"I promise," Aida nodded. "The biotic pull will more or less negate your mass. It is typically used to set enemies floating, so that they have no stability or control over their movements. I will go first to show you. Just hold on tightly, and once you feel weightless, push off toward the ground. But do not jump until I have landed and can pull you in turn," she warned.

Aida turned away from the soldier and her small charge after offering a reassuring smile to the latter. Then she swallowed, hoping that her plan did indeed work. The movements of enemies affected by a biotic pull, at least in her experience, were unpredictable at best. There was every possibility that they might actually float _higher_ once they were free of the exhaust port, and thus have an even greater chance of death when the effect ended and they finally fell. But a thirty-meter fall from their current position – there was only sheer wall below them – would certainly result in injuries. She didn't see any other option.

A biotic orb formed in her palm, and she took firm hold of the edge of the port with her free hand, bracing her feet against the edge of the opening. She allowed the orb to burst upon herself, and at that very moment, she pushed off as hard as she could, trying to direct her path toward the ground and the building opposite. She floated downward, but much as she expected, her position in the air was erratic. She flipped end over end – slowly, of course, given the weightlessness – but it made it hard to see where she was actually going. When her head revolved around to a point where she could see the ground, she was only meters away from the remains of the building opposite the Reaper structure and still several meters up. She braced herself to bump into the wall, and when she did, she found herself floating not further toward the ground, but straight out into the air. She sighed.

_At least I am unlikely to suffer serious injury from this height_, she mused. _And I can finally breathe…_

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and reveling in her freedom. There had been a moment, when she was caught in that cell, where she had never expected to breathe free air again. Now, floating weightlessly above the broken concrete of the street below, she felt the last of those fears melt away. With freedom in her grasp, however, she felt compelled to get back to the Alliance. If she could manage that, perhaps the humans could give her an idea of where to start searching for her friends. She had to convince the people she cared about that it was time to escape this planet. They could not continue to fight the Reapers. Doing so would only result in deaths.

The effect of the biotic pull wore off suddenly, and she fell with a small shriek, landing on her back upon the concrete. She had enough time to get her arms behind her head to keep from striking it against the ground, but the impact still knocked the wind out of her. She rolled over, trying desperately to draw a breath, and once her lungs finally started to work again, she greedily took in great gulps of air, waiting for the natural panic that came with being unable to breathe to subside.

She struggled to her feet and turned to look up at the two perched in the exhaust port high above. Harper was holding Candice firmly, and the child was perched at the edge, ready for her turn. Aida smiled up at the pair, and she prepared to hit the girl with a pull. She hoped that with Harper propelling the child in the right direction and herself waiting to catch her, the small blonde's trip would be a little smoother than her own had been. She hurled the biotic orb, and could see the girl flinch at the last second before it struck her.

As she had hoped, Candice floated down at a much better angle than her own trip had taken. Though the girl was flailing her arms wildly and screaming the whole way down, Aida smiled. She had no idea why, but she had no fear of the Reapers coming to investigate the commotion. The street was deserted, and there was no sound but the wind and the child's shrieks to hear. As soon as Candice was within arm's reach of her, she grabbed hold of her and pulled her close, waiting until the effect ended and she could once more feel the child's weight in her arms. The poor girl was shaking, but she was alive, free, and uninjured, so Aida felt the fear of the trip down was a small price to pay.

Harper's trip was more like hers had been. While she had hoped to be able to pull him to the ground and hold him there until the biotic weightlessness ended, he sailed across to the building opposite, where he got stuck in the gaping hole of a window. Aida considered him lucky at first, until she had circled to the other side of the wall and discovered that the interior of the building had entirely collapsed, leaving the man stranded three stories up, in little better shape than he had started. She cautioned him to stay there so they could repeat the process, but he tried to push off from the wall to get closer to the ground, only to sail outward in an almost perfectly horizontal line toward the Reaper structure.

Aida winced when the biotic field finally dissipated, and she watched the man fall toward the broken concrete. A biotic orb formed in her shaking hand. She tried to time her throw perfectly, and just as he was closing the last dozen meters, she hurled it toward him, subjecting him to a new pull just in time to keep him from hitting the ground with any real force. Much to her amusement, Candice was right on top of the situation; the child ran over and jumped on the marine, keeping him from floating back up into the air again. The asari hurried over to help, since she could see that the child's weight was barely enough to keep him on the ground.

"Thank you," Harper's voice was shaking.

"You are welcome," Aida smiled at him, though her whole body was trembling. _It has been far too long since I have eaten,_ she realized. _Just a few biotic pulls have exhausted me. I feel like I am about to collapse._

"I think our first priority has to be finding some weapons and food," Harper suggested while they all waited for the pull's effects to dissipate. "Then we need to get out of the city. I don't hear any signs of fighting here. The Reapers must control the entire place."

"I thought as much," Aida nodded. "The streets are deserted. The Reaper forces are probably busy elsewhere."

"Corporal Ubruscia said that the Alliance was still fighting in Dotterstown," Harper reminded her. "I suggest we head that way. We can meet up with whatever resistance forces are fighting there and get back into the war."

Aida glanced at Candice, who had been silent throughout the exchange, and saw the girl chewing on her lower lip. She could guess what the child was worried about. Taking her into a warzone seemed like an unacceptable risk. But she knew it had to be done.

"Do not worry, Candice," she smiled at the child. "The Alliance will have a base set up somewhere away from the fighting. You will be safe there with other civilians while we are busy with the Alliance soldiers."

"I know," the child nodded. "But I'm hungry."

"Me too," Aida sighed.

"Try not to think about it," Harper suggested. The biotic pull had finally worn off, and he gently pushed the child off of himself, sitting up. "There are not many edible plants on Terra Nova, but I am sure we can find _something_ once we get out of the city. We just need to get moving."

Aida nodded, turning and looking back at the Reaper structure that had been their prison for what seemed like an eternity. She was glad to be leaving it behind. As she was looking at it, however, she saw for the first time that there was something towering above it. From their vantage, she could see only the very tip of the second structure, but it moved slightly, and when it did, several small tremors ran through the ground beneath her feet. Harper and Candice both felt the tremors and followed her gaze.

"That's a Reaper," the Alliance engineer breathed.

"I… I do not think it would consider three unarmed people a threat," Aida said softly, and some instinct told her she was correct. "Just the same, I think we should keep to the ruined buildings until we are well out of its sight."

"Agreed," Harper nodded.

Aida took Candice's hand, and together the three of them crept around into the ruined shell of the building nearest the Reaper structure. From there, they moved from building to building, climbing over piles of rubble and through gaping holes in the walls. As they traveled, Aida found herself frowning at the foolishness of fighting the Reapers. The capital city of the human colony was now a crumbling, decimated wasteland. How could anyone expect victory against such an overwhelming force?

* * *

**Infirmary, Prothean Ruins…**

Julisa opened her eyes slowly, staring at the stone walls and ceiling around her without moving at first. There was a throbbing ache in her chest, but the pain wasn't nearly as severe as she would have expected it to be. She vaguely recalled regaining consciousness a few times prior to this, but aside from a hazy memory of being spoon fed a few mouthfuls of food and some water, she couldn't recall much of what happened after she was shot. Given the lack of agonizing pain, she found herself wondering whether it had been weeks or months since her injury.

The memory of her struggle with the salarian loomed up from the back of her mind, and she found herself growing angry as she replayed the events in her head. She was an experienced commando, trained to anticipate and adapt to enemy tactics, and yet she'd blindly allowed the salarian's ineffectual offense and the successful blows she had delivered blind her to the truth of the situation. Some of her success had been a result of skill, of course, but he had managed to avoid almost every truly dangerous blow she had attempted to deliver. She felt certain, looking back on the whole fight now, that he had been purposely taking some of the abuse to lull her into a false sense of confidence and maneuver her to the position where he needed her. It shamed her to realize it had worked.

"You're awake," a somewhat familiar voice greeted her. The human doctor stepped into her field of view.

"I expected more pain," Julisa croaked. Her throat was dry. "How long have I been here?"

"Four days," the woman smiled at her, seating herself on the edge of the bed. In her hands, she held a container of water with a straw in it, which she guided to Julisa's lips.

The asari greedily drank the water she was offered, feeling the cool liquid soothe her throat and refresh her a bit. However, her brow furrowed at the news. She couldn't possibly have been recovering for only four days… Without pain medications, she would still have been in agony. Her wound had been serious. She must have asked the wrong question. Perhaps she had been recovering elsewhere and was moved to her current location just a few days prior.

"How long ago was I shot?" she chose a more specific question.

"Four days," the doctor repeated herself.

"Impossible…"

"Have we been without proper medical supplies for so long that you've forgotten what it's like to have them?" the doctor laughed a little, leaning over her and holding up a finger. "Follow my finger with your eyes," she instructed, and started moving it around. "Your friends brought a decent supply of proper medications with them when they arrived. With painkillers, regenerative stims and the like, you are recovering swiftly."

"But the severity of my injuries…"

"You _were_ severely injured," The doctor nodded, her expression grave. "The round penetrated your armor at the back and passed through your upper torso. It nicked your lung and passed through a major artery. We almost lost you a couple of times. But we were able to stabilize you and give the meds a chance to begin working. You'll feel pretty lousy for a few more days."

Julisa was surprised. Her previous injuries had been recovering without the benefits of modern medication, and had seemed to linger forever. This was an entirely different situation, but not one she was going to complain about. When she was losing consciousness, she had anticipated never waking up. To wake up to such a bright prognosis was a blessing.

"What has been happening while I was incapacitated?" she asked. "Was the salarian killed? I… I remember seeing him injured."

The doctor's smile fell, and Julisa could tell from her expression that the news wasn't good. She wondered just how many other people he had been able to kill after she fell. Just as the human woman opened her mouth, however, Illitha walked into the room, distracting them both. The young engineer's expression brightened considerably when she saw that Julisa was awake.

"Captain!"

"I'll leave the two of you alone to talk," Rebecca offered, turning and heading for the door. As she passed Illitha, however, she paused and put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Just keep it brief… Spectre," the woman cautioned, and Julisa thought she heard a note of playfulness in the physician's tone.

"Spectre?" Julisa repeated once they were alone, her concerns momentarily driven from her mind by curiosity.

The younger asari looked intensely uncomfortable as she pulled a crate over next to the bed and seated herself upon it. "I-I may have inadvertently misled some people into thinking I am a... uh…"

"A Spectre?" the captain finished for her, frowning. "Illitha, you are not the type to lay claim to accomplishments that are not your own…"

"It started as a joke, Captain, I swear," the younger girl protested. "Rachel… Uh… the girl who was with me through most of the last several weeks… s-she kept jokingly calling me 'Spectre', to tease me about my… my potential, I guess."

The captain could already see where the story was headed. "Someone overheard her," she guessed.

"Y-Yes," Illitha nodded. "I told the original group the truth after a little while. Th-They did not care. But when we ran into more people, one of my new friends told _them_ I was a Spectre, and… and… I have not been able to shake the title since."

"You could tell the truth," Julisa pointed out, shifting uncomfortably in the bed. She'd obviously been lying there for too long. Her legs were stiff and aching.

"I wanted to," Illitha said earnestly. "B-But since so many of our people joined us b-because they thought I was a Spectre…"

"Telling the truth now could drive them away," Julisa took over.

"I… I am in c-command of almost thirty men," the young engineer's head bowed, and she fidgeted uncomfortably. "A-And a few dozen civilians."

Julisa closed her eyes and shook her head. She knew that Illitha had greater potential than it had first seemed. She had seen something in the girl the first time they met, and it was that indefinable 'something' that had driven her to hire the girl as part of her crew when there were more impressive – and more experienced – candidates available. But she still had trouble picturing the shy and soft-spoken girl she knew as a woman in charge of soldiers.

"I am guessing the doctor knows the truth?" she asked, thinking about the playful note in the woman's voice when she left.

"Y-Yes," Illitha nodded. "She treated me for injuries when I was at the first Alliance base we went to, so she knew me as… me. She has chosen to keep it secret… for the sake of morale."

"There are others that know?"

Illitha nodded her head again, raising fingers as she listed the names of those who knew the truth, "Rachel, Jay, Elliot, Zaeed, Rebecca, and of course Neela and Selura…"

Two names were glaringly absent from the list. Julisa remembered the way the doctor's expression had shifted when she asked about the salarian, and the feeling of dread she'd experienced now returned full force.

"Prathus? Aida?" she watched the younger girl intently.

Illitha's expression fell, and she bowed her head. Julisa understood immediately, and closed her eyes, containing her disappointment and grief and keeping her expression neutral.

"Prathus… H-He was killed in an explosion," Illitha said softly. "S-Some kind of trap left behind by the salarians…"

"Plural?" Julisa nodded slowly. It made sense. There had been a second opponent in the corridor… the one that had taken the shot that almost killed her.

"There were three originally," Illitha explained. "W-We killed one up north, when we were trying to obtain the communications filters. T-They are all indoctrinated Reaper agents."

"And they escaped," Julisa's expression hardened. _It will not happen a second time_, she vowed. _Our next engagement ends in your death, salarian_…

"N-No one knows where Aida is," Illitha continued after a moment. "S-She was last seen before Mivian Heights was attacked. There have been no responses to any of my attempts to contact her…"

Julisa said nothing. The glimmer in the young engineer's eyes betrayed the looming tears she was somehow managing to hold in check. She knew Illitha could probably use some reassurance that her friend could still be alive, but the captain didn't want to make assurances she didn't believe. With the planet under siege and the cook on her own, it was very possible something had happened to her by now…

"C-Captain, we… I… I was really hoping you would take command… when you recover," Illitha said softly, obviously eager to change the subject. Julisa saw no need to linger over the uncertainty regarding Aida's fate, and was perfectly willing to oblige.

"And how would you explain that? The Spectre turning command over to a former commando?" Julisa asked.

"W-We could say you are a Spectre too…" Illitha's expression was full of hope.

In looking at the young engineer's face, Julisa wished she could have given her what she wanted. But there were certain lines she was not willing to cross… not anymore. She'd spent years pretending to be someone she was not so that she could infiltrate pirate bases and avenge her bondmate. When she'd returned home and found it had cost her any possibility of a relationship with her daughter, she promised herself she would never return to that life of constant deception. Smuggling might not have been an 'honest' trade, but at least she wasn't forced to live a lie. Her clients typically knew exactly what she was.

"I know a Spectre," Julisa finally said. "A _real _one," she tried to keep the severity from her tone and was not entirely successful. "I will not claim laurels that are not mine to boast. You allowed yourself to be cast in the role. Now you have to live with the consequences," she admonished.

"I…" Illitha stared at her, looking horribly miserable and guilty, and for a moment the former commando's heart failed her. However, the younger asari finally bowed her head. "I understand."

"I can at least advise you," Julisa offered. After all, she had no wish to see Illitha fail in her duties as a commanding officer to actual troops, nor to allow her inexperience to cost lives that could be preserved with the benefit of an experienced advisor.

"Th-Thank you, Captain…"

The smile that formed upon the engineer's lips drew a nod of satisfaction from the elder asari. She was actually curious to see what it was that had changed in the girl to allow her to take on such a role. Simply lying about being a Spectre would not have been enough to inspire troops to follow her. She had obviously done _something_ that gave credence to her claims of Spectrehood. The captain was looking forward to seeing it for herself.

"So, fill me in on our situation," Julisa prompted, a little annoyed to once again be unaware of the current state of things. Waking from injuries was wearing upon her. She was used to being the one in possession of all the facts. "Supplies, personnel, weapons, obstacles, position…" She shifted to get more comfortable, preparing herself to learn what their assets and liabilities were.

"W-Well, Zaeed is my acting XO," Illitha began her report. "He is a career mercenary, and has a lot of skill and experience, even if he is a little bit rude sometimes…"

* * *

**Prefab Interior, Dig Site Theta-129…**

"Sit still…"

Though the words had been growled, Neela could hear the playful cast to them as Selura crouched in front of her, carefully affixing small sections of sculpted armoring to the exterior of her new suit. Neela had been sitting all day while the asari worked, meticulously piecing together cut-up sections of ceramic plating taken from Cerberus armor. She would test the shape against Neela's body, and then pull them away to weld them together, test them again, make any necessary alterations, then test again, and so forth.

They had taken numerous breaks, but Selura had been working for a good twelve hours altogether, and Neela was extremely uncomfortable. The source of her discomfort, however, was not the fact that she had been sitting more or less in one place for a dozen hours, or that she could see that Selura was tense and tired, or even the fact that the project was nearing completion and she was anxious to see it finished. Her discomfort came from the asari's frequent contact with her body as she worked to make sure the armoring was shaped properly to fit her.

She was still dealing with the aftereffects of her impulsive attempt to sleep with her girlfriend three days prior. Their closeness had not suffered, thankfully. In fact, after Selura had been so thoughtful and careful in her rejection, putting Neela's feelings ahead of her own obvious desires, Neela was more smitten with her than ever.

But today had been especially hard, because the feeling of Selura's hands upon her bare skin – fleeting as it had been – was indelibly etched into her memory. Every time Selura returned to fit a new piece of armoring against her body, even though she was now sealed in her new suit, she felt her pulse quicken and a rush of warmth run through her. She actually found herself wishing that this new suit had all the proper functions of a quarian enviro-suit, especially now that Selura was sculpting the chest plate for her armoring. Every time the asari returned to check the fitting of the piece, she was teased with the memory of her girlfriend's hand upon the swell of her breast…

The heat inside of her suit was becoming stifling, and she would have given almost anything at that moment for the environmental control systems her old suit had boasted. The intensity of the desire she felt had her trembling, and this time, it had nothing to do with grief or a need to escape her pain. It was made all the worse by the persistent blush upon Selura's cheeks whenever she returned to check the placement of the next piece she had to add. She knew that her girlfriend was thinking something very similar.

Neela tried to distract herself by looking at the suit as it was shaping up. Armored plating already covered her thighs, her calves and shins, her arms and forearms, and her back and shoulders. Selura had even affixed a series of overlapping plates, similar to a reptile's scales, to cover portions of her body that needed to be flexible, such as her sides and her lower back and abdomen. She had to give her girlfriend credit for her aesthetic sense too. Rather than looking like armor formed of piecemeal scraps from salvaged suits of enemy armor, the points where it was welded together were blended seamlessly. It had the sleek, sculpted, unblemished look of a professional creation. Her father might have been jealous of the results so far.

"This should do it," Selura announced, turning around and holding up the solid piece of ceramic armoring that would protect her from her collarbone to her navel.

Neela nodded and leaned back, supporting herself with her hands while the asari settled the plating against her torso, adjusting and fussing with it until it was in the perfect place, and then carefully fusing the plating to the points of contact she had incorporated into the under-weave in advance. The quarian marveled at the lack of fear she felt while Selura used an extension to her omni to spot-weld the pieces together. The welding was taking place so close to her body, with only a layer of kinetic padding and airtight weave between her skin and the heat, and yet she trusted the asari so deeply that she felt no hesitation to let her work.

"When you promised to do it, I knew you would get the suit done," Neela said softly. "But I have to admit, I didn't think it would look quite so… pretty… when it was finished."

"It had to. Nothing less than a pretty suit would do justice to such a beautiful girl," Selura commented, the casual tone of the words doing nothing to soften their sweetness.

Neela felt herself flushing again in response to the words, and had to resist the urge to fidget. Moving around while Selura was spot-welding pieces to her suit was an undeniably bad idea. Selura did her work quickly, and when she disengaged her omni-tool's welder, Neela smiled. She sat up straight, twisting her body from side to side, feeling the movement the suit allowed with the chest piece in place. It was a little heavier than a quarian enviro-suit, but the weight wasn't severe enough to hamper her, and her flexibility was unimpeded by the armoring.

"Test the shield generator," Selura instructed, standing back a few steps.

Neela activated her omni-tool and connected to the simple systems Selura had transferred to her new suit, which had been borrowed from a suit of salvaged armor. She saw the field shimmer as it appeared around her, but the shimmer persisted along her left side at about waist level, indicating a weak point in the barrier. Selura nodded and grabbed an emitter from a pile of extras she'd brought in with her, crouching at Neela's side. The quarian deactivated the field and let her girlfriend work.

"How soon do you think we'll be leaving?" Neela asked. "They started loading the shuttle hours ago."

"I expect them to come in any time now," Selura shrugged, her eyes fixed firmly upon her work as she removed the damaged emitter and worked to replace it. "It is why I have been working so hard to finish this. But you know that this is not a proper suit of armor… You really need to avoid getting hit."

Neela nodded. Though Selura had done wonderful work, there were certain things that simply were not in her capabilities. The armor did not contain breach sensors or an automatic medigel dispenser. While they could have cannibalized the components for such systems as they did everything else, Selura's lack of familiarity with them would have meant weeks of trial and error trying to install them and get them working properly. It was time they simply didn't have. It had taken the asari a great deal of time just to figure out how to transfer a shield generator over and make it work.

"I'll be fine," Neela promised. "I don't think Illitha means to put either of us in a position where we will be involved in heavy fighting. What did she call the unit to which we are assigned? Support services?"

"Something like that," Selura nodded, finally stepping back from her work and giving a nod.

At the gesture, Neela reactivated her shield emitters, and watched in satisfaction as the shimmer around her heralded the creation of the shield, after which she could see no sign of it. It seemed her shield was now stable. She deactivated it again.

"Help me up?" Neela held out an arm, and the asari was quick to slip her arm around the quarian's waist, helping her to her feet. With the brace on her ankle, Neela was capable of walking, but it was painful, and she could do little more than hobble. She preferred to keep her weight off of it. She was grateful to Selura for her occasional assistance. She reached for the crutches that one of the Alliance soldiers had cobbled together to help her maintain mobility without stressing the broken limb.

"Am I a bad person for feeling apprehensive about following _Illitha_ into combat?" Selura suddenly asked.

Neela smiled and shook her head. The last time she'd spent any real amount of time with the engineer, she had been a shy and uncertain girl that always looked to others to take the lead, seeming content to be ignored and forgotten. She had no idea what Illitha had been through in the intervening weeks; they'd had little time to talk, even over the past five days of relative peace. But apparently something had changed drastically in her shy friend, because she had a veritable army of devoted followers now, and everyone was looking to her for leadership and guidance.

"Apparently, she has changed," was all Neela was able to say before a loud knock upon the prefab door startled them both. The door opened, and one of the human soldiers stepped inside.

"Spectre T'Zari says it's time to go," he announced. "She wants you piloting Shuttle Alpha," he added, his eyes upon Neela.

Selura glanced over at her as the man left the room, and Neela saw the corner of her lips curl upward. She knew a smart-ass comment was coming before her girlfriend said a word.

"Now I _know_ she is not fit for command," the asari grinned. "I have been stuck in a vehicle with you at the controls. We will arrive at our destination too scrambled to walk straight."

"Shut up!" Neela punched the asari in the arm, drawing a wince out of her. "I'm an excellent pilot, and you know it!"

"I hope I am assigned to the other shuttle. I want to live to reach our destination!" Selura grinned, quickly darting out of Neela's reach so that she couldn't hit her again.

"That's a horrible thing to say to your girlfriend," Neela murmured with a playful pout. The upside to Selura's choice of a clearer visor for her helm was that she could use such expressions for emotional blackmail now.

"My girlfriend is here?" Selura looked around. "Where? I had hoped to keep you two apart for longer…"

Neela's jaw dropped, and Selura started laughing merrily in response to the look of shock upon her face. Neela took a half-hearted swing at the asari with a crutch, but Selura had wisely put additional distance between them. Still, after the improvised weapon passed, her girlfriend stepped closer, slipping an arm around Neela's waist and pulling her close. Sadly, the armor and the suit denied Neela many of the benefits of that closeness, but as she stared at the beautiful, smiling face of the asari, she couldn't dwell upon those drawbacks. She set one of her crutches aside and brought up a hand to softly caress Selura's cheek.

"All kidding aside, you are the only girl I love, Neela'Xara nar Ganaza," Selura told her, and Neela felt a small shiver of delight run through her as she gazed into the asari's eyes.

Neela couldn't find her voice to return the words, even though her heart was screaming them. In looking into her girlfriend's eyes, however, she realized that she didn't have to say them. The asari already knew.

"We should go," Selura grinned at her. "You have a shuttle full of soldiers to terrify… Uh… I mean ferry…"

Neela couldn't find it in herself to retaliate this time. She just grinned and nodded, sighing a little when the asari released her from her embrace and stepped away. She hoped that this big offensive the Alliance was planning would be enough to drive the Reapers from the planet. She was looking forward to a long and peaceful future with the asari, without the threat of annihilation to keep them apart. She reached for her crutch and followed her girlfriend from the prefab, blushing when she caught herself glancing down at the hypnotic sway of the scientist's hips as the girl walked ahead of her.

* * *

**Approaching Dotterstown…**

Illitha sat quietly on the bench in the shuttle, trying to ignore the fact that the eyes of almost everyone in the vehicle's interior were upon her. She was filled with nervous energy, and she wanted to fidget, or pace, or fuss with the settings on her omni-tool… anything to distract her from what was coming. But she was trying to appear calm and collected for the benefit of the people following her lead. The eyes of her captain were fastened upon her and had never once wandered away during the rather lengthy flight to this point, a fact that was only increasing her nervousness. She felt like she was being evaluated for some unknown test.

Including herself and her friends, Illitha was bringing a force of twenty-four people to assist in the big offensive, and it was her hope that their contribution would make some kind of difference in the battle. She had left Private Mills and four marines behind to secure the Prothean ruin and protect the civilians there. She'd been apprehensive about leaving such a small force, but they needed all of the fighters they could bring with them.

In her ear, the newly-installed communications equipment in her helm was broadcasting a steady stream of brief transmissions from forces in the city. She'd never been privy to such a staggering number of status updates and requests for help before, and it was a terrible distraction. She was trying to block them out, but as her attention had done a dozen times during the ride already, she once more found herself focusing on the words issuing from the earpiece.

"_This is Gamma-Tango-Three… We've got a sizeable Reaper force on our right flank, headed north-northwest toward the factory zone. One-One-Four, watch your left flank."_

"_Mayday, mayday! This is Echo-Alpha-One-One! We're pinned down and taking heavy fire! We need immediate air support at the following coordinates…"_

_"Delta wing, divert immediately to sector two. We've got confirmed sightings of Oculus Drone activity over Jackson Square."_

_"We've got eyes on six brutes… I say again, eyes on _six_ brutes, escorting a single Marauder into sector six. Possible priority target. I repeat: Possible priority target."_

_"God damn it! Reapers just tore through the barricade at Checkpoint Eight. Oculus drones demolished our artillery there. We're falling back, but we need immediate assistance! Jesus they're everywhere! We need-"_

This last transmission cut off suddenly with a burst of white noise, and Illitha closed her eyes, immediately picturing the reason for such an abrupt termination of a request for help. She activated her omni-tool and shifted the active Alliance comm channels to the background, tapping into the cockpit intercom.

"Neela? Status report?"

"_We're about six minutes out, Illitha," _the quarian's voice answered her. "_There are three Reapers in the city, and from here, it looks like there's fighting all over the place."_

_"They said their offensive was starting today,"_ Detective Kilpatrick's voice joined the channel from the other shuttle. _"Did we miss the start of it?"_

Illitha had no idea. She realized she probably should have contacted Alliance forces in the city before now to let them know they were incoming, but she hadn't been sure what to say. She was still debating whether or not to lie to Alliance command and claim she was a Spectre. She'd never blatantly told that lie herself before, but she was afraid the people that trusted her would be taken from her command if she told the truth. While she didn't like being in command, she felt a sense of duty to the people with her. She valued the lives of every one of them and would do everything she could to keep them safe. She couldn't make the same claim of whoever might take charge of them if she relinquished her authority.

_"I don't think we missed it,"_ Neela's voice answered the Detective while Illitha was trying to decide what to say. _"The Nav-Point is still live, and I'm reading an encrypted beacon pulse from that location. It hasn't moved."_

"The forces in the city are undoubtedly defenders trying to hold key points," Captain Nisaria told them. "The Alliance could not withdraw everything from the city, or the Reapers might have pursued to the mustering point for the offensive. They have to keep fighting to slow the Reaper advance."

"She's right," Corporal Rivera nodded. "When you fall back, you never just abandon everything and run. You do it little by little, covering your fellow marines while you go. Blindly fleeing gets people killed."

"At least we know that Private Benner got the civilians out and made it this far," Rachel pointed out. "These transmissions seem to be clear as a bell and they're talking to each other. They obviously have the communications filters installed."

Illitha smiled at the blonde's observation. She hadn't even thought of it, but she realized now that Rachel was right. If the Alliance didn't have the filters, she assumed that communications in the city would be completely dead, as had been the case in Scott, or at least heavily scrambled.

_"Spectre,"_ Neela's voice interrupted the discussion. _"Frequency 142…"_

Illitha activated her omni-tool and shifted to the frequency Neela had mentioned, muting all others so that she could focus on whatever it was that she needed to hear without the distraction of dozens of other overlapping distress calls. A slightly accented voice greeted her ears when the channel was live.

_"-units in the city, this is Captain Shirakawa. Be advised: Operation Clarity commences in seventeen minutes. All southern positions, fall back to the southeast and muster at the Twenty-second Artillery division. All northern positions must be held at all costs. Roving patrols and sniper units, fall back to the nearest barricade and assist in the defense. If any position is overrun, shift to your alternate assignment immediately."_

_"That answers that,"_ Detective Kilpatrick chuckled. _"We're just in time for the party."_

"Zaeed, d-did you copy Captain Shirakawa's transmission?" Illitha asked after restoring the other Alliance channels and shifting them to the background. The mercenary was piloting the second shuttle, since they were short on trained pilots.

"_Affirmative,_" the gravelly voice of the mercenary answered. "_Sounds like a real cluster down there. But I'm amazed they've managed to hold any part of the city at all._"

"They weren't blindsided by an attack that demolished their headquarters before anyone knew they were in danger," Rachel spoke up, sounding a little defensive. "_We_ never had a chance to hold the city…"

Illitha felt some sympathy for how Rachel must have been feeling. She had been assigned to serve under a commander who, Illitha felt, was ill-suited to leading during a war. Tarrislav's decisions had been generally foolish ones in her experience, and even though there had been other men in higher positions of command in the city, as a whole, the defense of Scott had been plagued by disaster after disaster. Illitha wondered if it really would have been different if the Reapers hadn't destroyed the Alliance HQ in the city in the first seconds of their invasion. Had the Alliance still had the soldiers, weapons and vehicles stored there, would they have had a better chance?

_"Mayday, mayday, can anyone hear me?"_ a voice from one of the channels in the background caught Illitha's attention. She tried to block out the others and pay attention while she used her omni-tool to isolate the channel in question. _"My name is Maggie Hayes. I'm with an Alliance escort heading into the city, but… Reapers are attacking us. There are so many! The Alliance guys said to keep off the radio, but… Please, God, we need help! We're near a big shattered skyscraper at the south side of the city! Please help us!"_

Illitha stood up from her seat, activating the small display screen next to the exterior hatch so that she could see the city outside. They were rapidly approaching their destination, and could reach the Alliance meeting point within a matter of minutes. But her heart was screaming at her to go and save the poor girl and anyone else still alive in her group.

"Illitha…" she heard the warning tone in the captain's voice, but she couldn't ignore the fact that there were people down there that needed help.

"Neela, Zaeed… Circle around a-and zero in on this point," she instructed, tracing the distress call to its source and activating a nav-point at its origin. "We are going to perform a quick rescue."

"_That's a bad idea," _Zaeed's voice came back. _"The Alliance offensive starts in fifteen minutes. It's more important to join the offensive than save a few civilians and a handful of soldiers."_

"T-This is not up for debate," Illitha frowned. "We could save some soldiers that could help in the offensive, as well as saving civilian lives."

"_And if we lose half our own people in a futile rescue attempt?"_ the mercenary prompted.

Illitha suppressed her anger over the mercenary's cold practicality. Logically, she knew he was right. If a bunch of her people got hurt to save these people, they could lose more than they gained. But she couldn't live with the idea of passing by without trying to help. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and release her anger. "Circle around," she said calmly. "People down there need help."

The shuttle banked and began to circle, and Illitha was happy when there was no further argument from Zaeed. She grabbed hold of the bar above the shuttle door and triggered the exterior hatch. Around her, people got to their feet and gathered their gear, prepared to follow her.

For a moment as the door opened, Illitha was dizzied by the height of the view and the fact that the shuttle was moving. Her grip tightened involuntarily upon the bar. Her gaze strayed to the Reapers towering over the buildings in the distance, and she marveled at the swarm of small black dots speeding back and forth over the city while Alliance and Reaper air forces did battle. This was her first taste of a real war zone – by the time she first arrived in Scott, the city had been mostly conquered – and now that she was descending into the thick of it, she was terrified.

_"Touchdown in ninety seconds_," Zaeed's voice announced.

Illitha pried her attention from the aerial battle in the distance and focused upon the streets below. She could see the position where the civilians were trapped and the positions of the enemies around them perfectly. A small number of defenders had bunkered down amidst the twisted wreckage of a toppled skyscraper, and were desperately trying to hold back dozens of Reaper troops. There looked to be only a handful of defenders, and the Reapers were quickly surrounding their position.

"Zaeed, s-set your shuttle down on the roof of that building on the southwest," Illitha instructed as she surveyed the scene. She'd already come up with a simple strategy. "Charlie Squad will set up on the edge of that roof to cover us from above. Jay, focus on big threats. Brutes first, then the turian things."

_"Copy that," _Jay's voice answered her.

"Neela, set us down in the street to the south of the defenders. Alpha and Bravo Squads will accompany me from there. We can… uh, we will move up from the south and eliminate the Reapers between our landing zone and the survivors. Then we cover the survivors and help them withdraw into those buildings behind them. Once we are on the ground, Neela, you take the shuttle to the roof with the other one."

"Illitha," Captain Nisaria stepped close, speaking so softly that the engineer had trouble hearing her over the rush of the wind past the open hatch. "You are now in command. Your place is not in the middle of the fighting. You should be on the roof with the shuttles, so that you can oversee things from there."

"I-It is my plan," Illitha protested. "I should be the one that places myself in danger to see it done. H-How can I ask these people to carry out orders I will not perform myself?"

"You are in command now," the captain repeated. "Your job is strategy. You must trust the people under your command to execute that strategy. I will take command of the ground teams. You oversee the situation from above."

Illitha turned to stare at the elder asari, feeling conflicted over the idea. While she was technically in command, it felt wrong somehow to disobey her captain. And she knew intellectually that the elder asari was correct. If she was in charge, she should be in a position where she could see any potential complications and adjust the strategy accordingly. But the need to get out there and save people was overwhelming. She had been throwing herself into the thick of things for so long to do what she felt was right. It felt horribly wrong to stand back and watch others do it now.

"You know I am right," the captain hissed.

"C-Captain Nisaria will lead the ground team," Illitha spoke up, firmly suppressing her doubts that she was making the correct decision. "I will accompany the shuttle to the rooftop to oversee the rescue."

Illitha glanced over at Rachel, and she could see both understanding and disappointment in the blonde's eyes through her visor. She sighed. Rachel knew what she wanted, and it was obvious that the girl thought she should be following her heart this time. Still, her friend never said a word to try to dissuade her.

Illitha stepped back out of the way as the shuttle descended to the ground. When the shuttle was close enough to the street, she watched as the captain and her men and women quickly hopped out, spreading out through the street to secure the area. Once she was alone in the shuttle, she returned to her position by the door and sighed softly.

"We are clear, Neela. Take us up to the roof."

As the shuttle rose into the air and circled around toward the nearby rooftop, Illitha bowed her head. She had never liked being in command, but it was a hundred times worse to be in charge and not be in the middle of everything, where she could try to save her people if her plan went horribly wrong. More than ever, she wanted to just tell the truth about her qualifications and relinquish command to someone else. But she knew that she couldn't do that. Her people trusted her. She wouldn't betray that trust now.

* * *

**Streets of Dotterstown…**

Captain Nisaria activated the Prothean rifle and manifested a barrier once she was on the ground, swiftly crossing to the remains of the nearby buildings and glancing in through the windows to check for signs of hostile forces. She wasn't familiar with the humans that were following her into battle beyond their names, so she had no idea about their capabilities and general level of trustworthiness. She was forced to rely upon Illitha's judgment regarding their usefulness. Since the blonde female was the one Illitha seemed to trust most, the captain chose to place that same level of confidence in her. The blonde woman was in charge of Alpha Squad, so it made her decision simple.

"Alpha Squad, take the left side of the street. Clear the buildings and then converge on the Reapers at the south side of the survivors' position. Bravo Squad, follow me. We will clear the buildings on this side before converging."

She watched the blonde girl motion for the four men under her command to follow her, and the group disappeared into the remains of a crumbling building across the street. Julisa turned and led her men into the shell of a building on her side of the thoroughfare, moving with silence and grace over the broken terrain and rubble that littered the floor. As she moved through the building, the captain felt a tremendous sense of relief that she was fully recovered. This was the first time since waking on Terra Nova that she was able to concentrate on what needed to be done without balancing her goals against the possible toll upon her injuries.

She and the men that followed her quickly swept through the rooms in the building, making certain it was clear of Reaper forces. When they found nothing hostile in the structure, the captain led the way out through a window and into the next building along the street to continue the search. She could hear the distant sound of rifle fire and the howls of Reapers, but nothing seemed close.

_"Contact!"_ she heard a voice announce over the comm channel.

The sounds of gunfire were muffled, and she assumed the other team had encountered Reapers in one of the buildings they were searching. She focused fully upon her surroundings. If the Reapers had taken position in the buildings on the other side, she was sure they would be found on this side as well.

"Stay sharp," she heard the squad leader, Corporal Rivera, hiss to his men.

Julisa spotted a gaping hole in the wall between two rooms ahead of her where the ceiling had collapsed. She approached cautiously, scanning the edges of the hole above for signs of a Reaper lurking on the rooftop. It seemed like the perfect place for an enemy to hide. As it turned out, she wasn't wrong, but she also didn't need to worry. There was a distant crack and a dull thud from somewhere above her, and then the bloated and misshapen body of a cannibal plummeted through the hole, hitting the ground with a soggy splat. There was a hole in its forehead.

"Good shooting, Jay," Corporal Rivera announced over the comms.

_"Dumb bastard was out in the open on the roof,"_ a human voice answered with a chuckle.

Any further conversation was stymied when a pair of husks dashed in from an adjoining room, emitting inhuman screeches as they advanced. All at once, the thunderous reverberations of assault rifle fire filled the air, combined with the hum of Julisa's particle rifle. Within moments, one husk was crumbling into white ash, and the other was lying upon the ground in a puddle of grayish goo. Julisa advanced swiftly to the doorway from which they had emerged, gesturing for the others to secure the second door leading from the room. She could feel a tremor in the floor beneath her feet, and wondered at the portent.

"Cannibals!" someone called out.

"Brute!" a second voice shouted.

"Fuck! Grenade!" a third man screamed.

Julisa heard the soft clink of the grenade as it struck the ground near her, and she turned and spotted the device. She had only seconds to clear the area, and she picked the first target she saw… a massive figure was stalking past a window nearby. She shifted the properties of her barrier in preparation for a charge and streaked out of the blast zone, colliding an instant later with the immense form in the street outside. The impact rocked the massive beast, but only barely. It recovered quickly and roared angrily, leaping toward her. She was quick to dive to the side and roll out of the way, letting the creature's massive metallic claw slam into the wall of the building. The surface cracked under the force of the blow.

Julisa trained the Prothean rifle on the beast and started firing, but the creature was covered in thick metal plating. Even when she trained the beam upon the creature's flesh, it stalked toward her without pause, shielding its head behind the metal claw that dominated its right arm. She focused her energy and hit the beast with a biotic warp, watching as the shifting mass effect field crumpled the metal armoring and caused tears to appear across its flesh. The beast barely seemed to notice. It set itself and charged toward her, swinging its claw as it barreled into range. Julisa braced herself and executed a biotic dash, passing beneath the creature's arm and skidding to a halt behind it. She turned and fired upon its unarmored back, and the Prothean rifle's beam carved a trail through the beast's flesh.

It turned and charged toward her again, but Julisa had the same thought at the same time. She executed a biotic charge, driving herself into the creature's head as it rushed toward her. The impact sent both of them reeling, and the former commando staggered backward and fell, landing gracelessly on her backside. But she didn't let the fall distract her. She fired the particle rifle at the creature's head, keeping her finger upon the trigger until the beam's power input increased. Just as the beam cut off and an alarm from her rifle sounded, the creature's head withered and melted away into ash, and its massive body keeled over. Julisa had to scramble to avoid being crushed beneath the creature's bulk.

The captain quickly got to her feet and glanced in through the window to check on the rest of the men that had been following her, but she found the entire group still standing and apparently uninjured. One man was stalking from cannibal corpse to cannibal corpse, firing a final shot into the head of each. The captain's gaze turned to the group in the street ahead. There were only a half-dozen cannibals and a few turian Reapers on the side of the survivors that faced them. It would be a simple matter for their two squads to deal with them and evacuate the survivors.

_"Building's clear,"_ the blonde's voice announced, and she saw the woman and her squad gathered just inside a doorway on the opposite side of the street.

_"This one too,"_ Corporal Rivera announced.

"Then everyone, hit the group on this side of the survivors now," Julisa instructed, bracing her feet against the ground and altering her mass for a charge.

An instant later, she was standing in the midst of the enemy forces, and a turian figure crashed face first into the slab of concrete it was using as cover, its shield shattered. Julisa focused upon building up all of the biotic energy she could, which she released in an omni-directional wave that knocked several nearby Reapers flat. She turned and took aim at a fallen Reaper, but when she squeezed the trigger, the alarm she'd heard earlier merely repeated. The fallen cannibal raised its gun arm and fired at her point blank, forcing her to dive over the concrete slab beside her to get out of the line of fire. Once she was under cover, she turned her attention to the rifle, trying to figure out how to reset it. She'd never had this problem before. But then, she'd never fired the rifle continuously until it overheated either.

The sounds of rifle fire filled the air, and over it all, she could hear the occasional crack of a sniper rifle's discharge. She finally spotted a small release button near the trigger and pressed it, and the weapon immediately released a burst of heat and steam. She saw a small red line on the side of the rifle go dark, and then slowly fill with blue light.

_Must be a power indicator_, she realized. But she didn't have time to dwell upon the workings of the rifle. Now that her weapon was functional once more, she needed to get back into the fight. She leapt over the concrete slab and picked a target, charging into it and sending it tumbling over the rubble.

The fighting was done within seconds. The Alliance soldiers were well-trained and efficient, and when the last of the cannibals fell, Julisa turned and scrambled over the pile of twisted steel and concrete to reach the survivors. As she neared the point where they were entrenched, she heard Illitha's voice over the comms.

_"Attention defenders in the street below: Hold your fire to the south flank. Alliance and allied forces are incoming on that side. Prepare to evacuate your position."_

Julisa circled around a massive chunk of the collapsed building, and found a group of several young men and women in civilian attire huddled together in a depression amidst the rubble. Around them, a handful of Alliance soldiers were firing over cover in multiple directions.

"Come on," she called to them. "We are withdrawing to the buildings behind your position. We have shuttles waiting on the roof."

"Thank god," one of the women exclaimed, and the civilians quickly did as they were told. The Alliance soldiers were slower to leave their positions, and Julisa saw several of the men in her group climb up on the rubble to join them in firing at the enemy.

"Move," she demanded. "We cannot stay here until the Reapers spread out to flank you again."

"Fall back," one of the defenders commanded.

One by one, the marines left their positions behind. Once they had all withdrawn, the men that had joined them quickly broke off their attack and joined the rest in the retreat. Julisa waited until the last of the men had passed her, and then she too withdrew, covering the group's retreat. A few cannibals appeared over the cover the marines had been using, but the Prothean rifle made quick work of them. By the time the third one fell, they had reached the building upon which the shuttles waited.

The former commando was pleased. While she hadn't been happy about Illitha's decision to divert from their destination for a rescue, it had all gone about as well as could be expected. No one had been seriously injured, and they had saved a quartet of civilians and five Alliance soldiers. She hoped that the fighting to come would go even half as well…

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited/followed or otherwise paid any attention to this story. It really does keep me inspired to know that so many people have taken a liking to this little tale, and I'm really hoping that you'll all stick with me until the end of the ride. I promise to do my best to keep it interesting.**

**I don't actually have anything specific to say about this Chapter. But I'm happy with the response I got overall about the last couple, both of which I was anxious to hear thoughts about. So, I will just finish here by saying that if everything remains problem-free, my next Chapter should go up on Friday morning. Until then, I hope everyone had a great weekend, and that you all have an excellent week!**


	55. Chapter 55: Accusations

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Fifty-Five: Accusations

.

**Approaching F.O.B. Delta-1…**

Selura sat silently in the copilot's chair, watching through the viewport as the shuttle soared over the trees toward the Alliance base. The camp was barely visible as they approached, seen only as brief glimpses of lights or of the sun glinting off of metal. The base was located in sparse woodland, and the twisted trees had large, umbrella-like canopies that hid much of what was beneath them from view. Only the landing field was completely clear of impediments, and they were rapidly approaching that gap in the foliage.

Selura glanced sidelong at her girlfriend, and had to smile at the expression on the quarian's face. Not for one moment thus far did she regret using a clearer visor in the helm of Neela's new suit; she would have been denied such wonderful sights with anything more opaque. The pilot was smiling a serene little smile as she guided the shuttle low over the trees, clearly finding some measure of peace while at the controls of the transport. After all of the misery, frustration and loss that had been heaped upon the poor girl over the past week or so, it filled the asari's heart with warmth to see such a simple expression of joy on that beautiful face.

When they departed from the Prothean ruin, Selura had been assigned to ride in Zaeed's shuttle with the rest of the 'Support Services' unit, which included the engineers, the civilian explosives technician, the geologist, and the doctor. Despite how much she had teased Neela about wanting to ride in the other shuttle, when it actually came to pass, she'd been upset. Thus when they'd touched down on the rooftop during their little diversion to rescue the civilians and soldiers in the city, she'd quickly switched shuttles, joining Neela in the cockpit for the rest of the journey. At that moment, she was very glad she had done so.

_"Unidentified vessel, this is Surveillance Unit One, Forward Operations Base Delta-One," _a voice announced over the cockpit frequency. _"Our spotters have your shuttles tagged as Cerberus aircraft. Divert from your current flight path or we will be forced to open fire."_

"Illitha, you should come up here," Selura called over the intercom to the passenger compartment of the shuttle.

"Hold your fire," Neela was already responding to the transmission. "We're not Cerberus. We are an allied unit comprised of independent mercenaries and rescued Alliance personnel. We're carrying civilian refugees. We came to join the offensive in the city. We're requesting permission to land."

_"You're in Cerberus shuttles,"_ the voice returned. _"We cannot allow you to pass over our airspace for security reasons. Circle around to approach vector 129 and hold for further instructions."_

"Acknowledged," Neela turned the shuttle, and Selura watched as the other shuttle banked and followed suit.

The door opened, and Illitha stepped inside, looking at Selura curiously. Selura simply shrugged. She assumed the engineer had heard the entire exchange, and she had no idea what to say. She had never even imagined that they might be turned away because they were in Cerberus shuttles, and apparently no one else had considered it either.

"Surveillance Unit One," Illitha spoke up. "This is Illitha T'Zari. I-I am in command of the forces in these shuttles. These vessels were seized from Cerberus forces at a facility to the south. I am… uh… We are allied vessels carrying Alliance forces. W-We are requesting permission to land and are willing to be met and searched by base security if necessary. Please inform your commanding officer of the situation."

Silence reigned following the transmission, and Selura glanced from Illitha to Neela, trying to guess what they might do if the Alliance wouldn't allow them to land. Joining this big battle the Alliance had been organizing was their only real option for helping the people of Terra Nova. If they were turned away here, would they decide to go seize the Cerberus cruiser and just leave the planet behind? She could see both Zaeed and Captain Nisaria being fine with that choice, but something told her Illitha would not want to go. The idea didn't sit well with Selura either, but she would go wherever Neela decided to go in such an eventuality.

_"Permission to land granted,"_ the voice finally returned. _"Circle around and approach the landing field from the south. Be advised that anti-aircraft defenses are locked on and tracking. Any deviation from your assigned flight path will be met with defensive fire."_

"Understood," Illitha said softly. "Thank you."

The engineer disappeared into the passenger compartment, and Selura exchanged glances with Neela. The quarian looked a little nervous after this unexpected wrinkle, and in truth, Selura was feeling the same way. Something about the start of their introduction to the Alliance forces here did not bode well for the meetings to come.

Selura waited anxiously to get a look at the base, which was only really possible once they were descending upon the airfield itself. The F.O.B. was a compact maze of shipping containers, stacked three-high to form walls that separated various areas from one another. There were signs of permanent structures among the prefabs, and the ground through most of the area was concrete, with a road leading south through the trees, leading the asari to believe that this had been some sort of preexisting complex before the Alliance had chosen to occupy it. A plaza at the end of the road was being used as the airfield, and the Alliance seemed to be using the road as a runway for their fighters to take off and land, judging from the way a few stray fighter craft were parked along its edge. Trucks sporting racks of missiles served as anti-aircraft artillery at the edges of the airfield clearing, and heavy turrets were posted atop the shipping-container walls to give the base added security.

The thing that stood out most to Selura as they descended into the base, however, was the lack of soldiers and vehicles in the area. Given that a major offensive was planned, she had expected to find hundreds or thousands of troops milling around, along with a large number of vehicles and fighters. As she looked around the camp, she was beginning to think that the delay involved with stopping to rescue the civilians and soldiers in the city might have cost them the chance to participate.

"I expected more people," Neela muttered. The quarian had obviously been thinking the same thing.

"Maybe they already started the fighting," Selura suggested.

Neela activated the communications system and opened the preset frequencies Rachel had provided so that they could monitor the assault and work with the Alliance forces during the fighting. She figured that if the fighting had already started, there would be transmissions to prove it.

_"Spearhead Alpha in position,"_ a voice on the Alliance frequency announced.

Selura listened as more Alliance teams announced their readiness. Spearhead Alpha through Delta, Bulwark Alpha through Gamma, Overwatch Alpha, Warcry Alpha and Bravo, Whisper Alpha, Wing Alpha through Delta, and Armor Alpha and Bravo were all among the teams to report. As they listened to the radio reports, Selura was both surprised and pleased. She hadn't been sure how much military might the Alliance would have left, but depending on the number of people in each group, it sounded like there could be a sizeable force preparing for the assault to come. The downside was that they had apparently missed the deployment.

Her attention was drawn by a group of Alliance soldiers that was walking out to meet their shuttle. It seemed that this was the security team sent to meet them. She counted eleven people in total. Ten armed marines, with a man in a somewhat disheveled dress uniform at the front of the group. Rising from her seat, she slipped past Neela's chair and headed into the passenger area, weaving her way through the troops that were gathering near the door and joining Illitha and Captain Nisaria at the hatch. The moment it popped open, the three of them hopped down and strode out to meet the advancing soldiers. Beside her, Illitha pulled off her helmet and tucked it beneath her arm. She knew that it was merely a convenient place to keep the helmet while the girl was talking, but the gesture still struck her having a rather military feel to it, and she had to smile.

"Lieutenant-Commander Kosar," the lead officer introduced himself, holding out a hand toward Illitha as she approached. "Are you in charge of this group?"

"Illitha T'Zari," Illitha introduced herself in turn. "Y-Yes. I am the commander of this little group. This is Captain Nisaria," she gestured toward the elder asari in introduction before turning to Selura. "And this is Selura Leneur. W-We rescued some of your men and a few civilians on the way in."

The lieutenant-commander's eyes turned to the shuttles, and he studied the group that was gathering in front of them as the two vehicles emptied of their occupants. After a moment, he nodded his head, a look of satisfaction settling over his features.

"Good work, Ms. T'Zari," he finally said. "I count twelve of our people. We'll get them folded into our command structure immediately."

"What?" Illitha turned to look over her shoulder, and Selura did the same. After a moment, she realized that the man was counting everyone in an Alliance uniform as part of the Alliance forces they had rescued… including Rachel and the marines that were under Illitha's command. Apparently the engineer came to the same realization. "N-No… Only five of those men were rescued. I-I brought the rest. They are _my_ people."

The officer's expression shifted subtly, and he studied them speculatively. Illitha stood still as a statue under his gaze, and Selura resisted the urge to smile. She could tell by the tension in the engineer's posture that she was suppressing the urge to fidget. Even after commanding men in combat, she was still clearly uncomfortable with attention.

"What are you? A Merc? Asari Commando? What?" Kosar finally demanded. "How does an asari come to be fighting on Terra Nova, gathering human forces under her command?"

"D-Does it matter?" Illitha asked. "We came to assist in your offensive. These men and women have all been with me f-for at least a week. S-Some for much longer. We work well together and we trust each other."

"All our battle groups are already getting into position. Deployment for Operation Clarity commenced an hour ago. Why don't you and your people come with me? I'll introduce you to Captain Shirakawa and you and he can discuss the matter of your 'command' over our personnel."

Illitha glanced back at the group, and she nodded slowly. "We need… I-I want to leave some of my people here with the shuttles. Can you authorize refueling?"

"Yeah," Kosar nodded. "Regardless of the decisions that might be made about your Alliance personnel, we've been resupplying everyone who comes to join the offensive."

"Then you can assist with equipment as well? Grenades? Food? Perhaps some armor and helmets for those of my people that do not have them?"

Selura's brows rose at this last request. She hadn't even thought of it. But if the Alliance could supply them with additional weapons and gear, it would be a great help, she knew. They were running very short on supplies. Especially food.

"The munitions prefab is right there, on the edge of the airfield," Kosar pointed to a large structure. "Send your non-Alliance people over there to pick up what you need."

"Thank you," Illitha smiled.

"Talk to your people. But bring our soldiers with you to the meet with the Captain. He'll want to talk to them."

Illitha nodded and turned, walking over to the rest of their group. Selura, however, lingered near the lieutenant-commander, clearing her throat uncertainly. She wanted to ask about dextro-based supplies, but she wasn't sure it would even be worth the time.

"Something I can help you with, Miss?" Kosar asked.

"Uh… We have a quarian in our group. And dextro-based supplies are getting really scarce. I don't suppose you have any dextro-based food in your stockpile?"

"A ton of it," the man said without hesitation. "Help yourself."

"Seriously?" Selura was shocked. "But… How?"

"We were supposed to be hosting a Turian Spec-Ops regiment next month for intercultural training and war games. When the Reapers hit, we cleaned out our storerooms during the evacuation. There wasn't time to sort through it all and take only what we needed," Kosar explained. "That dextro stuff is just taking up space. Take it."

Selura didn't have to be told twice. She glanced toward the munitions prefab, and then back at the rest of her group. Illitha was talking to the people there. Selura smiled at the marine and thanked him, and then hurried back to the gathering by the shuttle. She planned to get Neela's help and stuff the cargo area of the shuttle with as much dextro-based food as it could fit. And finally, she would be able to put to rest her fears of watching her girlfriend starve…

* * *

**Hills East of Dotterstown…**

Aida kept low as she crept up the rocky hillside, keeping a firm grip upon Candice's small hand as they approached the crest of the hill. A thick plume of black smoke was drifting up from the other side of rise, and she had no way of knowing what they would find waiting for them. Harper was just ahead of her, moving swiftly up the incline toward the top of the rise. The human had insisted on taking the lead, and since he was the only trained soldier present, Aida hadn't argued. They had no weapons or equipment, so they had to avoid conflict at all costs. While Aida's biotics could provide limited offense, she knew she didn't have the energy to fight off any significant Reaper force.

It had been a long walk toward Dotterstown from the city following their escape, and Aida was exhausted and starving. They'd been surviving on the occasional handful of berries and some raw root vegetables that grew in the low spots between hills, but it was not nearly enough to make up for the days she'd spent in a cell without food. They had experienced a small bit of luck when they found a couple of water bottles among the ruins of a collapsed building before they left the city behind, but over the course of the journey, the water had been used up. They were now into their second day without water, and thirst was proving a difficult thing to ignore. Harper assured her that they were only a few hours from Dotterstown, but there was no telling what condition the city would be in. Aida thought it unlikely that they would find food or water.

"Keep low!"

The hissed warning from Harper brought Aida's thoughts back to the present, and she dropped to her knees on the rocky hillside, which prompted her small blonde companion to do the same. She crawled slowly up to where Harper was crouched at the hilltop, and she peered down into the valley on the other side of the hill cautiously. As soon as she got a look at what lay beyond, she turned and told Candice to stay down and keep quiet.

An armored transport of some kind was in the valley below, and the rear portion of the vehicle was smoldering. This was the source of the thick column of smoke they'd first spotted. The bodies of Alliance soldiers were spread across the ground, and a handful of Reaper cannibals were feasting upon the corpses. Aida's stomach lurched at the sight. A single Reaper turian was with the group, and it scanned the surrounding hillsides while its fellows enjoyed their meal. Aida ducked low when the turian glanced their way, holding her breath and hoping it hadn't seen them.

"They'll move off eventually," Harper hissed. "When they do, we need to go down there and grab whatever weapons and omni-tools are still intact. If I can get the emergency fire-suppression systems in that transport operational, I might be able to get her running. With a vehicle, we could be in the city in fifteen minutes."

"What if the Reapers do not leave?" Aida asked. Even as she asked the question, however, she got the strange feeling that it was unnecessary, because the Reapers would indeed be leaving. She puzzled over the feeling briefly before shrugging it off. She hoped her instincts were correct.

"They'll leave," Harper assured her. "There's nothing to be gained by standing guard over a burning transport."

Aida nodded, and the trio remained on the hillside, waiting patiently for the Reapers to vacate the area. Every so often, Aida would raise her head and peek over the edge to see if they'd yet moved off. When she finally saw them trudging southward, she smiled. It seemed that luck was finally with them. She just hoped there would be intact canteens among the possessions of the dead soldiers. However, when her gaze turned to the grisly remains of the soldiers below, her smile faded.

_Candice does not need to see that,_ she realized.

"Candice," she turned to the child, smiling reassuringly. "You stay up here, okay?"

"No," the child shook her head. "I wanna stay with you."

"We need you to be our lookout," Aida told her. "You stay up here and keep an eye on the hills to the south. Make sure those Reapers do not come back this way. We will go down and gather the things we need, and then I will come right back up here to join you."

Candice frowned at first, and Aida was sure she would refuse. However, the child finally nodded. Aida smiled, pointing toward the southern hillside, where the child would have a clear view to the south, but no sightline to the gore in the valley below.

"You sit on the south side of the hill, and keep careful watch, okay? If you see anything coming this way, you have to warn us."

Candice nodded and hurried off toward the southern face of the hill. When the child moved off, Aida and Harper exchanged glances and smiled, and the two of them started down the hillside into the valley. The engineer went directly for the transport, opening an exterior access port and studying the panel within. Aida carefully threaded her way among the piles of shredded flesh and bone that were all that remained of the bodies, swallowing her disgust at the sight. She gathered up rifles, pistols, omni-tools, and especially canteens wherever she found them. Once she had an armful of salvaged items, she gave one of the omni-tools to Harper, and she took the rest up to the hillside, sitting down near Candice to sort through it all.

She was delighted to find that most of the canteens were at least half full, and she took a single gulp from one of them, passing a second canteen to the child at her side. She had never imagined that simple water could bring as much joy as it did at that moment, after days without it. She knew that they needed to make the water last, so she cautioned Candice to drink only a little bit, and took one more gulp for herself before closing the lid on her container.

With her thirst lessened for the moment, she picked up an omni-tool and started going through it to see what she could access. It was password protected, but fortunately it had been active when its owner was killed, so the protection was already bypassed. She quickly adjusted the settings, removing the need for the security code, and took stock of the programs on the device. The only combat software installed was an EMP generation program, but that was good enough for her. Any form of offense to supplement her biotics was an improvement, especially in combination with a pistol. Her attention turned to the other installed programs, and she paused when she saw the most recent addition to the list.

"Communications Enhancement Filters?" she muttered. "Did the Alliance figure out how to breach the Reaper jamming signals?"

Curiosity was gnawing at her, so she immediately activated one of the Alliance frequencies stored in the omni's memory. She hoped it was a commonly-used Alliance channel, and that she could gather some information about the situation in the city.

_"This is Warcry Alpha,"_ a deep voice greeted her. _"We are in position and prepared to make our diversionary assault on the Reaper forces at the water purification plant. Waiting the go signal."_

_"This is Whisper Alpha,"_ another voice followed the first. _"In position, five blocks south of the embassy building. Preparing to advance and make our incursion. Waiting for go signal."_

_"Spearhead Alpha here,"_ a third voice announced. _"Spearhead and Bulwark forces in position on Warcry's south flank. We are ready and awaiting go signal."_

"Sounds like a serious offensive is underway," Aida muttered, listening as the reports continued to come in. A few of the units seemed to be out of position, but all of them passed along estimates of their time to position that were under ten minutes. The medic smiled to herself as she listened. Whatever the Alliance was planning, she hoped it went well.

"Do you think the Alliance will beat the Reapers?" Candice asked.

For some reason, that thought filled the asari with disquiet. While she understood the urge to defend their planet, she was sure the humans were making the wrong choice. If they just withdrew from the cities, stopped fighting and went into hiding, the Reapers might spare them. She herself just wanted to find the captain and her friends and get off of this horrible world. If only she knew where to find them…

_Wait! These transmissions are clear as can be! Maybe I can contact Lith!_

The thought brought tears to her eyes. She had been away from her best friend for so long that it had been painful. The thought of speaking to her right then and there was so comforting that she immediately started to set up a channel to Illitha's omni-tool. However, just when she was about to open the link, she paused.

_She could be in danger. A sudden transmission might distract her and cause her to be hurt. Maybe I should just wait… Perhaps I could track her somehow…_

She nodded to herself. It was definitely safer to simply track her friend down. She knew Illitha's ID cipher, and Selura had proven on Noveria that such knowledge could be used to trace her to a specific location even through auto-rejections by pinging her omni. She worked to set up a similar system, even though she could barely see what she was doing through tears of longing. She had missed the shy engineer tremendously.

To her vast delight, the initial ping against Illitha's omni-tool indicated that she was somewhere to the west, a short distance south of Dotterstown. It would be an excellent point to travel toward if Harper could get the transport running. Perhaps Illitha was with the Alliance. Or even with the captain! Aida grinned excitedly at the prospect.

"We're in business!" Harper called, and a moment later, the rumble of an engine filled the air.

"I have a destination in mind," Aida called back. "Bring the transport around, and let us get underway!"

* * *

**F.O.B. Delta-1…**

As Illitha returned to the group that waited near the shuttles, she struggled to get her frustration under control. The idea that the Alliance might take the men under her command away from her had occurred to her before, but now it seemed much closer to a reality than a mere possibility. She knew that she had no right to keep them under her command – they were sworn to service in the Alliance, after all – but she cared what became of them. She felt like she owed it to the group to try to keep them together.

"Illitha, what's wrong?" Rachel walked out to meet her as she and the captain approached.

"Th-The lieutenant-commander said they wanted to fold the Alliance soldiers into their command structure," Illitha murmured to the two, hoping that no one else would overhear her. "He… I… I am going to discuss it with the captain in charge, but I am afraid they'll remove you all from my command. The colony security people in our group seem nice, but…"

"You don't really know them," Rachel finished for her.

"Exactly," Illitha nodded.

"Then you have to convince this captain that your team must remain intact," Captain Nisaria told her. "If you really consider these men and women to be under your command, you have to defend your right to lead them."

"B-But they are Alliance soldiers…"

"No excuses," the captain's tone was firm. "Do you command them or not?"

"I do," Illitha's answer was immediate.

"Then defend your right to do so."

Illitha glanced past the captain and Rachel and to the group of soldiers and civilians, all of whom were watching them. She nodded, resolve filling her. These were _her_ people. She had rescued them, led them, and come to trust them. She wouldn't see the Alliance take them from her. Not without a fight. She stepped forward, addressing the crowd.

"The base commander wishes to see me and all of the Alliance soldiers under my command," she announced, forcing herself to sound calm and collected. She glanced at the faces among the crowd, and then at Selura, who was just returning to the group. "Neela, Selura, Jay and Elliot, I want you four to stay with the shuttles while they are refueled. Zaeed," she turned to the mercenary. "W-Would you take the rest to the armory over there?" she pointed out the building in question. "See that our people get armor and grenades, please? And ask about food as well?"

"I'm on it," the mercenary nodded.

"They have a store of dextro-based food here," Selura spoke up. "Once the shuttles are fueled, Neela and I will take as much of it as we can fit into the cargo area."

"Good," Illitha smiled, and her smile only deepened when Neela threw her arms around the young scientist, obviously happy to hear the news. She pried her eyes away from the couple and forced herself to concentrate on the business at hand.

"Those of you in the Alliance, follow me," she instructed, and then turned and led the way toward the waiting lieutenant-commander, who guided them through the camp.

"Everyone will have to leave their weapons with the sentries outside the CIC," Kosar informed them. "Absolutely no weapons are permitted inside the command center."

Illitha understood, and didn't argue. While they were all wearing Alliance gear and presenting themselves as allies, it was an understandable precaution to prevent a newly-arrived group from going into the command center with weapons. If they were indoctrinated spies, they would be able to assassinate Alliance leadership. Of course, if they _were_ indoctrinated, letting two armored biotics into the CIC would be just as disastrous. But the Alliance couldn't exactly disarm her or her captain of their natural abilities.

Within minutes they were all gathered outside of the CIC, where a quartet of sentries began relieving them of their weapons and grenades. Illitha frowned as she handed over her captured Carnifex pistol. She wanted to be sure she got the modified weapon back. The phasic ammo mod had proven useful, and she wanted to keep it. While they were all handing over their weapons, the lieutenant-commander stepped inside to speak to his superiors.

When she was finally ushered inside, Illitha looked around the CIC curiously. The walls of the room were lined with monitoring equipment, communications equipment, and various other forms of data-processing gear. The center of the room was dominated by a huge holo-projection table, which sported a three-dimensional view of the city, with positions of Reaper forces highlighted in red and allied forces highlighted in green. Before she could really get a look at the situation, however, someone disabled the projection and the table went dark.

"Ms. T'Zari, this is Captain Shirakawa," Kosar introduced a rather short human with an intense gaze and a stone-faced expression. "Captain, this is Ms. T'Zari. She is in command of our new arrivals."

Illitha recognized the human's features and the name as being of the human Japanese ethnicity. While the man was shorter even than she was, something about his intensity made him intimidating all the same. She smiled softly and bowed her head in greeting. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Captain."

"Likewise," the man's voice was deep, and he had a very slight accent. Illitha had heard him speak over the radio, but in person, there was a much more authoritative cast to his tone. "I understand you arrived in Cerberus shuttles. Where did you get them?"

"Oh… Uh… I-I…" Illitha hadn't expected the question. She had expected the first order of business to be discussion of her Alliance followers. She struggled to adjust to the unanticipated topic of conversation. "C-Cerberus had a few teams in operation on the planet. We liberated a Prothean ruin from them and took possession of their shuttles and some of their weapons."

"There are no Prothean ruins on Terra Nova," Lieutenant-Commander Kosar shook his head.

"There are, actually," Illitha smiled. "I have footage of the ruin's interior if you wish to see it. I left five Alliance soldiers and a large group of civilians there. We are using the ruin as a shelter for those who cannot fight."

"Upload the data to our computer," Captain Shirakawa instructed.

Illitha uploaded the footage of Crawler's search of the facility to the Alliance computer, along with a nav-point for the ruin's location. As far as she was concerned, this was a human world, and if anyone had the right to know the location of the ruins, it was the Alliance forces protecting the planet. Within moments, the footage came up on the holo-table's projection, and the two Alliance officers were studying the display.

"An archive!" Kosar exclaimed when the footage reached the main archive chamber. "Perhaps we can find some information there that-"

"The archive is dead," Illitha interrupted the man before he could get too excited.

"We can restore it to functionality," Kosar suggested, but Illitha shook her head.

"A-A pair of indoctrinated salarian agents is working with the Reapers on this planet," Illitha informed them. "One of them has a pistol that fires technology-devouring nanites. He used it on the archive. A-According to my specialist who tried to repair the archive, there are billions of microscopic holes bored into every component of the system… The damage is irreparable."

"Unfortunate," Captain Shirakawa said simply. "Is this specialist present?"

"Uh… no," Illitha shook her head. "She is with the shuttles on the airfield."

"And you have been in command of these men and women as well?" the captain was scanning the assembled group of soldiers. Try as she might, Illitha couldn't read his expression.

"W-We rescued five of them on our way into the city. The rest have been with me for a week or… or much longer," she finished with a sidelong glance at Rachel.

"Thank you for returning them to our command structure. Lieutenant-Commander, see them assigned to the appropriate units and-"

"You cannot do that!" Illitha protested. "Th-These are _my _people. I trust them all. We work well as a team. They are my responsibility."

"No longer," the captain shook his head. "They are Alliance soldiers, sworn to defend Alliance interests. Their duty demands their return to our command structure. You are not Alliance. You have no authority over them nor cause to deny their return to us."

"I saved these people," Illitha stepped forward, resting her hands on the edge of the holo-table. "They have been happy to follow me until now. W-We can be an asset to you as an independent unit."

"Enough," the captain barked the word. "I have no time to argue with you, T'Zari. Operation Clarity is underway. Within minutes, the fighting will commence. I cannot be further delayed by this discussion."

"You do not understand-" Illitha started to protest further, but Captain Shirakawa cut her off.

"The rest of you, follow Lieutenant-Commander Kosar. He will see you assigned to Alliance units here on the base."

"I will not let you-" Illitha renewed her protest, her hands clenching into fists, but before she could say another word, two things happened. Rachel cut her off by speaking, and a door at the far side of the room opened.

"I refuse to be reassigned," Rachel raised her voice to be heard over all of the talking. "I am staying with the Spectre."

Illitha winced when she heard that word. She hadn't wanted to be labeled a Spectre in front of the Alliance commander. However, her attention was upon the door at the far side of the room, and the figure that was entering from an adjacent area. As soon as she saw the stern, clean-shaven features of the new arrival and saw his eyes narrow, her heart sank.

"Captain Tarrislav," she murmured, suddenly feeling nauseous.

"This woman is no Spectre," Tarrislav sneered. "She is an indoctrinated Reaper agent. Just look at the dissension she is already causing here. Trust me. Disaster follows her everywhere. Arrest her now."

"You son of a bitch!" Rachel started to lunge past Illitha, but the asari quickly wrapped her arms around her, keeping her from attacking the man.

"She is a Council Spectre," Corporal Rivera spoke up. "She's not indoctrinated. She's been fighting the Reapers ever since we met her."

"A Spectre… Oh please," Tarrislav's tone was icy. "When I met her, she was a simple refugee rescued from a crashed asari cargo vessel, crying and begging to help us because she was scared and needed a distraction. And she has challenged my authority and tried to set my people against me almost from the minute we met."

"You're a liar!" Rachel growled.

"Enough!" Captain Shirakawa roared, bringing silence instantly to the room. His eyes fell upon Illitha, and he regarded her intently. "Are you a Council Spectre?"

Illitha closed her eyes. She had never been forced to answer that question directly before. The few times someone asked, it had been Rachel or another person to confirm it on her behalf. Her head told her to lie and say that she was, but a wave of guilt rose up over that instinct. She shook her head. As soon as she did, murmurs ran through the soldiers behind her. She could hear the disappointment and anger in the tone of some of them. She glanced at Tarrislav, and saw an infuriating look of smug satisfaction settle over his features.

"What is your claim to command then, exactly?" Shirakawa asked calmly. "Are you an asari commando? Special forces of some kind? An officer in the citadel fleet?"

"No," Illitha murmured the word. "I am a starship engineer."

"So you do not even have military training," the captain persisted. "And yet you want me to leave my soldiers under your command? You can understand my hesitance."

"Sir," Corporal Rivera spoke up. "I am… shocked and disappointed to learn that she is not the Spectre she claimed to be-"

"I never claimed that," Illitha interrupted.

"Well… You didn't deny it," the corporal muttered. "But… If you'd seen her in action, you'd know that she is a capable commander and strategist. And she is _not_ indoctrinated. She has saved dozens of people from the Reapers…"

"Which would be an acceptable sacrifice for the Reapers if it placed an indoctrinated agent in a position to hurt the Alliance by betraying their surviving command structure," Tarrislav pointed out. "She saved you all just to ingratiate herself to you and find a position of authority from which to cripple us…"

Rachel renewed her struggles, screaming at Tarrislav over his accusations against the asari. Several of the Alliance soldiers were shouting as well, and Tarrislav continued to rant about Illitha's past confrontations with him. The sentries that had been stationed outside pushed their way through the crowd, obviously drawn by the commotion. Captain Shirakawa shouted for order, and eventually brought the crowd under control, but not before Rachel had threatened to kill Tarrislav. Illitha glanced at Captain Nisaria, begging her to say something… _anything_…

"I have heard enough of this!" Shirakawa growled once order had been restored.

"Captain," Tarrislav was glaring at Illitha, who still had her arms securely locked around Rachel. "I suggest imprisoning the asari and their non-human companions. They are a security risk."

"_He_ is the one that is indoctrinated," Illitha shot back, her frustration finally boiling over. "He has led his men to one devastating loss after another. If you allow him to take part in this operation of yours, it will end in disaster."

"Enough," Captain Nisaria finally spoke, laying a hand upon Illitha's shoulder. "These accusations are getting us nowhere."

"And you are?" Captain Shirakawa prompted.

"Another indoctrinated asari traitor no doubt," Tarrislav sneered.

"Captain," Shirakawa turned to glare at Tarrislav. "Not another word."

Tarrislav lapsed into silence.

"My name is Julisa Nisaria," the captain introduced herself. "Former commando, now retired from service. I was the captain of the _Sileya_, until it was destroyed in orbit by the Reapers. Illitha was under my command."

"If you intend to plead for your subordinate to retain her command over my troops-"

"I do not," Julisa interrupted him. "These arguments are accomplishing nothing, and you have an operation to coordinate. However, I object to the insinuation that we are a security risk. We have been fighting the Reapers since we arrived here. They destroyed my ship. We can help. And you cannot afford to turn away two skilled biotics, a gifted quarian pilot, and the mercenaries and civilian security we brought with us."

"What are you suggesting, exactly?" Shirakawa regarded her expectantly.

"You put out a call for all allied forces to assist you. Surely there must be other units of irregulars participating in your operation? We have two shuttles and a handful of men remaining once your soldiers are removed from the group. Put us to use. We can shuttle out to any zone necessary."

"Captain…" Illitha couldn't believe what she was hearing. The captain had urged her to fight for her right to command the soldiers, and was now refusing to support her. She felt a little betrayed.

"Captain," Tarrislav shook his head. "It's too great a risk. I am telling you… the asari are working with the Reapers."

"The operation is already commencing," Shirakawa frowned. "I am not prepared to imprison potential allies, but neither am I willing to trust you with operational details, given the accusations against you."

"Then we will leave," the former commando shrugged. "Allow us to take a few days' rations with us, and we will remove ourselves from your base and the city. We can harm no one if we are not in the area."

Illitha was staring at her captain, as were most of the other people in the room. The young engineer was simply stunned. They couldn't just give up and go hide in the wilderness while the Reapers and the Alliance continued to fight each other.

"Permission granted," Shirakawa finally said. "Take enough food to feed your people for a week. We can spare that much. You're cleared to depart in one hour, provided your flight path takes you _away_ from the city. Until then, you will be kept under guard. You and your people are barred from any secured area of the base. That includes communications, the armory, the perimeter walls, and the CIC."

"Thank you," Julisa bowed her head, and her hand tightened upon Illitha's shoulder, firmly urging her to follow.

"The rest of you will be broken up and assigned to units here on the base," Shirakawa continued.

"No way," Rachel shook her head.

"Private, you will report for duty where you are assigned. That's an order," Shirakawa glared at her.

"I won't serve in any unit on a base where an indoctrinated agent is in command," Rachel growled, her eyes upon Tarrislav. "I'm staying with Illitha. She's done more on her own to fight the Reapers than this asshole's entire command has done since this war started."

"You little bitch," Tarrislav growled. "I'll see you court-marshaled for this!"

"Don't bother! Consider this my resignation!"

Illitha had loosened her hold upon the blonde when things started calming down, so she was unprepared for what was coming. Rachel suddenly lunged free of her grasp and rushed Tarrislav, slugging him in the jaw before anyone had a chance to react. The captain staggered backward into a console as a result of the blow, and Lieutenant-Commander Kosar quickly tackled the blonde to the floor. Chaos erupted through the room as Illitha hurried forward to try to pull Kosar off of her friend, and sentries quickly moved to break up the fighting. Illitha was pulled away from the others by her captain, and she was dragged outside despite her best efforts to resist.

"What are you thinking?" the captain hissed once they were outside of the CIC. "Your friend just assaulted her superior officer. Getting in the middle of that will only get you jailed."

"She is my friend! I cannot let them arrest her!" Illitha protested, struggling against the elder asari's grasp.

"Illitha, stop!" the captain reprimanded her.

"Why should I listen to _you_?" Illitha whirled around, glaring at the elder asari. "Y-You told me to fight to keep my command and then you all but begged them to take my people away from me!"

The captain's expression hardened, and she frowned at Illitha. The young engineer swallowed at the dangerous glint in the older asari's eyes, but she stood her ground, waiting impatiently for an explanation.

"Were you paying attention in there?" the captain demanded. "When that second captain challenged your claim as a Spectre and you admitted the truth, the majority of the marines in that room looked either angry or embarrassed. They were not going to follow you against the orders of their superior. And then your hotheaded friend started threatening to kill a higher-ranking officer."

"What is your point?" Illitha demanded sullenly, though she was unhappy at the revelation that she had been too focused on Tarrislav to realize that she'd lost the support of most of her group.

"The point is this: You were not paying attention to the situation. If I had not stepped in and attempted to diffuse the situation and placate them in some way, we might have found ourselves imprisoned as suspected spies."

Illitha's shoulders slumped. She didn't like it, but the captain was right. Things were quickly spiraling out of control, and had she not introduced a calming influence to the situation, they might well have been arrested. Just as Rachel was no doubt going to be. "They will arrest Rachel now," Illitha hung her head. The knowledge that the blonde had been defending her honor was flattering, but the fact that Rachel had likely thrown away her career on her behalf made her feel miserable. "She has been a good friend to me, and now may have destroyed her career because of our friendship. I cannot let them imprison her."

"She removed that choice from your hands."

"Maybe I could speak to them… Convince them-"

"Illitha, do not be foolish. That man Tarrislav obviously hates you. If you go back in there, you risk ending up imprisoned with her. What did you do to him to make him so angry?"

"I… I may have insulted him a few times… o-or a dozen," Illitha admitted, unable to meet her captain's gaze. "B-But in my defense, he was making idiotic decisions…"

"I get the idea," the captain shook her head.

"What do we do now?" Illitha asked. "I do not want to leave the base and let Rachel languish in a cell…"

Illitha felt miserable, and she knew that misery was written all over her face. When the door opened at that moment, and she saw Rachel being escorted out in restraints, bleeding from a cut on her lip, her misery only increased. She felt the captain grab her wrist and tighten her grip, silently urging her with the contact not to interfere in the arrest. Illitha's eyes followed the blonde as she was led away.

"You want to help your friend?" Julisa asked her.

"I have to. She has been with me through almost all of this. I owe it to her. A-And I… like her," she said softly.

"I appreciate the fact that she was so vehement in her defense of your character. Getting her off of an Alliance base will not be easy," the captain murmured. "But it can be done. Go to the shuttles and tell the rest of the humans the truth about yourself. They will hear it eventually anyway. It would be better if it came from you. And tell Neela to prepare the shuttles for launch while you are there. Then meet me at the edge of the airfield. I will find out where they are taking your friend and get a look at the security there." As she spoke, the elder asari loosened her hold upon the engineer. "But I have to go now, while things are still disorganized because of the commotion. Once they make good on their threat to assign guards to watch us…" the asari trailed off.

Illitha turned to look at her, eyes widening in realization. The captain actually meant to break Rachel out of the Alliance holding area? While the elder asari had explained her earlier deference, Illitha had never expected her to advocate such a blatant violation of the peace between them. If they were caught, they would end up imprisoned, just like the captain had been trying to avoid in the first place.

"You never meant to actually leave as you promised," Illitha said softly.

"The Reapers threaten us all," the elder asari shrugged. "We may not be able to participate in the operation, but we can still find a way to assist. Meet me at the west edge of the airfield in ten minutes. Now go and talk to the others."

Illitha watched as her captain turned and walked off to a point from where she could see the path the Alliance military police were taking with Rachel. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm her nerves for the conversation to come. While she knew most or all of the civilians would abandon them when they found out the truth, she was looking forward to finally being free of the title of Spectre. She was sick of pretending to be something she was not. It hurt her to know that she'd lost the support of so many good men because of the lie, but it would still be a relief to leave it behind.

Once the men were dealt with, she could concentrate on freeing Rachel and finding a way to contribute to the war once again. Nothing had gone the way she hoped it would thus far, and she felt sick now that she knew Tarrislav was involved in the Alliance offensive. It seemed clear to her that there was a disaster coming. She just hoped they could find a way to keep things from falling apart completely.

"Hey," a voice drew her attention.

The soldiers she'd brought with her were leaving the CIC, and she turned to find Corporal Rivera, Privates Olimar and Tandis, and Engineer Rowan standing nearby, all watching her. Illitha took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh, trying to keep her head up and meet their gazes. She couldn't tell by looking at them whether they were angry or not, but they all looked uncomfortable.

"I am sorry," she said without preamble. "I did not mean to mislead anyone. It was just… once p-people thought I was a Spectre…"

"You don't have to apologize," Corporal Rivera cut off her explanation. "I get it. I admit, for a second I was kinda pissed, but when I thought about it, I remembered how it went down. Someone said 'Spectre' and we all jumped at the chance to follow you. You did what you had to do to keep the team united. You let us believe what we _needed_ to believe to give us hope."

"Fuck, you played the part to perfection," Olimar offered a faint smile. "I never doubted it for a fucking second."

"We can't stick with you against the orders of our superiors," Rivera sounded almost apologetic. "You understand, right? It's not that we don't wanna support you…"

"I understand," Illitha said softly. She was actually rather relieved to know that she hadn't lost the respect of the men she'd been leading. Or at least not _all_ of them.

"We just wanted you to know that some of us remember how hard you fought for us," Private Tandis grinned at her and nodded his head once. "Tarrislav is an idiot. Don't let his bullshit get to you. We're glad you're on our side."

"Fuckin' A," Olimar grinned.

Illitha could only smile at the sentiment. Though it embarrassed her on some level to think she was worthy of the respect and admiration of real soldiers, it still bolstered her confidence to know that she had _earned_ their respect, and that she didn't need a false title to keep it.

"We have to report for reassignment," Rivera sighed audibly at the announcement. "Stay safe out there… Spectre," the corporal extended a hand.

Illitha nodded, shaking Rivera's hand, and then that of each other man in turn. As they walked away, she felt some of the weight lift from her shoulders. She still had a difficult conversation ahead of her, but at long last she felt the burden of the deception slip away. Whatever else might happen, she'd made some friends. She silently wished her entire "command" the best of luck. She hoped to see them all again in the future.

* * *

**Detention Area, F.O.B. Delta-1…**

Rachel stood as if in a daze while the security detail removed her restraints and ordered her into the small cell that would serve as her home for the foreseeable future. In the heat of the moment, while Tarrislav had been assassinating Illitha's character, she had been enraged. The asari was the best person she had _ever _known, and to hear her former commander accuse the girl of being in league with the Reapers had been infuriating. Now, however, with the adrenaline and the anger fading, she was slowly coming to the realization of what she had done…

Her career was over. Joining the Alliance was the only good thing she had ever done with her life, and by assaulting Tarrislav, she had just guaranteed herself a dishonorable discharge, after which she would probably struggle to find even a low-paying job at a store kiosk somewhere. She _certainly_ couldn't go home and face her mother and her sisters. She would be a disappointment to her family, as she had been all through her adolescence. She slumped to a seat on the bench in the cell, and felt tears trickle down her cheeks. She didn't even bother to wipe them away.

_I could become a mercenary, I guess…_ she mused, but the idea of fighting for whoever would pay her didn't fill her with the sense of pride she'd always felt while serving in the Alliance. Mercenaries were little more than glorified thugs in her eyes. At least if she was pushing a sanitizer around some space station somewhere, she would feel like she was earning an honest day's pay…

She could hear the men in the security detail talking to the sentry on watch, but she couldn't hear what was being said. She blocked out the sounds and curled up on the bench facing the wall, sobbing softly over the stupidity of the choice she'd made. Tarrislav was an ass, but he wasn't worth the price she'd paid to hit him, no matter how satisfying it had been to do it.

"Hey, is it true that you hit Captain Tarrislav?" a male voice intruded upon her misery.

"Yeah. So what?" she murmured.

"Damn," the young man chuckled. "Striking a _captain_… That took some serious guts."

"I'm gonna be court-marshaled, so you can stop rubbing it in," the blonde snapped.

"Whoa there, killer," the young man laughed. "I'm not rubbing anything in. I'm trying to express admiration. I knew that guy was a dick ten seconds after I met him. Just tell me you broke his nose… Bloodied his lip? Gave him a black eye? _Something_?"

Rachel rolled over, glaring at the young sentry suspiciously. She was almost certain that he was making fun of her. However, when she saw his face, she could detect only sincere amusement and perhaps even admiration in his expression. The fire slowly faded from her eyes, and she shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm not sure. I hit him hard enough to knock him into the console behind him. But someone drove me into the floor pretty fast after that, so I didn't get to see his face."

"Man… I'll be looking at chow time. I swear, if he's sporting bruises, I'll smuggle some powdered cocoa back here for you. You look like a cocoa girl…"

"What's your name?" Rachel asked. The young man was… odd. But there was something charming about that oddity. She hoped that he might help her.

"Desmond Kieting. Nice to meet you, Rachel," he grinned at her, and then quickly added, "Your name was listed on the file security gave me."

"Forget the cocoa. Would you do something else for me?"

"I can't let you out. So don't ask."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I wasn't going to."

"Okay, then name it. I'll see what I can do."

"There are a bunch of asari in the camp. Find the one with pale blue skin… she's the most petite one of the bunch by far. Tell her to get out of this camp as soon as she can. Tarrislav will do anything he can to get her thrown in here with me. She needs to leave."

"Petite asari with pale blue skin. Got it. She your girlfriend?"

"No," Rachel snapped.

"Okay, okay," Desmond held up his hands in a placating gesture. "No offense intended. But I wouldn't blame you. Asari are damn sexy. And something about asari and other girls together…" he trailed off, grinning and staring off into space. "Well, you can't blame a guy for being curious."

Rachel put her head in her hands. While there had been a small bit of initial charm to be found in her companion, the charm was quickly fading. He was starting to be a little obnoxious. She wondered just how long she would have to put up with him before he was off-duty. She would have liked to tell him she was married and he should leave her alone, but she needed to be sure he would pass along her message first.

_Although, something tells me I'm wasting my time. Illitha is bound to try something dumb… like breaking me out of here. And then Tarrislav will have all the proof he needs that she is a traitor…_

Checking the urge to sigh, Rachel raised her head and smiled at the young man outside the cell, doing her best to be polite until he was able to pass along her message. He started to tell her about himself and his family, and seemed driven to frequently interject little flirtatious comments into his commentary. After just five more minutes of listening to his prattle, she started to secretly entertain thoughts of strangling him just to shut him up.

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: First, let me take this opportunity, as I always do, to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited/followed or otherwise given any attention to this story. I am doing my very best to continue to entertain you all, and I hope I am succeeding! I really appreciate the support everyone has given, whether it be through comments, PMs, or just coming back Chapter after Chapter to read more. Thank you so much.**

**Just a few small notes about this Chapter. And the first relates to the Citadel DLC: I had long been planning to include mention of the Turian/Human training exercise alluded to in this Chapter, and since I am four Chapters ahead in my writing, this was written before the DLC even came out. As a result, I was tickled when Anderson mentioned in one of the excerpts on the DLC how he had once trained with a turian squad and he thought every soldier should do it. I came to the same conclusion, obviously! It just seems to me that though humans and turians started out at war, there's a good collaborative relationship between the races now... co-developing the Normandy, reparations paid for Shanxi, turians participating in human hand-to-hand fighting sports, and all the other things mentioned in the game point to it.**

**The other little note regards Illitha's loss of her command. I know it seems like I spent a bunch of time working up her command and all that and now I've just nullified all that work. But I promise, I have plans on that front. I can't say more without spoilers, but believe me when I say there was a purpose behind it all. Plus, I felt that it was an appropriate way to add impact to the moment when the truth came out for the present.**

**Unless something unexpected happens, the next update to the story will be on Wednesday morning. So until then, I hope everyone has a Happy Easter if you celebrate the holiday, and if not, have a great weekend!**


	56. Chapter 56: Traitors

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Fifty-Six: Traitors

.

**Transport Truck, Entering F.O.B. Delta-1…**

Aida stood in the aisle between the driver's and passenger's seats in the transport truck, staring at the massive barricade in front of them. A wall had been constructed out of shipping containers, presenting a towering defense against outside attack that anything short of an actual Reaper would have had difficulty in breaching. They were rapidly approaching a gap in the wall, which was flanked by heavy turrets and guarded by armed Alliance soldiers. According to Aida's makeshift tracking system, Illitha's omni-tool was located somewhere in this Alliance base, and the medic was so eager to see her best friend that she felt like she was on the verge of tears.

One of the Alliance soldiers stepped out into the center of the road at their approach, but Aida's eyes were on the turrets flanking the gate, which were tracking them as they came closer. She could almost imagine the massive weapons opening fire, and the image in her head made her feel suddenly uneasy. Harper was apparently unfazed. He slowed the vehicle when the man in the road waved them down, and then opened the outer door so that he could speak to the sentry.

"Identify yourself," the guard instructed.

"Corporal Todd Harper," the engineer introduced himself. "This is Aida and Candice. We escaped from the ruins of Scott and came here looking for somewhere safe. We haven't eaten in days. We could really use some food, and Aida should see a medic."

"Open the deployment ramp," the sentry demanded.

Harper nodded and pulled the lever that caused the rear hatch to open and flip downward to form a ramp. Under ordinary circumstances, the ramp would have allowed the soldiers carried in the transport to quickly exit the vehicle. However, with all the damage to the rear section of the transport, the ramp only descended halfway before it became stuck. The sentry peered into the blackened and melted interior of the rear compartment for a moment, and then returned to the driver's side door.

"Take the vehicle straight ahead. At the end of this road is a plaza. Park it there. Someone there can direct you to the mess hall and the infirmary. Then report to Lieutenant-Commander Kosar for instructions. I'll radio him and tell him you're coming."

"Thanks," Harper smiled and pulled his door shut. He toggled the lever for the rear door, but the ramp remained firmly rooted in position.

Aida smiled as they passed through the gate and into the Alliance base. Some aspects of the interior layout reminded her of F.O.B. Alpha-5… the prefab units and the general positioning of the various buildings was similar. Beyond those details, however, this position was a tremendous improvement over the first Alliance base she'd been on. The shipping-container walls were much more secure than the portable barricades that had surrounded the first base. This base was also built upon preexisting roads, it seemed, as the street they were now rolling along was concrete, and she could see permanent structures among the prefabs. Together with the twisted trees and their high canopies that shielded the base from the sight of anything passing overhead, this new Alliance camp seemed much more secure than Alpha-5 had ever been.

The transport rolled along until they reached the point the sentry had mentioned, where the street opened into a large plaza. Upon reaching that point, however, Aida's eyes were immediately drawn to a pair of shuttles parked at the center of the area, both of which bore the Cerberus logo and colors. Her brows rose, and for a moment she caught herself wondering if the Alliance was working with Cerberus. As Harper turned their vehicle and circled around the shuttles, however, a small group of people came into view. Aida saw a blue face among the group, and a small sob escaped her.

She was scrambling through the ruined rear compartment of the vehicle before Harper even brought the truck to a complete stop. The instant the transport stopped moving, she squeezed through the opening afforded by the disabled ramp, stumbling out into the open air. She was sprinting toward the group within seconds. She could see Selura, and even Neela seemed to be present, though she'd never seen a suit quite like the one the quarian was wearing. There were several humans there as well. But she saw no sign of her best friend or her captain.

"Aida!" a voice cried out from somewhere to her right.

Her attention diverted toward the sound of that voice, and tears blurred her vision. Illitha was running out from a spot between two prefabs that bordered the plaza. Aida sprinted for her, and moments later, her best friend almost tackled her with a hug. Aida caught the engineer's armored form in a vice-like grip, sobbing joyfully. A part of her had feared she would never see Illitha again. Illitha was crying and laughing at the same time, and the two held onto each other, neither particularly willing to let the other go.

"I-I tried to contact you," Illitha murmured, her voice thick with tears. "When I got no answers, I thought… I was afraid that…" the engineer trailed off. Apparently she couldn't even put her fears into words. But she didn't have to.

"I know, Lith," Aida said softly. "Things happened and I… I did not think I would see you again."

"Where have you been?" Illitha drew back just enough to see her face. "Not knowing has been killing me."

"It is… a very long story," Aida sighed. "But it can wait. I have not eaten much in days. I need food."

"The Alliance has plenty," Illitha smiled, wiping her eyes when Aida finally released her hold upon her. "The mess hall is over here," she added, pointing out a building on the north side of the plaza.

"Come with me," Aida smiled, brushing the moisture from her own cheeks and stepping back to look her friend over. "You can tell me what you have been doing while we were apart. It is odd to see you in armor."

"I…" the engineer frowned, glancing toward the prefabs where she had been standing when Aida first spotted her. Aida followed her gaze, confused by her friend's reluctance to spend time with her. "I want to," Illitha finally said. "But I have to do something first. The captain… she will be meeting me over there any minute. It… it is important."

"Then I will come with you," Aida offered, though her stomach was making a very audible protest to the idea.

"No," Illitha shook her head. "I do not want you involved… in case this does not work like we want it to. And you need food. As soon as you have eaten, get aboard one of the shuttles. We… It… We might have to leave in a big hurry."

"Lith, what is going on?" Aida demanded.

"It is a long story," the young engineer said softly. "But Tarrislav is here. And a friend is locked up because of him. We are going to get her out."

"You are…" Aida stared at her friend. The full import of her words was taking a moment to sink in. "You mean you are going to break someone out of Alliance custody? And… the captain is helping?" She was stunned. The idea that her best friend and the captain would be contemplating such a blatant act of defiance against their allies was a bit overwhelming.

"Make sure you are on the shuttle as soon as possible," Illitha urged. "I am not going to leave anyone behind here."

"Who is this person you are rescuing?" Aida asked. If Illitha hadn't said they were going to get 'her' out, she would have assumed it was Prathus, since there was no sign of the turian. But she had no idea what female could be so important, given the fact that she could clearly see Selura and Neela. The two girls were headed toward them, Neela moving with the assistance of crutches.

"Rachel. She is… a friend," Illitha said softly.

Aida saw a hint of a blush creep into her best friend's cheeks, and she found herself once more surprised by the turn of events. Illitha had never been very good at hiding her feelings, and Aida could see the shy engineer's emotions written all over her face. Her best friend was infatuated with this girl. She had clearly missed a great deal.

"And Prathus is supporting this plan?" Aida asked as Neela and Selura joined them. "Is he with the captain?"

Aida glanced at Neela, and realized for the first time that she could actually see the quarian's face through the visor of her helmet. However, when saw the looks of sorrow and pain that clouded the expressions of her three friends, any wonder she might have felt over that fact was eclipsed by the swift ache that filled her heart. She knew what they were going to say before anyone said a word.

"No…" she gasped out the word.

Almost immediately, Illitha's arms were around her. Aida felt her knees give out, and she collapsed into her friend's embrace, sobbing once again, though this time in sorrow rather than joy. She could hear her friends offering sympathy for her pain, and she knew they all shared it, but she was barely hearing them. She'd lost a friend, and the surge of grief she felt was overwhelming.

_I knew this would happen… They should not be fighting the Reapers. It will only get more of us killed. We need to leave this planet. We need to do it now…_

Illitha continued to support her, and the only small sliver of comfort she found was the embrace of her best friend. She knew that the engineer needed to go and save this girl she liked, but she couldn't force herself to let her go.

"Come on," Selura urged, sliding an arm around her. "Let's get you something to eat. We can talk in the mess hall."

Aida was shaking as she released her hold upon the engineer and leaned on the scientist instead. She could see the indecision and misery upon her best friend's face, and she knew that it was hurting Illitha to think of leaving her while she was in such a state. In truth, she was a little hurt that Illitha would want to go help someone else when she needed her. But she forced herself to say the exact opposite of what she felt.

"Go, Lith. Rescue your friend."

Illitha stared at her for a moment longer, chewing on her lower lip, obviously torn by indecision. Then her expression filled with resolve and she nodded once. "I will be back soon," she promised. "And then we will have plenty of time to talk. I am sorry."

Aida watched sullenly as her best friend turned and hurried away. She knew it was wrong to be mad at her for going to save someone she cared about, but she couldn't help the way she felt. She was upset and hurt, and she needed Illitha. And some other girl was pulling her away. She found herself frowning. Whoever this 'Rachel' was, she already disliked her…

* * *

**Plaza's Edge, F.O.B. Delta-1…**

Illitha sighed as she stood in the shadow of a prefab near the plaza, waiting for the captain to return to their designated rendezvous point. Finding Aida here had been an unexpected and extremely pleasant surprise, at least until her friend had found out about Prathus. Leaving Aida to go and save Rachel was one of the hardest things the young engineer had ever done, and even now, she was still torn by indecision and guilt. Aida was her best friend, and she'd seen the look of hurt in her eyes when she'd said she had to go. She knew Aida needed her right at that moment. But she had to save Rachel. Having to choose between the two made her miserable. But it also highlighted something for the asari that she'd been trying to deny for some time.

She was in love with Rachel.

She had called the girl a friend, and she had admitted to herself that she admired the girl, that she thought she was beautiful, and that she cared about her. She had even admitted to having a crush on her. But she had never wanted to admit the whole truth. She was once again deeply in love with a girl that did not love her back.

_Why do I torture myself like this? I should just stick to tending to machinery, where I belong,_ she thought miserably. _Rachel has been a wonderful friend to me. Why can I not be content with that?_

She would _have_ to be content with that, she knew. While concepts of male and female were relatively foreign to her as a member of a mono-gendered race, she knew that for humans and most other races, the opposite was true. For procreation, they needed to pair male with female, and their natural inclinations most of the time led them to such pairings. Rachel had already made clear that she had no romantic appreciation for the female form. Which meant Illitha's desires were irrelevant.

_Goddess… I need to just stop thinking about her in a romantic sense…_

She might have continued to berate herself mentally for some time if not for the faint sound of rustling that approached from behind. She turned and found the captain creeping along the edge of the prefab, right on time for their appointed meeting. She pushed all of her other thoughts to the back of her mind for the moment. She could deal with her infatuation with Rachel and her guilt over leaving Aida in such a state at another time. She needed to focus on the task at hand.

"The good news is that there is only a single sentry on duty within the detention area itself," the captain told her without preamble. "The bad news is that the detention center is extremely close to the north gate. If we cause any commotion, Alliance reinforcements will arrive within seconds."

"I can program my omni-tool to scramble communications in a small radius so that the sentry cannot radio for help," Illitha suggested. "But how do we prevent him from simply screaming for reinforcements?"

"We will have to move quickly and quietly. If we can get close enough, I can render him unconscious with ease," the captain promised. "My greater concern is actually that captain that was claiming you were indoctrinated. You said the same of him. How certain are you that the Reapers control him?"

"I… I cannot be sure, of course," Illitha frowned. "B-But he has proven a detriment to his men, and I cannot believe he would act so… irrationally… without Reaper influence."

"I think we need to take steps to deal with him."

Illitha could only stare at the elder asari following this last statement. While it was possible Tarrislav was indoctrinated, they couldn't be sure. And attacking a high-ranking Alliance official would make them enemies of the Alliance. She had been trying almost since arriving on Terra Nova to _help_ the Alliance. How could she attack one of their officers now?

"Think about it," the captain had been watching her, and apparently saw something of her confusion in her expression. "This man is in the CIC with the other Alliance commander and one or perhaps two sentries. If the sentries were distracted or ordered to leave, Tarrislav could execute Shirakawa. Then the Reapers would essentially have command of the defending forces on this planet. How well do you think these humans would fare once the Reapers were controlling both the attacking forces and the movements of the defenders?"

The captain's question gave Illitha pause. If the elder asari's fears proved correct, it would be the death knell for this planet and everyone fighting to defend it. Once the Reapers had a pawn in charge of the defenders, they would crush the resistance with ease. It was too big a risk to ignore. But she still couldn't stomach the idea of attacking Tarrislav – no matter how much of an idiot he was – without some proof that he was indoctrinated.

"We cannot simply attack him," Illitha finally murmured. "B-But perhaps I can protect Shirakawa and find proof of Tarrislav's motives all at once."

"How do you plan to do that?"

Illitha retrieved Crawler from the canvas pouch attached to her belt and dropped it on the ground, where it sprouted into its insect-like drone form. She immediately set it up to record its visual feed, and sent it off toward the CIC. The command center was located in one of the permanent structures on the base, which Illitha knew would mean it had ventilation systems and other points of entry the drone could exploit. The captain stepped up beside her, watching the display of the drone's remote feed as it made its way toward its destination.

In just a few minutes, Crawler had climbed up to the roof of the structure and cut its way into the ventilation system, and from there it scuttled through the vents, slicing apart ventilation fans and grates wherever they blocked the path. The engineer was proud of her little drone's capabilities. It was able to use a miniature plasma cutter to shear through thin metal surfaces, and its forelegs adhered to the pieces so that it could set them aside without letting them drop onto other surfaces and risk making noise. The drone had definitely been intended for infiltration and espionage. When it finally reached a grate that overlooked the CIC, it sliced a hole in the obstruction large enough to fit through and lurked there, watching the goings-on in the room below.

Illitha designated Tarrislav as the priority hostile target in the room, and designated the two sentries posted inside the door as secondary targets. Then she scrolled through the tactical options available, and finally found a preprogrammed routine for 'conditional intervention'. Using this routine, she was able to declare Shirakawa as an ally to be defended. If any of the designated hostile targets took an action that could be deemed dangerous to Shirakawa, the drone would immediately act to defend him.

"So your drone will now protect Shirakawa?" the captain asked. She had been watching Illitha work.

"Yes. And it is recording everything it sees. So if it is forced to take action to defend him, we will have proof that he was in danger."

"Good thinking," the captain commented. "Can you set an alert to let us know if the drone takes action?"

"Already done, Captain," Illitha smiled.

"Excellent. Then let us go and rescue your friend. Once we get her out of her cell, if your drone has seen nothing threatening, we can evacuate on the shuttles and discuss our next option from there. Perhaps we can track down Aida-"

"Aida is here," Illitha interrupted the elder asari. She'd forgotten that the captain hadn't been present when Aida arrived. "She arrived aboard a transport truck just a few minutes ago."

"Is she okay?"

"She looked a little bruised, and… she did not take it well when she heard about Prathus," Illitha sighed. "B-But she did not seem to be seriously hurt."

"Good."

Though the word was simple, Illitha could tell by the look in the captain's eyes that the elder asari was more pleased than her expression or her tone would indicate. Her entire surviving crew was finally together in one place. Illitha was happy about that fact, and she could tell that the captain was as well. Everyone they both felt obligated to protect was finally together.

"Let us rescue your friend," the captain repeated her earlier urging. "I am eager to see us all evacuated from this place."

Illitha nodded, and when the elder asari turned and crept off through the spaces between prefabs, she fell into step behind her. She too, was eager to see Rachel set free, and to leave this place behind. Though she was at a loss as to what they would do after those tasks were accomplished. If they couldn't assist in the Alliance operation, what other options did that leave them?

* * *

**Munitions Depot, F.O.B. Delta-1…**

"Much as I hated the ugly bastard, I have to give him credit. The vorcha wasn't afraid to be a decoy. While he was running through the weeds, avoiding cannon fire, I was hitting the goddamn Atlas in the back. And when it turned toward me, the vorcha did the same…" Zaeed recounted, watching the two young men grin as he spoke.

"That took serious balls," one of the young soldiers commented. "Hitting an entrenched enemy with only a few real soldiers on your side? And the quarian really ran through the middle of them all and jumped into the hacked mech?"

"That's right," Zaeed nodded. "I had my doubts about her at the start, but I can give credit where it's due," he shrugged.

"I can't believe Cerberus was here and we didn't hear anything about it," the second soldier frowned. "What were they after?"

"Not really sure," Zaeed shrugged. "Some sort of signal analysis, according to the asari. So anyway, when the Atlas finally went down-"

The opening of the door interrupted the mercenary's tale, and he watched as Selura hurried inside, followed by Neela, who was limping heavily without her crutches. The two young men he'd been talking to for the last twenty minutes fell silent, watching as the women passed through, followed by the young, blonde-haired child they'd drafted to help them. As they had already done a dozen times, the three of them gathered as many dextro-based ration packs as they could carry, and then carried them out to the shuttles. As the three girls exited, Zaeed noted with some amusement that both of the soldiers were staring at the quarian's retreating backside.

"Damn, she has an _incredible_ ass," one of them commented as soon as the door closed.

"I know, right?" his friend chuckled.

"I'm sure she'd be thrilled you approve," Zaeed muttered sarcastically.

"Hey, there's no harm in looking. And they're a lot prettier than I ever imagined… Quarians, I mean," the first soldier sighed. "It's too bad she's gay."

"Seriously?" his friend frowned. "How can you tell?"

"I saw her and the asari holding hands a little while ago…"

"That doesn't necessarily mean they're a couple."

"It does when one of them kept kissing the other one's hand…"

"Oh."

Zaeed snorted and stepped away from the pair, quickly losing interest in their idle gossip about the relationship between the two. And though he tried to ignore their prattle, he couldn't help hearing that from there the topic turned into a discussion about how asari always managed to steal the best-looking women.

The mercenary had originally come into the munitions prefab to get equipment for the civilians and to gather a few spare weapons, but he'd become sidetracked when the two soldiers asked him what they'd heard about events elsewhere on the planet. He started telling tales about the events in Scott and at Fulton's Folly and the Prothean Ruin. Now that the conversation had wandered into topics he didn't give a damn about, he decided to claim some supplies for himself.

He poked through the crates looking for anything useful, until he opened the lid on a large crate and discovered that it was filled with incendiary grenades. A small smile worked its way into his expression at the sight, and he quickly grabbed half a dozen of the inferno grenades, securing them in a compartment in his armor. Fragmentation grenades were fine, but he'd always been partial to the incendiary version. From there he moved on to the weapon racks, examining the few mods that were lined up along the top of the rack. When he spotted an armor-piercing ammo mod among them, his smile returned and he claimed it for himself.

_Next time we meet, Salik, the playing field will be a bit more level…_

Zaeed pulled his rifle from the maglock on his shoulder and dropped it on a table at the back of the room, activating his omni-tool and getting started on installing the new ammo mod. He'd been firing unmodded ammo almost since arriving on Terra Nova, and it would be a nice change to be properly outfitted for once. He was only sorry that there weren't more ammo mods among the options lined up on the weapon rack. But then, he supposed that ammo mods would have been the first ones to be used in the early days of the war, and according to the two men he'd been speaking with, the early fighting in Dotterstown had been intense.

Zaeed heard the door open again, and glanced over his shoulder as the three girls returned for another load of food. The men had fallen silent – no doubt they were staring at Neela's ass again – but Zaeed could hear the asari and quarian talking softly about their friend and how hard she was taking Prathus's death. At the mention of the turian, Zaeed's work upon his rifle briefly came to a halt, and his expression hardened. Over the years of mercenary work in which he'd engaged, there hadn't been many mercs or soldiers he worked with that he really respected or even thought about much. But the turian had been different. He hadn't been a friend, exactly, but someone Zaeed could respect. He supposed that in his own way, he was sorry the turian was gone.

Quickly finishing the installation of the new mod, Zaeed slipped the weapon over his shoulder and prepared to leave the munitions supply depot behind. When he turned to go, Neela and Selura were once more exiting the room, with the two Alliance soldiers staring as they left. Everyone was distracted by their own issues, and thus no one had been paying any attention to the young blonde child that had been helping the asari and quarian. She was now standing beside the open crate of inferno grenades, and held one in her hand, staring at it in fascination.

"That's dangerous," he glared at the child. He didn't have much patience for children. "Put it back."

The small blonde quickly put the grenade back into the slot and stepped away from the crate, wandering off to poke around in other crates instead. Zaeed didn't spare the child another thought. He walked past the two men near the door and out into the sweltering heat that dominated the plaza outside. Though another long Terra Nova day was nearing its end and the sun was slowly sinking toward the horizon, it would still be hours before the sun would actually set and then hours more before the heat would die to a tolerable level.

The mercenary hadn't taken two steps beyond the exterior door before a deafening series of explosions tore through the prefab behind him, causing him to instinctively dive, roll, and come up to a crouch, aiming his weapon toward the commotion. Smoke was pouring out through the shutters on the munitions depot, and Zaeed could see the lurid orange glow of fire raging within. He cursed and raced for the shuttle, where the asari, the quarian, and the civilian brothers were all staring in shock at the structure. He shouldered past them and grabbed his helmet, slipping it on and then running back toward the burning structure. Kinetic shields offered no protection against fire or heat, but the kinetic weave in his armor was fire-resistant, and the environmental seals would offer limited protection from the smoke and heat.

Zaeed ran into the structure, and found the majority of the rear of the building engulfed in flames. He could see almost nothing, thanks to the smoke that billowed through the room, but after a moment he finally managed to make out two silhouettes moving through the haze. One of the Alliance soldiers was half-supporting and half-dragging his fellow toward the door. The injured soldier had a large weapon of some kind in his hands. Zaeed moved to support him from the opposite side, taking the heavy weapon from him in the process. They all stumbled outside, and the two soldiers immediately collapsed to the ground, coughing and gasping for fresh air. Almost immediately, the asari medic was at their side, anxiously questioning both men about injuries. Apparently her instinct to provide medical care had pushed her grief to the side for the moment.

Zaeed's gaze fell to the massive, heavy weapon he held, and his brows rose in surprise. He recognized it immediately. After all the time Shepard had spent lugging one around, it was hard not to.

"The M-920?" he turned to look at the two men. The Cain had been a favorite weapon of Shepard's, and Zaeed was very familiar with the power of the heavy weapon. "Are there any more of these in there?"

"No," one of the men coughed, his voice hoarse. "I went for it the second the fire broke out. I don't know if fire could cause the ammunition to detonate, but I didn't wanna find out…"

"What happened?" Neela demanded.

"I don't know," the Alliance soldier sighed.

"That little blonde brat was playing with the inferno grenades in there," Zaeed growled. "She must have accidentally triggered one when I told her to leave them alone."

"Candice?" Aida's head snapped up, her eyes widening in shock. Before anyone could stop her, the asari dashed into the building. Several of the others started to go after her, but Zaeed quickly shoved them back, cursing angrily.

"I'll get her. Stay the hell away from the building," he growled, and then dashed inside.

The automated fire suppression systems still had not come online, and Zaeed had to move slowly through the smoke, keeping low where the haze wasn't quite as concentrated. Fortunately, most of the thermite had burned itself out already – it had a short but intense lifespan – and so the heat and the flames were fading.

"Asari? Kid?" he called out, trying to locate them.

"Help! Back here! She is hurt!"

Zaeed scowled and kicked aside a crate that was glowing from the heat, carefully navigating the maze of crates and boxes until he reached the back of the structure, where the smoke seemed heaviest. He found the asari there, coughing heavily and trying to shield her mouth and nose with the fabric of her shirt, cradling the unconscious child in her arms. Zaeed could barely make out the severe burns that covered much of the left-hand side of the child's body. He immediately took the child from Aida's arms, trusting the asari to follow him out. He felt her grab onto his belt as he started to leave, no doubt so she wouldn't become separated from him in the smoke.

Moments later, they were all outside, and Zaeed carefully lowered the child to the ground. He could hear gasps and murmurs from everyone around him at the sight of her, and he knew what everyone was feeling. While he felt nothing more than a vague sense of disquiet himself, he was aware that many people were hit especially hard by the sight of such injuries… especially when children were involved. There were Alliance medics on the scene, and he quickly stepped back to give them room to work.

"Aida, what were you thinking?" Neela demanded.

"I promised to protect her!" the asari medic shouted. "Like you all _failed_ to do for Prathus!"

"Okay, calm down," Selura quickly interceded, grabbing her fellow asari by the arm and pulling her away from the gathered crowd. Neela limped after the pair, and Zaeed watched as the two worked to calm their friend down.

The mercenary pulled his helmet off and ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head. Dotterstown was supposed to have been a chance to do something useful for once. Instead, they'd spent the last hour experiencing disappointment and tragedy and not much else.

_What else can go wrong?_

At that moment, gunshots rang out from somewhere else in the camp.

* * *

**Detention Area, F.O.B. Delta-1…**

Rachel shifted uncomfortably on the hard metal bench in her cell, trying to act like she was still paying attention to the prattle of her jailor. The young man was trying hard to be charming and attentive, but it was actually wearing upon her patience more and more as time passed. The blonde was silently praying for someone to arrive and relieve him from duty so that he would stop talking, but she feared that even when his official duties were over, he might linger to flirt with her some more.

_Perhaps this is a special punishment_, she mused. _Tarrislav sent him in here to drive me mad before my court-marshal…_

The blonde resisted the urge to sigh at the thought. At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to go home to her sisters and tell them how sorry she was that she had never been the big sister they deserved. Then she could concentrate on supporting them and making sure they both did more with their lives than she had done with hers. In thinking about her siblings, she found herself frowning. If she was dishonorably discharged from the Alliance, would it ruin Holly's chances of joining the Alliance as she wanted to do? Would her sister face additional hardships and preconceived judgments because of her?

"Hey, you're frowning again," Desmond pointed out. "Do I need to tell a few jokes to cheer you up? Being court-marshaled isn't the end of the world, you know…"

"Just the end of my career…"

"Maybe not. You might just receive a formal reprimand and maybe a reduction in rank or something…"

"I'm a Private Second-Class… There isn't a rank lower than mine," Rachel snapped.

"Hmm. Okay, you've got me there… But still, you could be judged not guilty…"

"After I slugged a captain in front of about fifteen witnesses?"

"Hmm. Okay, you've got me again."

"My sister wants to join the Alliance when she turns eighteen," Rachel sighed and turned to face him, resting her elbows on her knees. "When I get booted out, I might be ruining _her _dream in addition to mine…"

"You have a sister?" Desmond grinned. "Is she cute? How old is she?"

"Young enough that if you ask about her again, I'm gonna kick your ass," Rachel glared.

"Okay, okay," he held up his hands, smiling apologetically. "Too young. You could have just said 'too young'. No need to get all hostile."

"Look… Maybe I just need some time alone," Rachel began. However, just as she was speaking the words, the exterior door opened, drawing not only her own attention, but that of the sentry as well. To her vast surprise, Illitha walked inside, smiling nervously.

"Hey… Pale blue skin, really petite…" Desmond said slowly. "Is this the girl you wanted me to give the message to?" he turned to look at her expectantly.

"Uh… Yeah," Rachel nodded. "Illitha… What are you doing here?"

"C-Can I speak to the prisoner?" she asked, her eyes upon Desmond.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea…" he said uncertainly, glancing from Illitha to Rachel and back again, "But… I guess… If we keep it between us… it wouldn't hurt to let you talk to her for a minute."

"Thank you," Illitha smiled, slipping past the young sentry and stepping up to the security barrier.

As she gazed through the barrier, Rachel could see her expression fill with concern. But there was something else in her eyes as well. Anticipation perhaps? Rachel stood up and came closer to the barrier, trying to guess what the asari was up to. She hoped Illitha didn't intend to suddenly tackle the guard or something. While she was sure Illitha would manage to overcome Desmond in a fight, she knew the commotion would draw others.

"Are you okay?" Illitha asked anxiously. "Your lip is split…"

"I'm fine," Rachel assured her. "You really should get out of here. Gather the team and get off the base. Tarrislav will find a way to incriminate you and lock you up right next to me…"

"The team is mostly gone," Illitha said softly, bowing her head. "I-I told them the truth. Most of them did not want to follow me after that. A few would have liked to, but are not willing to disobey the orders of their commanding officers. It is just my crewmates, Zaeed, Jay and Elliot now…"

"Still, you have to go…" Rachel urged. "Don't worry about me."

"How can I not? You are my responsibility." Illitha pointed out. "C-Can I give her some medigel?" the asari suddenly asked, turning to look at Desmond. "For her lip?"

Rachel's brows came together, and she glanced at Desmond, wondering what Illitha was up to. The cut on her lip was minor. It certainly didn't require medigel. This had to be a ruse to get him to open the cell. At that moment, however, Rachel's eyes went to the exterior door which, she noted for the first time, had remained open instead of closing as it should have done after Illitha came inside. Desmond's attention was on Illitha and herself, and his back was to the door. Thus he never noticed when the elder asari, Illitha's captain, entered the room, moving as silently as a ghost. By the time the door's sensors recognized that the doorway was clear and it closed, the asari was already in position. She quickly wrapped an arm around Desmond's neck, locking her hand in the crook of the opposite elbow, and then she leaned back and tightened her grip significantly, actually lifting Desmond off the ground with the chokehold. The poor guard clawed at her arm for a moment, struggling to get free of her grasp, but he never had a chance. With the blood flow to his brain cut off, he was unconscious within seconds.

The asari captain eased him to the ground, snatching a security keycard from his belt and tossing it to Illitha, who quickly inserted it into the console beside the cell, disengaging the security barrier. Rachel quickly left the confines of the cell, grabbing Desmond's sidearm and securing it to the maglock on her armor while the elder asari dragged the unconscious sentry into the now-vacant cell and reengaged the security field.

"You two are insane," she hissed. "When Tarrislav finds out you helped me escape-"

"As you said," Illitha cut her off. "He would have found a way to accuse us of something anyway."

"We need to get to the shu-"

The elder asari's comment was cut off abruptly by a deafening series of explosions from somewhere in the camp. Rachel, Illitha and the captain all exchanged glances, wondering if the Reapers were attacking the base. Rachel started toward the door, and was brought up short by a ping from Illitha's omni-tool.

"Your drone?" Captain Nisaria asked.

"Yes," Illitha's eyes were on the holographic display of her omni-tool. "Tarrislav has made his move. Crawler is keeping him occupied, but we must hurry."

The two asari sprinted out the door, and Rachel fell into step with them, though she hadn't a clue what was going on. One of the buildings near the plaza was burning, and smoke was pouring from the spaces between the shutters. Men were running toward the burning building, and a large crowd had already gathered outside. However, the two asari diverted away from the crowd and the burning prefab, and seemed to be heading for the CIC instead.

"Wanna clue me in?" Rachel prompted Illitha as they ran behind the prefabs flanking the north side of the plaza.

"Tarrislav has made a move to harm Shirakawa," Illitha explained hurriedly. "I had Crawler watching over them. If Tarrislav takes control-"

"Shit," Rachel swore. "The Reapers would essentially control the Alliance forces here!"

The blonde didn't need to hear any more. She increased her speed to a flat-out sprint, even though it meant leaving Illitha behind. The sooner she could assist Shirakawa, the better off they would all be. It seemed that the asari captain had the same idea, but to the blonde's surprise, Captain Nisaria quickly left even her behind. She could only marvel at the asari commando's speed as she tried to keep up.

* * *

**CIC, F.O.B. Delta-1…**

Julisa knew that they couldn't afford to spare any time in reaching the CIC to help Shirakawa, and so she ran full speed for the building, quickly leaving Illitha and her human friend behind. When she reached a point where she could see the stone building that housed the CIC directly, she was amazed to note that the sentries that had been outside the building on their last visit were gone… no doubt drawn away by the explosions in the munitions shelter. The explosion had likely given Tarrislav the opening he was looking for, allowing him to be rid of the witnesses so that he could turn on his fellow soldier. Indeed, she now heard a few shots ring out.

Julisa braced herself and focused her energy, executing a biotic charge to quickly cover the remaining distance to the CIC's entrance. When she slammed into the door an instant later, the portal gave way under the force of the impact, buckling inward and snapping free of the hinges. Fortunately for the captain, her barrier was up, because she immediately came under pistol fire. The impacts upon her barrier prompted her to immediately dive for the nearest cover she could find… a desk adjacent to the door.

The captain risked a quick peek around the edge of the desk to get a better feel for the situation; she hadn't been able to look around much before she came under fire. She could see two figures crouched on opposite sides of the holographic projection table that dominated the center of the room. Tarrislav was on the nearer side, and even as she spotted him, he quickly darted around the adjacent corner of the table to get to a spot where she couldn't fire upon him. By process of elimination, that put Shirakawa on the other side of the table. Illitha's drone was scuttling across the ceiling, but from the look of it, the small construct had already suffered a number of direct hits… its carapace was riddled with holes, and there were small sparks spitting intermittently from its side.

"I will not see the Alliance fall to Reaper slaves!" Tarrislav shouted, rising from behind his cover and firing upon the drone, which lost its grip upon the surface and plummeted to the floor, where it lay twitching.

Julisa frowned at his declaration. She'd wanted to point to whatever action he had taken against Shirakawa as proof that he was indoctrinated, but he was accusing _them_ of being the ones serving the Reapers. She knew very little about indoctrination, but she found herself wondering if the Reapers were capable of playing upon the human's natural hatred for them to manipulate him… essentially causing him to see _everyone_ as possible Reaper spies. On the other hand, she supposed the stress of the invasion might have simply driven him to severe paranoia. Perhaps the Reapers had nothing to do with it. Either way, it didn't matter. She needed to make sure he didn't seize command by eliminating his fellow Alliance captain.

"Surrender now," she called out. "You are already outnumbered, and in a moment the odds will get even worse."

"Go to hell!" the captain shouted back, and there were several pistol shots to accompany the answer. The bullets ricocheted off of the front of the desk.

Julisa was about to use a singularity to snare the man, but just as the orb was forming in her hand, both Shirakawa and Tarrislav rose from behind the table. Tarrislav was aiming at her, but when he spotted his fellow officer, he quickly turned the weapon upon the man. However, Shirakawa was faster. Two shots rang out in rapid succession, the force of the impacts spinning Tarrislav around. He pitched over on his side, and his pistol clattered to the floor beside him. Julisa saw Shirakawa stumble and brace himself against the holo-table, and she spotted a section of his shirt on the side that was dark with blood. She assumed the injury had occurred before she arrived. She quickly moved to stand over Tarrislav, training her Prothean rifle upon him. As she looked down upon him, she noted that there were fresh burns over the side of his neck and his left shoulder, and his right shoulder and arm were now bleeding profusely.

At that moment, Rachel and Illitha finally dashed inside, and both girls brought their weapons up, surveying the scene. Once it was clear that the excitement was over, they lowered their weapons and stepped inside. Rachel was quick to go to Captain Shirakawa's side, gazing at him with concern.

"Sir, are you alright?" the blonde asked.

"Thanks to that little drone, I will live," Shirakawa muttered. "Call a medic."

"Aye aye," Rachel quickly dashed outside, and Julisa could hear her cries for medical assistance.

"Crawler…" Illitha was crouched beside the small drone, and she picked it up, turning it over in her hands and frowning.

"That is yours?" Shirakawa asked, his eyes upon the young asari.

"Y-Yes," Illitha nodded. "My captain realized that Tarrislav might try to kill you if he was indoctrinated. I sent my drone to defend you…"

"I am not indoctrinated! You are! All of you! I will not allow you to doom us all to death at the hands of the Reapers! You have to be stopped!" Tarrislav raved. He tried to rise, but Julisa quickly planted her boot upon his chest and forced him back to the floor.

Rachel returned with a medic and several marines. The marines quickly trained their weapons upon Julisa when they saw her standing over Captain Tarrislav with a rifle in her hands. Julisa understood the reaction completely, since none of the men knew what had happened, and she pointed the rifle toward the ceiling, holding up her other hand to show she meant no harm.

"Shoot her!" Tarrislav shouted. "She's a Reaper spy!"

"Hold your fire!" Shirakawa barked. "I am hereby relieving Captain Tarrislav of his duties and ordering him detained for attempting to murder me."

"He lies! He's indoctrinated! Arrest him!" Tarrislav countered.

The marines exchanged glances, obviously uncertain about which man to listen to. However, before Julisa could explain the situation, Illitha spoke up.

"I-I can prove that Tarrislav attempted to murder Shirakawa," she told them, activating her omni-tool. A moment later, the holo-table flared to life, displaying the video feed Crawler had recorded. All eyes turned toward the footage being displayed.

At first, the footage was from the drone's point of view as it traveled across the plaza and into the building, and Illitha increased the playback speed to hurriedly get through that portion of the recording, as well as the significant span of time that the drone spent watching Tarrislav and Shirakawa stand over the projection table, coordinating their forces. Then both men in the recording jumped, as if they'd been surprised by something, and the recording returned to normal speed.

"What the hell was that?" Tarrislav's image demanded. "Get out there and find out!"

At his urging, the two sentries on the screen ran outside, leaving Tarrislav and Shirakawa alone. Shirakawa walked away from the holo-table and to the exterior door, gazing outside. Behind him, Tarrislav drew his pistol and aimed it at the Japanese soldier's back. At that moment, crawler went into action. An incendiary drone streaked out and hit Tarrislav in the back of his left shoulder. The man fired, but the unexpected attack threw his aim off, and the bullet pierced Shirakawa's side. Tarrislav turned and fired up at the screen, and Shirakawa took cover behind the projection table. Illitha stopped the recording, gazing at the marines expectantly.

None of the men hesitated further. One of them trained his rifle upon Tarrislav, while two others quickly turned him over and forced his hands behind his back. The captain struggled against them.

"You don't understand!" he shouted. "He is working with the Reapers! I had to try to kill him! He will lead our men directly into the Reapers' hands!"

"Get him out of here," Shirakawa growled, sinking into a chair so that the medic could look at him. "I want him kept under constant guard. And as for this young woman," his eyes shifted to Rachel, "she is free to return to her duties. She was mistakenly arrested for assaulting a superior officer. As this recording proves, she was actually taking action against an enemy agent."

Julisa saw Illitha smile at the blonde woman, and noted that the human girl's eyes were glistening with unshed tears. No doubt it was a relief for the young human to be cleared of the stigma of having assaulted her superior. The guards led Tarrislav from the room, and the former commando nodded her satisfaction, walking over to stand at the edge of the holo-table. Perhaps now they might be able to find out a bit more about the human operation.

"I apologize for my earlier mistrust," Shirakawa's gaze was upon Illitha. "I am man enough to admit when I am wrong. And it seems I was wrong to deny you the chance to prove your claims about him."

"I-I had no proof," Illitha admitted. "J-Just suspicions."

"Be that as it may, you were correct. And I owe you my gratitude for your drone's protection. Do you think you can salvage it?"

Illitha sighed softly and shrugged. "I will try. I have become fond of it."

"If any of our gear can help, it's yours," Shirakawa promised. "I trust the guard in the brig is unharmed as well?"

"Of course," Julisa was quick to assure him. "He may wake with a headache, but I did not hurt him."

Shirakawa's eyes narrowed and he regarded her in silence for a moment, but he didn't further inquire about the particulars of the jailbreak. Instead, he turned his attention to one of the remaining marines. "What happened in the munitions prefab? I saw that it was burning…"

"Yes sir," the young man frowned. "A civilian kid was inside, apparently messing with our store of inferno grenades. She accidentally set one off when she was putting it away with the rest…"

"Casualties?"

"None, sir," the marine reported. "But the girl that started the fire is in serious condition. We have some men going through the depot now to see if any of the weapons can be salvaged."

"I see," Shirakawa fell silent.

"Aida is taking all of this very hard," Neela spoke up. "She really needs you, Illitha."

The young asari nodded and picked up the mangled remains of her drone from where she'd set it down, quickly excusing herself from the room. Once she was gone, Julisa turned her attention to the Alliance captain.

"What is the objective of this operation you have organized?" she asked. "We had theories, but no real information."

"The embassy in the city had a newly-installed QEC system that linked to the embassy on the citadel and to Arcturus Station. We have a team going in to salvage the necessary parts from the embassy to get the communicator working from here. We need to contact Alliance command if we are going to get reinforcements."

"Why has this QEC not been used before now? This planet has been under siege for weeks…" Julisa was curious. It seemed like such an obvious objective, she couldn't understand why this offensive wasn't attempted weeks ago.

"The embassy is in the northeast quadrant of the city," Shirakawa explained. "When the Reapers landed, they came down right in the middle of the industrial center and hit our military training center there. Our forces were scattered and everyone was desperately trying to escape the area alive. No one gave any thought to securing the embassy. It wasn't fortified and had no munitions stockpiles, and the initial reports from our personnel working as security there said that Reapers were swarming through the halls and that everyone was being evacuated."

Julisa nodded slowly. Even with her military experience, it was hard to envision the sort of chaos that must have dominated the first hours of the invasion, with Reapers dropping from the sky and their forces spreading through the area in a wave.

"When our standard communications went down, we assumed it was a local scrambling system. It wasn't until we got forces well outside the city and tried to contact Alliance command that we figured out that the FTL comm buoys in the system were gone. But by that time, the Reapers had a stranglehold over the entire area where the embassy is located. We sent multiple teams in to try to covertly access the system and none ever reported back. Given the speed with which casualties were mounting, we had to write off the QEC as a lost cause."

"What changed?" the former commando asked, but she already had an idea.

"Our lines couldn't hold against the Reaper forces," Tarrislav confirmed her suspicions. "We have fought hard to keep the city and have sustained devastating losses, but we've been slowly pushed further and further back. And as the Reapers advanced, the neighborhoods behind them opened up little by little. Our scouts report only token forces in the area now. I came to the decision that if we are ever to reclaim the QEC and contact Alliance command for aid, it must be now."

"Then what is the situation?" Julisa glanced around at the others in the room, and all of them gathered around the holo-projection table, which Shirakawa activated via omni-tool to show the scans of the city. The Japanese soldier remained seated, letting the medic work.

"Whisper Alpha is our infiltration team. They worked their way around behind enemy lines hours before the rest of the forces departed. They were under orders to find a secure position south of the embassy and wait. Their job was to secure the embassy, and then the engineers in their ranks were to salvage the necessary components from the QEC, but they weren't to begin their assault until the diversionary attack began."

"So you intend to create an off-site version of the QEC for your use," Julisa nodded slowly.

"No other choice. We could never hold the Embassy if the Reapers doubled back to retake it from us. We're only after the vital components. The rest of the offensive is centered upon two simultaneous objectives. We are providing a massive distraction and trying to capture stores of water to supplement our stores of food. Our Spearhead forces punched a hole deep into the Reaper lines, and then Warcry hit a water purification plant. Their combined offensive got the Reapers' attention, just like we wanted. Bulwark and Armor divisions are holding the south flank against the bulk of the Reaper forces, and Overwatch has been constantly updating our feeds with Reaper troop positions and status updates on our forces."

Julisa studied the scans of the city, and tried to digest the massive amount of red on the display that represented Reaper troops. However, as she studied the scans, she found one question nagging at her. If it had been asari trying to infiltrate the Alliance, she knew where commandos would have wanted to place themselves. She had to believe the Reapers would have done the same.

"Tarrislav is an indoctrinated servant of the Reapers," Julisa pointed out. "I assume any forces he brought with him are likewise compromised. How many of them were deployed on your operation?"

Absolute silence descended over the room following her question. It was apparently the first thought any of them had given to that particular problem. Shirakawa pushed the medic aside and stood up, wincing as he did so, studying the disposition of the Reaper troops and his own forces. He opened a channel to his men.

"This is Captain Shirakawa to all teams. Captain Tarrislav has been relieved of duty under suspicion of indoctrination. His men may also be working with the Reapers. All teams, place any members of Tarrislav's command under arrest immediately. I want a sitrep from all units." Shirakawa hit the key to mute the microphone, and he frowned as he studied the display.

"Arresting Tarrislav's men is a fine start," Zaeed commented. "But I get the feeling there's a problem…"

"Tarrislav insisted that his engineers had a great deal of experience with advanced communications systems," Shirakawa admitted. "His man, Lieutenant Collins, took charge of Whisper Alpha, the team charged with infiltrating the embassy. More than half of that team was comprised of Tarrislav's men."

"So by now, they could have destroyed the goddamn QEC," Zaeed growled. "We need to shuttle out there, right now."

"Agreed," Julisa nodded. "If there is any chance we can save the equipment, we need to take it. Unless you have men that could get there faster… Do you have any way to tell if they have reached the embassy yet?"

"A shuttle would be the fastest way to get a team on site. I don't have any large units close enough to get there quickly. The incursion team was supposed to hold their position until the Warcry units started the diversionary attack. They may not have reached the embassy itself yet, depending on how much resistance is in the area," Shirakawa informed them. "Unfortunately, I think most of the men that you brought here would refuse to work with your young friend now that the truth about her qualifications is known, and they've already been reassigned. There's no time to hunt them down. But I can assign another team to go with you. Can your group secure the embassy and deal with any indoctrinated traitors in Whisper Alpha?"

"We can," Julisa nodded. "We have to."

"Salik was monitoring communications and followed them to Cerberus at the Prothean ruin," Selura spoke up. "He also followed an Alliance transmission to that facility up north, right? That is what Illitha said…"

"Yeah," Zaeed nodded. "If he has been listening to your communications, I think we can expect him to get involved here as well."

"Who is this 'Salik'?" Shirakawa glanced around.

"Another indoctrinated Reaper agent," Julisa answered. "But far more dangerous than Tarrislav or these others. His equipment is advanced, and he is a trained STG operative. He and his companion already almost killed me once."

"And me," Selura added.

"Me too," Neela chimed in.

"Can you deal with him and any indoctrinated Alliance personnel as well?" Shirakawa asked, glancing around at the group.

"We will manage," Julisa promised before anyone could speak. She knew the others harbored doubts about their chances of beating the salarian. However, she was not so pessimistic. She had underestimated him the last time they fought. She would not give him that advantage a second time.

"I will organize a team of marines and engineers and have them report to your shuttles. You need to move immediately," Shirakawa's eyes were on the holographic representation of the city. "Whisper Alpha was positioned here," he pointed to a cluster of buildings on the display, "when the operation started. The embassy is this building," he indicated a structure about five blocks from the starting position. "If they have not reached it by now, they will be close."

"Shuttling out there won't be easy," Zaeed pointed out. "There are oculus drones all over the airspace, and those shuttles aren't built for combat."

"I'll divert Trident Wing Alpha to serve as escort," Shirakawa offered. "This is a priority mission. I'll see you protected until you land. Then you'll be on your own. These are our frequencies," he brought up a list of unit and general frequencies for them to see. "Keep me updated on your progress."

Julisa nodded and copied the data to her omni-tool, and then she turned and headed for the door. The others quickly followed suit. As she was stepping outside, she heard the first of the progress updates begin to pour in as Shirakawa had requested.

_"This is Warcry Alpha. No one from Tarrislav's command was in our unit. We're taking heavy fire from Reaper forces at the water purification plant, but casualties have been minimal…"_

_"This is Bulwark Beta. We've removed Tarrislav's men from active duty and confiscated their weapons. We're getting hammered on the southern front. Alpha was decimated. Our unit is down to fifty percent capability, and others are in worse shape. We need support or we need to fall back!"_

_"This is Overwatch Alpha… We have a massive buildup of Reaper forces on the northeast front. They're swarming all over that alloy fabrication plant. Do we have any people in there?"_

As the door closed, the former commando found herself frowning. It seemed that the situation was already becoming desperate. She just hoped that they could manage to get the equipment they needed before Tarrislav's men were able to destroy or otherwise sabotage it. With a working quantum entanglement communicator, they could get information on what was going on elsewhere in the galaxy. She was eager to find out if Thessia was still safe. She wanted to get off world and find her daughter before the Reapers brought the same kind of destruction to her home world that they had been inflicting on other planets.

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* * *

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**Author's Note: First off, thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited/followed or otherwise given any attention to this story. Your continued interest is much appreciated, and it is always wonderful to hear the thoughts and opinions expressed in reviews and PMs by my readers. I hope I continue to entertain. Sadly, this weekend was a lot more hectic than I thought it would be, and this is a moment when having a buffer helped. I didn't finish the Chapter I was working on, but thankfully since I am several Chapters ahead, this one can still go up on time (well, about 20 minutes later than usual because I was editing it, but close enough). Unfortunately, my buffer is down to three Chapters. Rest assured, I'll be trying to finish my current Chapter and one more over the next several days to rebuild that buffer.**

**There was a lot going on in this Chapter. Aida's return took place at a poor time, with so much else going on, and as a result, none of the other characters had sufficient time for a proper welcome or to properly comfort her. Between rescuing Rachel, the explosions and assassination attempts, and news of Prathus's death, it was a little tough to get the tone of it just right. I look forward to hearing thoughts on anything that did or did not work.**

**I've also waited quite a while to get the indoctrinated Alliance soldiers into the story. I know it was heavily hinted at in earlier Chapters, but it had been so long since they were mentioned, I was starting to think people might have forgotten about that danger by the time I got this Chapter up! :)**

**Unless something abnormal happens in my life, the next Chapter will go up this coming Monday morning. I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. And I hope everyone has a great coming weekend as well! **


	57. Chapter 57: Objectives

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Objectives

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**Plaza Airfield, F.O.B. Delta-1…**

Neela sat quietly on the bench in the shuttle, staring miserably at Illitha and Aida. The asari medic's head was pillowed upon her friend's lap, and she was still sobbing bitterly. She had taken the news about Prathus's death hard, and hadn't been able to choke down more than a few mouthfuls of food in the mess hall. Eventually, she had started to calm down a little and told them that she wanted to be alone, so Neela and Selura left her in the shuttle while they worked to gather the dextro-based food stores Selura had discovered and get them into the shuttle's cargo area. Then the munitions depot had exploded and the small human girl had been injured, and Aida's grief returned with a vengeance.

Neela was supposed to be prepping the shuttle for departure, but after she and Selura had returned from the CIC and found Illitha desperately trying to comfort her hysterical friend, she found her own depression returning. It was horrible to see her friends so miserable, and it was making her feel just as unhappy as they were. She glanced out through the shuttle's hatch, wishing that Selura was there with her, just so that she could hold the asari's hand. But her girlfriend was running from Alliance soldier to Alliance soldier, speaking to each one in turn. She wondered what the girl was doing.

_I should be getting the shuttle prepped… There isn't time for me to sit here like this…_

Neela rose from her seat and stepped into the shuttle's cockpit, closing the door to block out the sound of her friend's crying. It wasn't that she didn't care about Aida's suffering… she would have joined Illitha in comforting her if she could have… but she needed to concentrate on the preflight checklist and focus on her work. Any minute now, the captain and their assigned Alliance team would be joining them, and then they would be on their way. Already, a number of fighters were landing on the airfield… this group of aircraft would be their escort into the city.

Neela was midway through powering up the engines, her eyes on the energy output display, when a knock on the door drew her attention. She reached over and disengaged the lock, but never allowed her attention to leave what she was doing. She heard the light tap of boots upon the deck as someone entered and then the door closed again. When a figure seated itself in the co-pilot's chair, she didn't need to look away from the readout to know that it was Selura.

"Give me your omni-tool," the asari held out her hand.

Neela handed it over without a word, wondering why Selura wanted it. It wasn't as if there was anything interesting on it. Her original omni-tool had been destroyed by Salik's nanites. Her holo-journals, her captures of things she'd seen on her pilgrimage, messages from her family, and everything else of import that had been stored upon it was lost to the microscopic machines. She sighed softly at the thought. The salarian had robbed her of a great deal of sentimental material in addition to almost killing her. She couldn't wait to see him get what was coming to him.

Neela continued her preflight analysis of the systems while the asari concentrated on whatever it was that she was doing. The pilot was able to lose herself in the familiarity of her work, and soon the intense sorrow that she'd been feeling while watching Aida struggle with her grief faded to the dull ache that had been with her since Prathus's death. Her love of her job, combined with Selura's presence, was enough to give her some measure of inner peace.

"I am going to test this on the earpieces in your helmet, okay?" Selura gave her a warning just as she was finishing her preparations.

"Test what?" Neela asked, but the answer came from the speakers themselves, not from her companion.

Music filled her ears. It started with strong, fast beat, and then a skillfully-played electric guitar and the rhythm of a bass wove into a stirring melody… and within moments, a voice joined the rest. She recognized both the song and the artist immediately. It was Eezo Excess, a human band she admired. Selura had caught her singing along to one of their songs on the night they'd first met. She turned to stare at the asari in surprise, and found the girl grinning at her in self-satisfaction.

"You… This is what you were doing, running around out there?" she asked.

Selura adjusted the volume via Neela's omni-tool, but didn't turn the music off entirely. Her grin had faded to a softer smile, and she nodded. "I figured someone was bound to have some recordings of a popular human band… since they're all humans. I got you the 'best of' compilation one of the servicemen had on his omni-tool."

The feelings of grief and pain she'd been experiencing all but forgotten at that moment, Neela smiled and leaned back in her chair, listening to the music. It was amazing how just hearing a song she liked was able to take her out of her gloomy thoughts and her worries over the battle to come. The music was cathartic, quickening her pulse and drawing out more positive feelings as she listened.

"I just wanted to give you something…" Selura continued after a moment. "I could see you were struggling a little. I thought some music might lift your spirits."

Neela gazed at the asari's smiling face, and she couldn't help smiling in return. _How did I ever get this lucky?_ She wondered, not for the first time. On impulse, she reached over and pressed the holographic key that would lock the cockpit door, and she started the emergency decontamination cycle in the room.

Selura's lopsided, mischief-filled grin returned while the decontamination system worked. "Is this your way of telling me I need a shower?" she asked playfully.

"No, you bosh'tet," Neela laughed. Once the cycle had finished and their environment was sterile, she reached up and snapped the face-plate of her helmet free, sliding out of her chair and hobbling closer to the asari, leaning down to give her a soft little kiss. "This is my way of saying 'thank you'."

The slightest hint of purple crept into Selura's cheeks following that little kiss. Her grin had vanished, replaced by the soft, admiration-filled smile that Neela so often saw when they were together. She felt herself growing warm at the look of desire in the asari's eyes.

"I got you a whole bunch of songs," Selura pointed out playfully, reaching out and slowly encircling Neela's waist with her arms to pull her closer. "Could I convince you to say 'thank you' again?"

Neela slowly yielded to the asari's gentle embrace, carefully climbing onto the chair with her, her knees resting on the very edges of the seat, outside of Selura's thighs. She was more comfortable without her weight upon her injured ankle anyway. She settled upon Selura's legs and leaned in to kiss her again, but a good deal more deeply this time. Within moments, she was savoring the taste of the asari's lips and tongue, and the heat in her new suit suddenly felt stifling.

That warmth only increased when she felt the asari's hands slowly slide down from the small of her back, settling upon her backside and pulling her a little closer. A small shiver of delight ran through the quarian at the asari's boldness. The last time Selura had dared to allow her hands to go there, Neela had reprimanded her for it. This time, she was amazed to note, she was a lot more comfortable with that touch, and she decided to let it slide. Her fingers came up, and she softly caressed her girlfriend's cheek while they kissed.

_"Neela, are we ready for departure?"_ the captain's voice broadcast to the shuttle's intercom, startling both girls.

"Uh… Y-Yes, Captain," Neela stammered, but found herself staring longingly at Selura's lips. She sighed.

_"Then we leave in ninety seconds,"_ the former commando instructed.

"Acknowledged."

Neela smiled apologetically at Selura, and leaned down to steal one final kiss before she climbed off of her lap. When she turned, however, she found several Alliance soldiers were staring at the two of them through the front viewports of the shuttle. She found herself scowling. What she and Selura did when they were alone was no one else's business. She reached for her mask as she collapsed into her chair.

"Why scowl at them?" Selura asked. "They are just jealous because I get to kiss the most beautiful female on the planet, and they do not…"

Neela paused, glancing over at the asari, and she could feel her cheeks burning at the praise. Her scowl melted away, replaced by an almost bashful smile. She locked her mask into place, ignoring the humans outside.

"Stand up," Selura urged. "This chair is uncomfortable."

Neela glanced at the asari quizzically, but Selura had already risen from her chair, and she was now waiting with visible impatience for Neela to rise.

"I don't think the captain would appreciate me letting _you_ take the controls if we're flying into danger," Neela said softly. "I'm sorry the chair is uncomfortable, but-"

"I do not intend to fly," Selura cut her off. "Stand up," she repeated, holding a hand out to her.

Neela hesitated, and then gave the asari her hand, standing with her assistance. Once she had vacated her seat, Selura took her spot in the pilot's chair, and then spread her legs to make room for Neela in front of her, grinning up at her as she did so. Neela had to laugh. When they'd come down from the _Sileya_, they'd shared a seat in the Armanis fighter prototype because it was the only seat available. Now Selura wanted to do it again… but just so they could share the closeness.

_Well, how can I deny her that?_

Neela smiled and lowered herself into the seat, resting on the front edge. Selura's arms immediately curled around her midsection and pulled her back against herself. The asari passed the harness to her over her shoulders, and Neela made the necessary adjustments to the straps to accommodate them sharing the seat.

_I'm not about to let the Reapers shoot us down,_ Neela thought with a smile. _But if they did, I could think of worse places to die than in Selura's embrace…_

"Is everyone secured back there?" Neela asked over the intercom to the rest of the shuttle.

_"We're secure. Let's get underway,"_ an unfamiliar voice answered her.

_"Neela,"_ the captain's voice joined the channel, _"I am piloting the second shuttle. We are ready to go. Best possible speed to our destination. If we come under fire, just concentrate on evading enemy attacks and reaching the embassy. Let the Alliance pilots do the fighting."_

"Acknowledged," Neela assured her, activating the engines and bringing the shuttle up into the air. Around them, the Alliance fighters were speeding off down the road that served as the runway.

"Just try to keep the aerial acrobatics to a minimum? Please?" Selura pleaded.

"No promises," Neela grinned. "You hold me tighter when I do them. So there's not a lot of incentive to avoid them."

Selura's arms tightened around the quarian's midsection.

"No need to scramble the brains of the passengers… If that is what you want, all you need to do is ask…"

* * *

**Downtown Dotterstown…**

Illitha stood nervously near the shuttle's hatch, her eyes upon her best friend. Aida was curled up miserably upon the bench at the back of the shuttle. The engineer was deeply concerned about her. Not only was the other asari still weeping, but she had absolutely refused to involve herself in the fighting. She insisted that the entire idea of it was "foolish and unnecessary". Illitha was sure that it was just her grief talking, but it was unlike Aida to refuse to support her. Ordinarily, even if her friend disagreed with her, she would have come along anyway just as a gesture of support. She found herself wondering what had happened to Aida while they were separated. She hadn't thought to ask her. She'd been too busy trying to comfort her. Given the girl's obvious misery over Prathus's death, no one had seemed to want to bring up the events of the past weeks, lest they stir up even more unpleasant memories.

She sighed and turned her gaze toward the display next to the shuttle's hatch, looking at the wreckage of the city below on the screen as they skimmed over the tops of the buildings. Reaper drones had moved to intercept them on several occasions already during the flight, but the Alliance fighters were doing an excellent job of keeping their flight path clear. The entire flight would take only a few minutes. Already, she could see the tall, domed roof of the building that the Alliance had designated as the embassy. On impulse, she activated the channel that had previously been set up to broadcast to her entire command… before her people had been forced away from her.

"This is Illitha," she began. "If… If any of you are still paying attention to this frequency, try to keep it open during the operation. I-If any of us are in a position to help each other… W-Well, I would be ready to lend aid."

There were no immediate answers to her broadcast, though she did see Rachel smile at her. She offered a somewhat timid smile in return and turned her thoughts to the task ahead.

"This is Illitha T'Zari, calling Whisper Alpha," she once again tried the comm channel to the team responsible for securing the embassy. "Is anyone reading me?"

As had been the case with all of her previous attempts, no one answered her latest transmission. She sighed and glanced around at the few unfamiliar soldiers that had boarded the shuttle with her. The majority of the Alliance's team had boarded the other shuttle. The ones that were present, however, were all staring at her, for some reason. She got the impression that their gazes were less than friendly. Rachel was the only Alliance soldier present that was not regarding her with indifference or worse. But then, the blonde was always there to support her.

_"Destination in sight," _Neela's voice broadcast over the intercom.

_"There is a rooftop shuttle pad on the rear wing of the building,"_ Captain Shirakawa informed them. _"You can probably make your incursion from there. Alternately, schematics show balconies two floors down from the roof, which access the apartments for visiting ambassadors. They might be a safer entry point."_

"Neela, take us to the balconies," Illitha was quick to suggest. "The rooftop is too exposed. I… The big Reapers might try to shoot us as we land."

_"Agreed,"_ Captain Nisaria voiced her support of the idea. _"Me, Zaeed, and our team will set down on the west side of the building and secure the entrance, then work our way up. You all need to concentrate on reaching the communications room."_

_"This is Recon Team Whiskey-Alpha-Three,"_ an unfamiliar voice joined the channel. _"We've got eyes on a group of sentries posted at the entrance to the embassy. All are wearing Alliance uniforms. There are also a lot of Alliance and Reaper casualties in the courtyard…"_

_"Good work, Whiskey-Alpha-Three,"_ Shirakawa answered the report. _"Circle around to the south side of the building and survey the upper floors for signs of activity."_

"You managed to get a team here this quickly?" Illitha asked. "The captain said you did not have any forces close enough…"

_"I diverted a small recon group to scout the area,"_ Shirakawa informed them. _"It is only a three-man team… insufficient to secure the building. But they will offer sniper support from outside."_

_"Thank you, Captain,"_ Captain Nisaria took over. _"The help is appreciated."_

Illitha nodded slowly. Any additional soldiers they could get would be a tremendous help. For some reason, she was extremely nervous going into this battle. Perhaps it was because the potential gains were so much more significant than anything they'd fought for before. Or perhaps it was knowing that they were about to face indoctrinated human soldiers, Reapers, and possibly Salik and his friend all at once. Whatever the reason, she could feel her hands shaking as she stood at the hatch, waiting for Neela to get them into position.

"I've got your six," Rachel said softly, stepping up to stand beside her. Apparently the blonde had noticed that she was nervous. "You just do what you always do, and we'll be fine, Spectre."

Illitha glanced at the men around them when Rachel used that last word again, and she saw a few of them scowling. She hunched a little at the hostility she could feel in their stares. Apparently word had traveled through the Alliance ranks about her deception, whether it had been intentional or not. She sighed.

_"We're coming up on the balconies,"_ Neela informed them.

Illitha hit the release to open the shuttle's hatch, and reached up to grab the bar above her head for support when the door opened. She watched as the side of the building loomed closer, and within moments, they were hovering directly next to the balcony.

_"We're in position,"_ Neela announced. _"Making our drop now…"_

_"I want Selura to go in with Illitha's team_," Captain Nisaria told them. _"She studied entertainment media tech, which I assume includes holographic projection systems. She could be helpful in getting the pieces of the QEC disconnected."_

_"Uh… J-Just give us a minute, Captain," _Neela sounded a bit flustered. The shuttle swayed back and forth, as though the quarian was trying to keep it steady while she was distracted.

"What the hell are they _doing_ up there?" Rachel asked playfully.

Illitha had seen the way the two had been looking at each other over the past couple days. She wasn't sure she really wanted to know. But she found herself smiling just the same. When the door to the cockpit opened and Selura came out, Illitha noted that the other asari was blushing. She shook her head and resisted the urge to giggle at the look upon the scientist's face. She had to force herself to focus on the task at hand.

Rachel was the first to jump from the shuttle to the balcony. Once the blonde was in position, she quickly trained her rifle upon the bank of floor-to-ceiling windows that separated the apartment from the balcony, warily scanning for signs of hostile forces. Illitha leapt down next to her, landing heavily, and soon others started dropping to the balcony around them. Illitha stared at the windows, amazed to find them still intact, given the damage the rest of the building seemed to have suffered. Rachel tried to access the holographic controls for the balcony door, but the display turned red when she hit the key.

"It's locked," the blonde announced.

That was Illitha's cue. She hurriedly hacked into the controls for the door, and within moments she was able to override the security lockout. She was actually surprised how easy it was. Either her work with Reaper encryption had helped to improve her skills over the past weeks, or the embassy's security had considered a fourth-floor balcony lock to be low-risk and settled for low-grade security systems. When the door opened, she stepped inside, bringing her captured Carnifex up to firing position and quickly scouring the room for signs of enemies.

_"This is team one,"_ Captain Nisaria announced. _"We are landing in the west-side garden now."_

"Understood, Captain," Illitha nodded. "Neela, take the shuttle to a safe landing zone. But be ready to pick us up if we call," she cautioned.

_"Acknowledged," _Neela responded. _"Be careful."_

"The apartment is clear," one of the marines announced once the men were finished conducting a search of the other rooms.

Illitha crossed to the apartment's main entrance door, and she was just tapping into the door's security system when the holographic display went dead. She glanced around at the other electronic feeds in the room, and noted that all of them – the chronos, the ambient lights, and the like – had likewise gone dark.

"Someone cut the backup power," Rachel muttered.

_"Enemy contact,"_ the gravelly voice of the mercenary, Zaeed, announced over the comm channel. Everyone could hear the distant sounds of gunfire.

"Cut through," Illitha suggested, activating her omni-tool. Selura did the same, and within moments, the two asari were quickly slicing through the internal bolts in the door.

It seemed that the chaos was already starting, and their fears were confirmed. If the other team had come under attack, then the Alliance forces here really _were_ indoctrinated. This was, without a doubt, the most horrible thing about the Reaper invasion. The Reapers' ability to turn anyone they captured into an indoctrinated agent made any situation a potential disaster, and anyone they met a potential enemy. The fact that they were fighting humans instead of Reaper troops was both depressing and tragic. Unfortunately, it was also necessary.

_"We have confirmed contact with indoctrinated Alliance soldiers,"_ Captain Nisaria warned them after a moment. _"Any unfamiliar Alliance personnel should be treated as hostile."_

Illitha stepped back when her work on the door was complete, and some of the marines worked to pry the portal open. She sighed and deactivated her omni-tool.

"W-We need to take the indoctrinated soldiers prisoner if we can, but we cannot hesitate to fight back if they attack us," she reminded them all. She hated to say it, but the surviving Alliance soldiers in the facility were Reaper soldiers now. She only hoped that if it became necessary, she would be able to pull the trigger. She hadn't had much luck in finding the will to kill indoctrinated people to date. Once they were at her mercy, she tended to see them as victims instead of enemies. They had never asked to work for the Reapers…

* * *

**Ground Level, Dotterstown Embassy…**

Zaeed crouched in a doorway, warily scanning the corridor beyond for signs of enemy activity. They'd found a small team of Alliance soldiers guarding the entryway, and one of their new Alliance allies had offered to make contact and try to gauge their intentions. However, their intentions became clear almost immediately. As soon as the marine stepped into view, the sentries had fired upon him. From there, Zaeed and Captain Nisaria had gone into action, swiftly firing upon the indoctrinated soldiers and putting them down. It had been obvious to the mercenary during that initial confrontation, however, that the Alliance marines assigned to their team had been hesitant to fire on their fellow soldiers, indoctrinated or not.

He knew that this was exactly why the Reapers used indoctrination as a part of their arsenal. The insidious mind control gave the Reapers spies and sleeper agents, and when their indoctrinated troops were used in action, some of their fellows would find it difficult to fire on them because they had familiarity as perceived allies. Fortunately, Zaeed was easily able to categorize them as what they were: enemy agents in disguise. Some of the other soldiers obviously struggled to make that distinction.

Almost the minute they'd stepped into the building, the emergency power supply to the structure had been cut, depriving the building of the emergency lighting that had been dimly illuminating the halls and providing power to the doors. Though the light of the setting sun was sufficient for clear vision in areas of the building exposed to the outside by windows or doors, Zaeed had engaged his night vision overlay because of shadows cast into corners and recesses by the lack of internal illumination. When the emergency lighting failed to reengage, he knew he'd made the right choice. Whoever had disabled the system had taken out the redundant backups as well.

"Move up," he heard the asari commando order. Several of the marines on their team advanced up the hallway, moving from doorway to doorway, testing each trigger panel to make sure the doors were inoperative. Zaeed remained in his position, covering the team during their advance.

_"Captain, a-are you receiving me?"_ the young asari engineer's voice broadcast over the radio.

"Go ahead, Illitha," the former commando murmured. She clearly knew better than to raise her voice where enemy agents might overhear her talking.

_"W-We are doing a room to room search, but… this place… without power, there are a lot of doors we cannot bypass that are not labeled… If we had schematics of the building..."_

"I understand, Illitha," the captain nodded. "Continue your search. We will try to find a maintenance area and reengage the power so that you can access the internal systems."

"If the indoctrinated marines are trying to destroy the QEC installation, they'll be all over the room it's located in," Zaeed reminded them both. "If you're finding doors that aren't guarded or damaged, you're in the wrong place."

_"Understood,"_ Illitha responded before the transmission cut out.

"We still need to restore power," the elder asari pointed out. "If we can run diagnostics when we find the QEC and verify that the system is working, it will save us a lot of time and effort in pulling apart the components."

Zaeed saw the men at the end of the corridor motion for them to move up, and he left his position behind, advancing to join them with the asari by his side. As they walked, he voiced his concerns over their mission.

"This whole mission was put together based on the assumption that we might beat them here. Since they got here first, this could be a goddamn waste of time anyway… The building had power prior to our arrival. They must know exactly where the communications center is, and they've probably demolished the bloody thing by now."

"You know we cannot leave without knowing for sure."

Zaeed nodded. He hadn't been advocating anything of the sort. It had been more of a vocalization of his general frustration. He was hoping to make use of the QEC to get in touch with some of his contacts in the galaxy and get information on Cerberus activities elsewhere. If the system had already been destroyed, his hopes were dashed yet again.

While the marines covered them, Zaeed and several Alliance soldiers advanced along the new corridor, passing a couple of elevator accesses and some archways leading into communal areas such as cafeterias and embassy lobbies. They'd still seen no sign of further ambush by the indoctrinated marines, and the lack of resistance was surprising to the mercenary. He had expected the Reaper slaves to deploy squads to delay and harass them while the rest of their force secured the QEC and destroyed it.

"We're in business," the marine on his left announced as they neared the end of the hall. The man stopped in front of a door they had been passing. "Maintenance access."

Zaeed had been covering the right side of the hall, so he hadn't spotted the words stenciled on the door, which was on the left-hand side of the corridor. With his attention called to it, he paused in his stride, gesturing to two of the marines, waving a hand above his head and then gesturing to the end of the hall, silently signaling for them to continue to the next junction and cover them. As the men moved off, he activated his omni-tool and quickly unfastened the catch that held the emergency access panel next to the door closed, pulling the plating free and grabbing the emergency release handle. While most modern buildings had automated systems in _everything_, the majority of elevator doors, medical bay entrances, and maintenance and engineering areas had emergency releases to allow quick access if power was compromised. A quick jerk on the handle activated an independent power cell and cranked the doors open.

The deafening sound of gunfire greeted them the instant the door opened, and Zaeed quickly dove to the side when the first rounds hit his shield, escaping the field of enemy fire. His Alliance companion was a little slower to react. By the time the man dived out of the way, his shield had apparently collapsed, because when got Zaeed back to his feet, the marine was lying on the ground, clutching an injured leg. The asari dragged the wounded man to an adjacent doorway and moved up beside the open maintenance door. Zaeed took cover on the opposite side.

"We've got a man injured on the ground floor and enemy forces entrenched in the maintenance access," he announced over the radio, just to keep the rest of the team updated. Even as he spoke, the asari captain leaned out of cover for a brief moment, gazing into the darkness beyond, and then quickly withdrew to cover again. He could see a hint of frustration in her expression.

"Someone take my place," she demanded, stepping away from the door.

Zaeed understood. While they'd grabbed supplies for the majority of their men, the Alliance hadn't had any helmets available whose padding was designed to accommodate asari scalp crests. Thus the asari in their group, with the exception of Illitha, were all without helmets or night-vision equipment. She wanted to help in the fighting, but the darkness in the room beyond was absolute. She couldn't see any targets.

One of the marines stepped up to a position on the opposite side of the door, but Zaeed had an idea that would help the asari commando. While he'd been less than enthusiastic about working with the other asari he'd been teamed with, he knew from the way Captain Nisaria handled herself and the little bits of combat he'd witnessed her engaging in that she was a skilled soldier and someone he could count on to get things done. He was always pleased to have competent support and hoped to keep her involved. He pulled one of the inferno grenades from the holder in his armor. He could simultaneously flush their enemy out of cover and give her some light by which to spot targets.

"Incendiary out!" he warned his team. He clicked the activation trigger, stepped into the open for an instant, picked a target and hurled the grenade. A few shots greeted him, but he was back in cover before there was any danger of his shield collapsing.

A series of detonations followed his throw, and a flare of orange light brightened the room beyond. He could hear shouts of panic and a few shouts of pain, and he knew that his grenade had done its job. He and the marine opposite him both leaned out and fired on exposed targets, and a streak of bluish-purple hurtled past. An instant later, one of the Reaper slaves was tumbling backward across the floor, with the asari commando standing over him.

The glow of the beams from the asari's particle rifle joined the fiery glow left over from the incendiary elements of the grenade, and between Zaeed, the asari and the marine, they made quick work of the indoctrinated soldiers in the room. When the last of them fell, the asari captain called "Clear!" and Zaeed stepped into the room, swiftly moving from body to body to gather grenades and thermal clips.

The other Alliance troops fell back to the maintenance area door, and Zaeed finally studied their surroundings. They weren't actually standing in a small room at all, but on a balcony overlooking a much larger chamber below. He found an access ladder leading down and a lift that was currently inoperable due to the lack of power. When he glanced over the half-wall that served as a railing and into the area below, he could see machinery and pipes spread throughout the place… no doubt the water filtration and power systems for the building. Any important building like the embassy would have its own supply of both water and power, independent from the city utilities.

Zaeed swung himself out onto the ladder and slid down to the floor below. As soon as his feet hit the ground he brought his weapon up, intently scanning his surroundings for signs of further danger. Once a few more marines had joined him, they coordinated for a quick sweep of the rest of the room, making sure it was secure before they brought their engineer down to work on restoring the power to the building. There were no further enemy agents to be found, however, and Zaeed nodded in satisfaction.

"We're clear down here," he announced over the radio. "We can start working on the power systems."

_"I-I think we have found the communications center,"_ Illitha's soft murmur sounded over the channel. _"B-But we might have some difficulty getting inside…"_

Zaeed only scowled at this announcement. If he had been right about the indoctrinated marines having had time to find the place, he could only imagine the sort of welcome they would have arranged for anyone attempting to reach it. He hoped the young asari could come up with another inspired plan to get the job done…

* * *

**Third Floor, Dotterstown Embassy…**

Illitha winced when several rounds glanced off of the doorway she was using as cover with audible snaps, wishing that Crawler was still operational. She could barely stick her head out of cover for a peek at the corridor beyond without someone taking a shot at her. The few glances she had been able to get since they'd stumbled on this enemy force had been enough to tell her that there were easily a dozen soldiers camped out in the corridor beyond, using desks that had apparently been dragged from adjoining rooms for cover. They seemed to be gathered around a single door near the midpoint of the hall. The only good news she'd been able to gather from her quick peeks at the situation was that the indoctrinated soldiers seemed to be trying to cut their way through the door they were guarding. Apparently they hadn't yet been able to get inside.

Illitha, Jay, Rachel and Selura had all taken cover in this hallway, which ran perpendicular to the one in which their destination seemed to lie. The rest of their team – Elliot and their marine allies – had been sent to find a way around to the other end of the corridor beyond, so that they could flank their enemies.

Rachel quickly leaned out and fired a few shots in rapid succession with her Harrier rifle, but was quickly forced back into cover by a surge of return fire. Illitha frowned. Ordinarily, she was able to come up with some kind of idea to overcome obstacles such as the one they faced, but with the power down, only two directions from which they could possibly approach their enemies in the corridor, and a sizeable entrenched force arrayed against them, she wasn't receiving any great flashes of inspiration.

"It won't take them long to cut through that door," Rachel pointed out. "Whoever locked themselves in there is gonna die if we don't do something quick!"

Illitha nodded to show that she understood, but the added pressure wasn't helping her any. The fact that the door was sealed and the indoctrinated soldiers were locked out gave her some hope that _unindoctrinated_ Alliance men were still alive from the Whisper team, but no one had answered her few attempts to contact them. She might be able to snare a single enemy soldier or perhaps two in a singularity, or force them out of cover with a biotic explosion, but the enemy was too spread out to do any significant damage, and she came under fire every time she showed herself.

"If I could just get a few seconds to really aim and fire, I could take out the guy cutting through the door," Jay sounded frustrated. He had made a few attempts to step into the open and get a clear shot at anyone in the room beyond, but he was having the same problem as Illitha. Even though he was now equipped with a suit of Alliance armor, his shield hadn't been able to stand up to the concentrated fire that greeted him whenever he tried.

"O-Okay," Illitha finally nodded. "Jay, get ready to hit the guy working on the door. If we can stop him, it will give me some more time to think…"

"But they focus on me whenever I step out into-"

"I will shield you long enough for your shots," Illitha promised, cutting him off. "L-Let me know when you are ready."

The young man nodded slowly, stepping closer to her. He got his rifle into firing position and took a deep breath. "Ready."

Illitha extended her arms and expanded her barrier into a dome to shield the entire doorway against enemy fire. She was able to create a dome wide enough to do so without even exposing herself to enemy view. However, both Jay and Rachel seized the opportunity afforded by the added defense. Rachel leaned out of cover and fired on the men in the corridor. Illitha assumed from the way the blonde seemed to just be spraying the entire area with bullets that her intent was to keep the enemy's heads down and limit return fire. At the same time, Jay stepped out into view and carefully lined up his shot. Illitha could feel the surges run through her barrier and hear the crackling sounds as the dome deflected a few bullets, but thanks to Rachel, the incoming fire was far less draining than she had expected it to be.

Two sharp cracks sounded in rapid succession when Jay fired, and she saw the young sniper adjust his aim and squeeze off a third round before he stepped out of the line of fire, yanking the bolt on his rifle to eject the spent thermal clip from the weapon and snap the next one into place.

"The door guy is down," the sniper announced with a sigh, and then quickly added, "This sucks…"

Illitha nodded. She knew exactly what the young sniper was feeling, because she herself felt a little sick at the announcement. While the soldiers in the corridor were fighting against them, she had a hard time looking at them as enemies. They were fighting slaves, not enemies. And she hated the idea that they were probably killing good people whose will was not their own.

"Concentrate, guys," Rachel urged. "We're doing them a favor."

Illitha stared at the blonde in shock. She couldn't believe Rachel would actually advocate the killing of her enslaved colleagues. It seemed uncharacteristically cold of the girl.

"Bullshit," Jay snapped. "Killing someone is _never_ a favor."

"Think about it," Rachel frowned, pausing to lean out and fire a few shots. "If someone stuck you in a room, performed horrible experiments on you or whatever the Reapers do to rob you of your will, and then sent you out to kill your brother and there was nothing you could do to stop yourself, wouldn't you consider it a huge relief if someone shot you before you could do it? I know if I was indoctrinated and the Reapers sent me to kill my family or friends, I'd be _begging_ people to shoot me before I could do it…"

Illitha paused to consider what the blonde was saying. It didn't make her feel any less sorry for the men the Reapers had indoctrinated, but she was starting to understand Rachel's thoughts on the matter. She tried to imagine how torturous it would be if she was forced into a situation where she would have to kill people she cared about and she had no choice in the matter. Her eyes lingered upon Rachel, and she tried to picture being unable to stop herself from drawing her pistol and pulling the trigger. Almost immediately, her thoughts at that hypothetical moment became crystal clear to her: _Goddess! Someone stop me before I do this!_

Perhaps she was rationalizing to soothe her conscience. Perhaps Rachel was doing the same. But suddenly it seemed a lot less horrific to kill the indoctrinated soldiers. Perhaps they really _were_ doing the men a favor. With this possibility to cling to, Illitha opened a channel to the rest of their team. They hadn't heard from them since she'd sent them to circle around to the other side of their enemy.

"Elliot? Update?" she prompted.

_"We're pinned down,"_ the teenager responded, and she could hear the sounds of gunfire during the transmission. _"There's a small group of soldiers around the corner and down the hall from the others. No one's hurt here, but we can't get past them."_

"Why the hell didn't you radio and tell us that right away?" Jay demanded, obviously upset that his brother was in danger and he hadn't been aware of it.

_"I've been a little busy, Jay…"_ the teenager responded with audible irritation.

"He will be fine," Illitha assured the young sniper, and then addressed the team over the radio. "W-Withdraw if you can, but… k-keep yourselves safe first and foremost. We will keep working from this side until you rejoin us."

_"Copy that,"_ an unfamiliar marine's voice acknowledged the order.

"You have a plan?" Rachel prompted.

"N-Not really," Illitha sighed. She was actually rather disappointed that she hadn't been able to come up with anything inspired. But their work in dealing with the man at the door had been effective enough. "Just more of the same. I will shield the two of you. Rachel, you keep them down and wound them if you can. Jay… Pick a target a-and, uh… deal with him."

"What about me?" Selura asked. Illitha turned to regard her fellow asari. She'd actually almost forgotten the girl was there.

"You have incineration tech on your omni, right?" Illitha asked.

"No. I can only create holograms of fluffy animals native to Lusia," the scientist muttered sarcastically.

Illitha frowned at her. This really didn't seem the time for jokes. But given the heavily sarcastic tone of the response, she had to assume that the answer to her question was actually 'yes'. So she pressed on with her idea. She was disappointed in herself for not considering it sooner.

"You c-can arc an incineration burst over their cover. It… It could force them into the open for Jay. I will shield the doorway and Rachel will cover you both. You pick a target, lock on and hit him with an incineration burst. Jay, you be ready to fire if it forces him out into the open. Once you both have had a chance to fire, get out of the doorway and let me have a moment to rest…"

"And then we'll do it all over again," Rachel guessed. "Good plan, Spectre."

"Not really," Illitha muttered. She would have preferred something a bit quicker and easier. But she supposed not every situation they would encounter would be one she could solve with some great idea. "Ready?"

The others nodded, and they all put her plan into motion. Working as a team over the next several minutes, they managed to slowly grind away the numbers their opponents had to their advantage. One by one, Selura forced them out into the open and Jay quickly put them down. Occasionally Selura's incineration drones couldn't find their targets, but more often than not she was able to at least get the men to shift position, which sometimes gave Jay a momentary bit of a target to hit. A few times, the sniper instead shot one of the enemy soldiers when he revealed himself to return fire. Illitha's barrier gave him the added protection he needed to stand his ground and take such shots. They were all forced out of position from time to time by grenades hurled by their enemies, but for the most part, their strategy was working.

By the time Elliot and the others had rejoined them, they'd cut the enemy numbers in the corridor beyond from a dozen to a mere four. But Illitha was tiring rapidly after the exertion of using her biotics to shield them all dozens of times, even if it was only for brief periods each time.

"There are only four left," Illitha told the rest of the team as the men rejoined them at the doorway. "W-We can simply storm their position and subdue them now that we have superior numbers. I c-can shield you all for the advance…"

"No need," Rachel spoke up. "You have done enough, and you are obviously getting tired," the blonde pointed out. "We can throw a frag out to at least keep them down or maybe even flush them out. Then we can rush them. Our shields will be enough to keep us safe while we work this time. There are a lot less shooters out there than we started with."

"B-But my biotics-"

"You've done enough," the blonde repeated. "Let us do our jobs now."

Illitha wanted to argue, but she finally nodded. Using her barrier to shield multiple people was the most tiring expression of her biotics, and she was nearing the limits of her endurance in that regard. She needed to rest. Still, she would do what she could to help them before they started their charge. She hadn't yet used her singularities because there had been too many men, spread out among too much cover to make it worth the effort. She would only have been able to snare one man at a time, and her protective domes had been more valuable to the team. Now, taking one or two men out of the fight would make a huge difference.

"S-Save your grenade," she urged. "I will snare one or two of them in a singularity before you start your advance. Then Selura and I will wait here while you get it done."

"Alright then," Jay nodded, and Illitha saw Rachel do the same. "We go on your signal. I'll stay out here with you to cover everyone with my rifle."

Illitha nodded and focused upon her biotics and her personal barrier. When she was ready, a biotic orb formed in her hand, and she stepped out into the doorway and chose a target, hurling the orb out over the desk one of the men was using as cover. The orb blossomed into a singularity precisely where she wanted it, and she saw the field hoist the hapless soldier into the air. The other men started shooting at her, so she quickly stepped out of the doorway to let the others by. Soldiers surged past her and into the corridor to take over the assault, and the deafening cacophony of rifle fire filled the air.

Illitha slumped to a seat against the wall and bowed her head, listening to the noise and trying to rest until the commotion was over. When silence finally descended over the area, she struggled to her feet. It was at that moment that the emergency lights suddenly kicked on, and the holographic triggers on the doors all around her flickered into view. She resisted the urge to laugh.

_Thanks, Captain. But you are a little late…_

* * *

**Communications Center, Dotterstown Embassy…**

Julisa joined the others in the corridor outside of the communications center, grimly surveying the bodies lying throughout the hallway around the door. There were overturned desks spread throughout the area, and bullet scars and scorch marks marred almost every surface in sight. It seemed that Illitha's team had dealt with the heaviest resistance. Her own unit, on the other hand, had dealt with only a few minor skirmishes… one in the maintenance area, and one in a corridor just around the corner. She glanced around at the group of allied soldiers, taking a quick count, and her eyes came to rest last upon Illitha, who nodded once in response to the inquiring rise of her brow.

"Glad to see that everyone is safe," she commented.

"W-We have tried to contact the men inside," Illitha nodded toward the sealed door, which had visible scarring from a half-finished attempt to cut through the locks. "No one is answering us."

"Maybe it's civilians," Zaeed suggested. "They might not have the Alliance frequencies available."

"This is from the indoctrinated soldiers?" Julisa asked, stepping up to the door and running her hand along the melted and now lukewarm metal where the interior latches had been cut.

"Yes," Illitha nodded. "They damaged the automatic systems in the door with their attempt to cut through. T-The holographic trigger is unresponsive. We were not sure we should cut through until we could contact whoever is inside."

"Cut through," Julisa made the decision quickly. "We cannot afford to delay. Once the door is open, we can assure anyone inside that we are not hostile."

Illitha nodded and set to work, picking up where the indoctrinated troops had left off. While she worked, Julisa tuned in to the general Alliance frequencies to get an update on the progress of the battle. The Alliance plan seemed to have worked. The Reaper presence there had been non-existent thanks to the diversionary attack the Alliance had arranged on the water treatment plant. It seemed the Reapers had concentrated their forces elsewhere.

_"The perimeter is collapsing," _a panicked voice announced. _"Bulwark forces are almost entirely decimated. Reapers are breaching the lines all over the place. Warcry, you've got heavy incoming on your south flank! We're falling back!"_

_"This is Overwatch," _another voice took over. _"We've got eyes on a sizeable group on Armor Alpha's west flank. They're in serious trouble. Suggest that air support be immediately diverted to cover."_

_"This is Captain Shirakawa. Beta Wing, divert to cover Armor Alpha's position from the air. Repeat. Divert now. Cover Armor Alpha. Spearhead forces, come south and support Warcry at the water treatment plant."_

"We're through," Illitha's blonde friend announced, drawing the former commando's attention away from the radio chatter. She lowered the volume of the comms, but did not turn them off entirely. She wanted to be kept aware of what was going on. It sounded like the situation was deteriorating.

A few of the marines worked to pry the doors open, and the moment there was a gap between them, Illitha called out, warning whoever was inside that they were allied forces and that they meant no harm. However, only silence and the pale red illumination of emergency lighting greeted them. Once the doors were levered far enough apart that someone could fit through, Julisa took point, slipping inside and glancing around the area. Now that the emergency lighting was active, she could actually be of use in windowless areas.

The communications center featured a large central lobby, with multiple doorways leading off of it into other areas. Each door inside was labeled with a letter and number combination, but since Julisa was not familiar with the facility, she had no idea what these designations meant. Her gaze fell to the floor just inside the door, and she spotted dark droplets scattered over the tile. She activated her omni-tool and ran a scan since she couldn't see the color of the liquid clearly in the red lighting. Her quick analysis informed her that it was human blood, and gave some additional genetic information about the owner, which she didn't bother reading. She saw no signs of any bodies, and in the dim light, she didn't see any other signs of blood on the floor. She turned to Illitha as the younger asari entered, wreathed in the glowing yellow panels of her tech armor.

"Someone was injured in here. Any idea where the QEC is located?"

"G-Give me a moment to tap into the facility schematics," the younger asari murmured, going to work on her omni-tool. After a moment, she finally nodded and gestured to one of the doors. "There… It seems there is a secure area beyond this room with a restricted-access communications suite. Th-That would be my guess for the QEC's location."

Julisa nodded and moved toward the door the younger asari had indicated, and once she was closer, she could see a bloody smear on the plating, directly behind the holographic trigger at the door's center. Apparently the injured party had passed through that door. Her rifle came up to a firing position, and she hit the trigger.

When the door parted, she immediately saw a figure slumped against a door in the opposite wall, with his rifle resting upon his lap. His head was lolled to the side, and a little bit of blood was pooled around him. The armor in his abdomen was shattered in several spots, and he seemed to be severely injured… if he was alive at all. He certainly wasn't conscious. Julisa slowly moved toward him, reactivating her omni-tool and running a medical scan. To her surprise, the scan indicated signs of life. She quickly reached down and took the rifle from the man, and then raised her finger to her aural implant.

"Neela, we need you to drop Aida off at a third-floor balcony. I will send some men up to escort her. We have a severely injured human down here…"

"I'll go meet her," one of the marines offered before they even received a response.

"Us too," Jay offered, gesturing toward his younger brother.

"Go," Julisa nodded.

_"Acknowledged, captain,"_ Neela's voice finally answered. _"We're on our way now. Is… everyone okay?"_

"We are fine, Neela," Selura answered on their behalf. Julisa glanced over at the young scientist. She'd understood the reason Neela was asking, and apparently the younger asari had too. By answering on their behalf, Selura had let the quarian know she was okay in addition to everyone else on the team. The captain found herself frowning. She still needed to talk to the scientist. Neela was clearly very smitten. If Selura didn't feel the same…

"Captain, he is coming around," Illitha's voice distracted her from her thoughts.

Julisa crouched beside the man, who groaned and turned his head, seeming to struggle with waking. When she finally saw his eyes flutter and open behind the visor of his helmet, he tensed, and she quickly spoke to put his mind at ease.

"We are with an Alliance team, here on behalf of your Captain Shirakawa," she told him, gesturing to the Alliance soldiers behind her. "We have a medic on her way in. How did you end up here?"

"My team…" the man's voice cracked, and he coughed, wincing and pressing a hand to his abdomen in response, "They… they turned on us… killed some of the others. I ran here to seal the doors… they… they followed me… shot me as I was locking them out… Traitors…"

"They are indoctrinated," Illitha told him. "The Reapers are behind this."

"Impossible…" the man gasped, "I… I would have known… I've been with most of them for weeks…"

Julisa and Illitha exchanged glances. If this man had been with the others for weeks, then he had been traveling with indoctrinated forces. He might have been a Reaper spy as well. The captain nodded for Illitha to step away from him, and she rose to her feet, addressing the injured man.

"Rest easy. Our medic will be here any minute."

The two asari moved away from the injured man, where they were joined by Rachel, Selura, and a few of the marines from their group. Julisa frowned and shook her head slightly.

"Is he indoctrinated?" Illitha asked. "He said he's been with the others for weeks. He must have been part of Tarrislav's command."

"But he locked the others out. They were definitely trying to get inside," Rachel pointed out.

"Or perhaps he was already in here when the others cut the power and they lost contact with him because he passed out. So they were trying to finish the job he started," Selura suggested. "He could have come in to sabotage the QEC."

"Illitha, Selura," the captain gestured toward the door, "Go inside and verify that the QEC equipment is still working. If it is intact, start working on removing the components we need."

The two younger asari nodded and moved over toward the door, where Illitha quickly hacked the door security so that they could get inside. When the door closed behind them, the holographic trigger turned red. Julisa nodded in satisfaction. If there were any further threats, the two would be safe inside the room while they worked.

"Maybe we're overreacting," the blonde girl commented, her eyes upon the injured soldier. "I'm sure not _everyone_ in Tarrislav's command is indoctrinated. I was with his forces for a while. So were a bunch of the soldiers that were part of Illitha's command. We're all fine."

"We must be cautious," Julisa shrugged. "We cannot take any chances."

The blonde nodded, and Julisa returned her attention to the Alliance communications while she waited for the others to arrive with Aida. The general tone of the communications was negative. It seemed the Reapers were forcing the Alliance back on all fronts. However, her attention was drawn by several reports from the Alliance air forces and their Overwatch unit.

_"Command, this Overwatch Alpha. We're still seeing a ton of activity in the alloy fabrication plant north of Whisper Alpha's position… And I thought I saw a shuttle land there a second ago. Can anyone confirm?"_

_"Roger that. This is Charlie Wing lead. We saw an Alliance shuttle land on the rooftop of the factory a minute ago. I assume your recon team is now in place."_

_"Overwatch, Charlie Wing, this is Command,"_ Shirakawa's now-familiar voice responded. _"I didn't divert a recon team to that facility. Circle around and get me details on that shuttle. It may be an indoctrinated force of some kind."_

The door opened at that moment, and Aida entered the room with her escorts. The younger asari looked miserable, a fact that caused the captain to sigh, but she didn't hesitate to go to work. She drafted a few of the marines to help her and instructed them to get her patient stretched out on the floor, after which she started running scans and providing the treatment the man needed.

Seeing that the injured man was well in hand, she turned to Rachel. "Do you know where this alloy fabrication plant is?"

"No idea," Rachel shrugged. "I wasn't stationed in Dotterstown." The blonde turned to the others in the room. "Anyone know where the alloy fabrication plant is?"

"Novaburst Fabrication? It's a handful of blocks from here," one of the marines informed them.

"They fabricate high-density alloys?" Julisa asked. She was mystified as to why the Reapers would be so interested in the plant. Unless they were intending to commandeer parts to fix damaged hull sections on the large Reapers… But she really didn't see what difference that would make in the long run. The Alliance didn't seem to have the capability to hurt the big Reapers much.

"Yeah," the marine nodded. "My cousin works at the plant. They make everything from generator housings to starship hull plating."

"They use giant mass effect generators in those plants, don't they?" Zaeed spoke up.

"They would have to, for the densification process. Why?" Julisa's eyes were upon the mercenary. Though the scarred human's expression was difficult to read, she could tell he had an idea as to what might be the reasoning behind the Reaper activity.

"Salik had a captured Alliance shuttle when he left Fulton's Folly," the mercenary explained. "And he's been interfering in every major event since he turned on your mates. I'll wager that him and his sniper pal were the ones in that shuttle."

"But why? It's an alloy fabrication plant, not a weapons manufacturer…"

"To power mass effect generators that big, the factory would have to have a hell of a power plant… Salik seems fond of detonating things to destroy buildings. If the Reaper troops brought a bunch of volatile materials into the plant, I'd bet they could create one big goddamn explosion…"

Julisa put her hand to her ear and activated a channel to Alliance command. The urgency in her tone when she spoke was clear. "Alliance command, this is Captain Julisa Nisaria. We have secured the primary objective, but we may have a serious problem. The Reaper activity at Novaburst Fabrication may pose a danger to the recovery. We are going to divert a portion of our force to the factory to check it out."

"Could an explosion at the plant really endanger us here?" the blonde asked, obviously skeptical of the possibility.

"It depends on what the Reapers bring into the facility. Your people have been reporting a lot of Reaper activity over there. If we can get a look at what they are doing, we will have a better idea. But we cannot simply ignore them and hope they are incapable of hurting us from this distance."

"Salik has managed to screw us time and again," Zaeed muttered. "Leaving him alone to give it another shot would be idiotic."

Selura emerged from the adjoining room at that moment, smiling brightly. Obviously she hadn't been listening to the radio transmissions, and of course she couldn't hear their conversation through the closed door. Most communications suites were soundproof. "The QEC as a whole is too damaged to run. It looks like someone sprayed it with rifle fire. But our scans show the important components are completely intact," she announced.

"Get Illitha out here. We will leave the Alliance engineers to remove the components and transport the equipment back to the Alliance base. The rest of us are going to investigate and see what Salik is up to," Julisa informed the girl, and then raised a finger to the side of her head, activating her aural implant. "Neela, bring the shuttle back around to the balcony. We are leaving immediately."

Selura disappeared into the adjoining room without comment, and Julisa walked over to where Aida was working on the injured soldier. The younger asari was executing her duties efficiently, but the captain thought she looked dazed. She knew that the young medic was not used to the tragedies of war, and that she had taken their losses hard. Having a medic with them would be a benefit if anyone was injured during the fighting to come, but she didn't want to drag the young maiden into such a situation if she wasn't in the right mental state to deal with the stress.

"Aida, you can stay here and look after your patient."

"I am coming with you, Captain," the young medic's tone was firm, and when she looked up, that blank expression had been replaced with one of determination. She nodded toward the injured man. "I should have him stabilized in another minute, but he needs surgery. Once he is stable, but I suggest the second shuttle be brought up and used to evacuate him to the Alliance base."

"We don't have time to stand around here," Zaeed growled, glancing around at the assembled group. "You marines can secure this place, salvage the equipment, and bring up the other shuttle. The rest of us need to get moving. It's time to kick that salarian bastard's arse…"

_I could not have said it better myself_, Julisa mused. "Agreed," she said aloud. "Let us get underway."

_"I'm in position, Captain," _Neela informed them over the radio. _"Awaiting your arrival for extraction."_

The former commando nodded to herself as she led the group from the room and toward the waiting shuttle. She knew that for some of the others, defeating Salik had an even greater significance than it did for her. Some of them had been repeatedly beaten by the salarian, while she herself had only suffered one such defeat. Still, she was looking forward to the chance for a rematch.

_This time,_ she vowed, _the outcome will be different._

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: My first order of business will always be to thank those of you who have read, reviewed, favorited/followed or otherwise given any attention to this story. I never get tired of typing those words. While I started writing this story primarily to exercise my skills and get feedback so that I could improve my writing, the support and interest from all of you has kept me motivated and enthusiastic about getting this story done, and I appreciate it greatly. I just hope I'm keeping you all entertained during the ride!**

**I am happy to say that I not only completed the Chapter I failed to finish before posting the last Chapter, but I also completed another Chapter to fully rebuild my buffer! I don't have a whole lot to say about this Chapter specifically, but I'm excited to have it published, since it is obviously the start of some upcoming events I've waited a long time to cover. And since this Chapter has already been significantly longer than the norm, I'll leave it at that. As always, I look forward to hearing what my readers think. :)**

**Unless something changes, the next Chapter will go up Saturday morning. Until then, I hope you all have a fantastic week!**


	58. Chapter 58: Advance

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Fifty-Eight: Advance

.

**Cerberus Shuttle Alpha, Over Dotterstown…**

Neela's fingers danced across the holographic inputs of the control console, and she frowned to herself as she worked, trying to keep the shuttle out of the line of enemy fire. The captain had chosen to divert their group to a fabrication plant several blocks to the north of the embassy, but without the Alliance escort they'd had when they came into the city, their shuttle quickly became a target for the Reaper drones that were swarming through the airspace. They hadn't been able to cover even half of the distance before a pair of drones intercepted the shuttle and forced Neela to veer off course.

Unfortunately, unlike the Armanis fighter she had been piloting the last time she'd been evading drones, the Cerberus shuttle was about as maneuverable as a chunk of rock with thrusters. Her status display was filled with red warning indicators as a result of the half dozen hits they had sustained already, and she was struggling just to keep them in the air. She had already dropped low over the buildings just in case they lost their propulsion systems, so that their crash wouldn't involve a long drop _in addition_ to high speeds. Of course, she knew their speed alone might be enough to kill them all, even with safety harnesses and inertial dampeners to smooth out the crash.

Selura was gripping the arms of the copilot chair with such intensity that her knuckles were turning gray, and the girl was clearly terrified that they would be destroyed before they could land. Unfortunately, though Neela was proud of her piloting skills, she was afraid that their destruction was more than a little likely. She was desperately trying to come up with a plan that would allow them to escape, but so far had been able to think of nothing better than to circle around, low to the ground, and order everyone to jump out before the drones could destroy the shuttle. Unfortunately, she doubted that once they were hovering in one place, even half of them would manage to get to safety before the shuttle was demolished.

"Is this thing armed?" a gruff voice demanded from the doorway.

"It has side-mounted mass accelerator cannons, yes. But it's not maneuverable enough to get them off of our tail," Neela snapped at the human mercenary.

"Then try to lose them among the goddamn buildings…"

"What do you think I've been trying to do?" Neela shouted. "Get out of here and let me concentrate!"

A shot impacted upon the shuttle's hull, rattling the entire vehicle and causing the rear of it to lurch violently downward. She heard the mercenary swear as he was knocked off of his feet by the blast and the sudden tilt of the deck, and just because he had been annoying her, she quickly banked around a building, knowing that it would send him skidding into the wall when she did so. When she heard the muffled thump that followed her maneuver, she smiled.

"That was not nice at all, Neela," Selura commented, and though the quarian couldn't spare time to look at her girlfriend, she could tell just from her tone that she was grinning.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I was just avoiding enemy fire."

"Oh, I know…"

Neela's momentary burst good humor was quashed when another blast of enemy fire struck their shuttle, and the rear end of the vehicle spun to the right. She tried to correct, but the warning indicators on her screen had all turned red. They were in a tailspin, and in a few seconds, they were going to crash. There was no longer anything she could do beyond applying all the downward thrust they had to try to slow their fall. She saw the shimmer around Selura when the girl activated her armor's shield generator, and she did the same, even as she hit the button for the intercom.

"Brace for impact!"

The words came out as a scream, largely because she caught a glimpse of the crumbling side of a building rushing to meet them as they spiraled toward it. It was the last coherent thought she had before the impact occurred. She was driven forcefully back into her seat when the rear of their spinning shuttle collided with the building. Then there was a disorienting sensation of spinning and tumbling, being jerked in one direction after another, with a deafening series of cracks and the screech of twisting metal assaulting her ears. Her head snapped forward violently at the end of all the tumbling, and for a moment everything went fuzzy.

The next thing she remembered was staring at Selura's face, upside-down, as the asari struggled to free her of the harness that kept her in the pilot's seat. There was a trail of blood trickling down past her girlfriend's left eye, and she started to reach out to touch her cheek, but at that moment the harness gave way, dumping her unceremoniously out of her chair. Fortunately she had the presence of mind to duck her head and curl up, or she would have struck the plating of the shuttle's crumpled ceiling headfirst instead of with the back of her shoulders.

"Goddess! I am sorry," Selura was quick to turn her over, anxiously scanning her entire body. "Are you hurt? Are there any tears in your suit? Hold still…" the scientist was clearly on the verge of panic, but all of her concerns were for Neela.

"I'm fine," Neela muttered, waving the girl away. But Selura refused to leave her alone until she had inspected every section of her suit for tears. Eventually Neela just gave up and lay there while Selura did her work. Given the fact that her makeshift suit didn't have a sensor system to alert her to possible breaches, she supposed it didn't hurt to have someone make sure there wasn't a hole somewhere that might expose her to the outside environment.

_"Neela, Selura… a-are both of you okay up there?"_ Illitha's voice reached the quarian through the speakers in her helmet.

"We're alive," Neela answered. When she saw the quizzical look Selura shot her, she pointed to the side of her head to let the girl know she was receiving a transmission. "Is everyone _else_ still alive?"

_"E-Everyone is injured to some degree, but we are… w-we did not lose anyone,"_ Illitha assured her.

"Everyone is still alive," Neela relayed the news to Selura.

"It was good thinking to get us so low to the ground, but I am still shocked we are not dead," her girlfriend admitted. "And amazed the drones have not continued to fire upon us."

Neela nodded slowly, glancing toward the partially-shattered front viewport, but the shuttle was lying upside down and nose-downward on a cracked floor of some kind… she could only see the tile plating. She had no idea where they had ended up, but she was guessing they were in the middle of a ruined building.

"Your suit seems intact," Selura finally announced with a smile.

"You're bleeding," Neela pointed out.

She rolled over and got to her knees, wincing at the pain in her neck when she did so. It seemed that between her tension at the moment of the crash and the violent forward motion at its end, she'd strained something. Her ankle was also throbbing, but that was nothing new. Suppressing her own discomfort, she gently urged her girlfriend to bow her head so she could get a look at source of the blood on her face. There were several shallow cuts upon one of the asari's scalp crests, and the wounds were bleeding steadily. Fortunately, when they had resupplied at the Alliance base, their provisions included several packets of medigel each, so she quickly tore one open, applying a little of the bioplasm to each of the wounds to seal them and stop the bleeding. Once she was sure Selura wasn't seriously injured, she wrapped her arms around the girl, hugging her fiercely. Selura returned the embrace with equal fervor.

_"The door is inoperable,"_ Illitha warned them.

_"We cannot spare the time to cut you out,"_ Captain Nisaria's voice joined the channel. _"The rest of us will have to continue on to the plant. Every moment we spend trying to rescue the two of you is another moment our enemies can spend completing their objective."_

"We understand, Captain," Neela assured her. "Go. We'll get out on our own."

_"I am sorry,"_ Illitha murmured. _"Please let me know when you are both out and safely on the ground."_

"On the ground?" Neela repeated. "We're not on the ground now?"

_"No,"_ Captain Nisaria informed them. _"The shuttle is perched on what remains of the third floor of this building. It looks like we smashed through the wall of the level above and the floor gave way beneath the shuttle when we hit it."_

Once again, Neela was stunned by the fact that they survived. Although she supposed that the fact that they struck the building rear first and thus the passenger and cockpit areas were furthest from the point of impact could well be the only reasons they weren't all killed in the crash. Since they had ended up inside the building, it also explained why the drones had stopped attacking them. She quickly explained the situation to Selura.

"It is a good thing all the real fighters were back there," Selura commented after she finished. "They can go on ahead and they still have all the most effective people with them to fight against the Reapers. Leaving us here does not cost them much."

"We still need to get out and join them," Neela admonished, but her tone was playful. Given the fact that they were still alive and relatively uninjured, she was in good spirits. "We can't stay here and make out," she teased. "Besides, the window is broken and the decontamination system is dead, I'm sure."

"Well, I have had a bit of practice lately with using my omni-tool to cut through dense materials," Selura said with an exaggerated sigh. "I guess I can start cutting through the door, since you are unwilling to let me have any fun…"

The asari got up and started to crawl past her, and Neela found her eyes lingering upon the curve of her backside as she passed. _The Alliance armor certainly does hug the contours of her rear quite nicely…_ She caught herself thinking, and then sighed inwardly. _Someday,_ she promised herself. _Someday we will have the opportunity to truly have time alone together…_

* * *

**Dotterstown Ruins…**

Illitha watched in amazement as Captain Nisaria leapt from yet another ledge, wreathed in the wispy glow of biotic energy, and floated effortlessly to the ground below. While the engineer had taught herself how to expand her barrier into a dome, floating to the ground like that had been the second skill she really wanted to learn. Unfortunately, she hadn't had any idea how to begin.

"Teach me to do that!" she called down to the elder asari, glancing at Aida, Rachel, Zaeed, Jay and Elliot, who were already climbing down along another section of collapsed floor to the level below. The climbing was much slower and the footing was treacherous.

"There is no time right now, Illitha," the captain frowned, scanning her surroundings with her Prothean rifle at the ready. "Climb down."

Illitha turned and glanced up at the staggering array of crumbling sections of floor, collapsed walls, piles of rubble, and other surfaces she had already climbed past to get down from the shuttle. The wrecked vehicle had smashed through the wall of the building on the fourth floor, from the look of it, and the floor upon which it landed had buckled and fallen in on the floor below, essentially rolling them down a ramp until they were resting on the third level, where the shuttle had come to a stop. Everyone had been injured to some degree, but the Goddess was with them. The worst injury was Aida's wrist, which was broken. Everyone else was left with strains, cuts, and bruises. If not for the warning Neela had given them, which gave all of them time to get into a seat and engage the safety harnesses, their injuries could have been much worse.

With a sigh, the young engineer turned and started following the others down the pile of rubble to the floor below, careful to watch her footing and avoid stepping on anything that would crumble beneath her weight. The Alliance reports had been filled with warnings about the heavy Reaper activity in this area, so she was surprised that there seemed to be no Reaper troops in the building. She knew the respite wouldn't last long.

"How far are we from the factory?" the captain asked.

Illitha paused on her current perch, activating her omni-tool and checking the distance to the nav-point she'd set for their destination building. "We are a block southeast of the structure, Captain."

"I hope we can reach the place in time," she heard the elder asari mutter.

"W-We have time, Captain," Illitha assured her as she resumed the climb down.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.

"Well… if… uh, assuming we are correct… a-about Salik's goal, I mean… he cannot simply turn the plant's generator up to the 'explode' setting…"

"There will be failsafe subroutines and emergency shutoff procedures that he will have to hack his way through or possibly to physically disable," the captain took over the explanation. "Then it will take time for the reactor to power up to critical levels. Only once it is all ready can he breach the shielding and cause any significant explosion."

"Then why are we worried about speed? It sounds like we have plenty of time…" the blonde leapt down from one last chunk of debris to the floor, pulling her rifle once she was on solid ground.

"Because there are Reapers all over the area," the captain reminded her. "When I thought we would be landing on the roof, I knew we would have plenty of time. But if we must fight our way through the surrounding city, which will likely be crawling with Reaper forces, they may delay us long enough for Salik to accomplish his objective."

Illitha nodded slowly as she climbed down. She had misunderstood the source of the captain's concerns as well, but it seemed the elder asari was already aware of the difficulties involved in overloading a reactor core. She wondered briefly where the captain had acquired her experience with such a task, and decided that she would be happier not knowing. The elder asari was a former commando. She supposed that utilizing such tactics as sabotaging a reactor might have been necessary once or twice during her career.

When she finally reached the ground, the young engineer drew her pistol and readied her omni-tool, activating her incineration program. The captain and Zaeed were already heading for the door, warily scanning the street outside. Illitha took one last glance up at the twisted wreckage of the shuttle, far above, and then she slowly followed the rest, listening to the distant, horn-like sound the big Reapers emitted from time-to-time as they stomped their way through the city.

The six of them crept along the buildings lining the street, using smashed vehicles and piles of rubble as cover, but they were not able to remain hidden for long. A husk suddenly leapt onto Zaeed from a window they were passing just as the mercenary started to direct his weapon inside. The creature's sudden assault drove the mercenary's back up against a smashed skycar in the street. It raised its arm, but it never had a chance to strike a blow. The captain seized it from behind and yanked it off of the mercenary, hurling it to the ground. Illitha and Rachel both fired upon it the moment it was clear of their allies. But it seemed as though their shots acted like a beacon to enemy forces. From that moment on, Reapers shambled out of every building around them. There was just a handful at first, but the initial trickle of enemies quickly became a flood of Reaper troops.

They tried to stay together, but grenades hurled into their midst forced them to scatter, and the appearance of several brutes further drove the group apart. Before long, Illitha found herself isolated from her friends and under heavy fire. Even with her tech armor and her personal barrier, which was considerably stronger than it had been a month ago, the Reapers repeatedly flanked her position, and the incoming fire forced her to run farther and farther from the others, always looking for a new place to hide. She felt uncomfortably like she was once more acting as a decoy, frantically running from place to place while enemy fire peppered her from behind.

She fought back whenever she could. She managed to snare several different groups of Reapers in singularities so that she could finish them off, and she incinerated a few here and there, but she had never seen enemy numbers like those that were soon swarming through the area. It seemed as though an endless tide of Reaper troops was pursuing her.

_"Everyone will have to circle around and try to skirt the edges of the area to reach the factory on their own,"_ the captain's voice broadcast over their comm channel. Even though the speakers were right in her ears, Illitha had difficulty hearing the broadcast over the screeches of Reaper troops and the gunfire that assailed her. _"There are too many Reapers to fight our way through to regroup. Keep in contact. Give regular status updates."_

Illitha swallowed nervously. Throughout the majority of her journey, she'd had Rachel by her side to offer both physical and emotional support. Now she had no idea where the blonde had gone. For the first time she could remember since the Reapers hit F.O.B. Alpha-5, she was completely alone… and there were Reapers everywhere. Spotting a husk climbing over the twisted remains of a nearby truck, she quickly focused upon her biotics and hit the creature with a throw, sending it sailing out of sight over the vehicle. With that enemy dealt with, she quickly left her position behind once again, circling around a building to try approaching from the opposite side.

_Goddess, please,_ she prayed, _let my friends reach the factory safely. I want to see them all again._

* * *

**Dotterstown Ruins…**

Zaeed grunted in satisfaction as another cannibal's head exploded as a result of his well-placed shots, and he crouched low and worked his way along the concrete barrier he was using as cover, wincing as he half-ran and half-hopped to a new firing position. The shuttle crash had been sudden, and he'd been lying on the floor of the passenger compartment after the first strike had knocked him over and then the quarian took evasive action. While the quarian's warning came soon enough that he was able to get to a seat and activate the safety field, the way the floor of the shuttle had buckled upon impact had twisted his knee at an unfavorable angle, and he knew he'd sprained or torn something.

While working as part of a group was always an advantage and he had developed some measure of respect for his companions, a part of him was glad to be rid of them for the moment. He had always done just fine on his own, and he was making steady progress toward their destination now that he could move and fight at his own pace. He picked another target and sighted in on the exposed portions of the Reaper's flesh where it wasn't protected by armor, squeezing the trigger twice in rapid succession to put two bullets into its torso. Then he left his cover again, hobbling to the wreckage of a crashed shuttle a little farther away.

Their efforts to stop Salik really had to generate some results this time, or the mercenary was fully prepared to turn his back upon his promise to help in the task. He was eager to get back to hurting Cerberus. The fate of Terra Nova, he felt, would have little bearing on the course of the war with the Reapers. But ruining Cerberus's plans would make a big difference. The knowledge that there was a Cerberus ship out there, just waiting to be taken, had been teasing him for days. If they could deal with Salik, he would be free to take the second shuttle, get off of this planet, and return to his quest for revenge.

A husk leapt over a fallen slab of concrete and barreled toward him. The mercenary fired a concussive burst into the creature's chest, driving it backward, and quickly put a bullet through its head when it tried to rise. Then he shifted position once more. There were a seemingly endless horde of Reaper targets to choose from, but he was carefully moving to keep them from flanking him as he worked his way north toward the factory. As he studied his surroundings to make sure that there were no enemy forces moving to cut him off, however, his eyes were drawn to the towering silhouette of one of the true Reapers in the distance. His mind immediately went back to the Cain heavy weapon that had been stowed aboard the shuttle, and he cursed himself for forgetting about it. He wasn't sure that even a Cain would pack enough of a punch to down an actual Reaper, but he would have been interested to find out.

"This is Zaeed," he announced over the comm channel that had been set up for their entire team, "Neela, before you leave the shuttle, grab the Cain that I stowed in the overhead compartment. If things go sideways, we could use that kind of firepower. Just don't try to use the goddamn thing… If you don't know its capabilities and blast radius, you might kill yourselves…"

_"Acknowledged,"_ the quarian's voice answered him a moment later. _"We're almost through the cockpit door. We'll be moving in a couple minutes."_

Zaeed might have said more, but a loud roar from his left drew his attention, and he saw one of the massive Reaper brutes round the corner of a nearby building. Other Reaper troops in the area started firing at him, and he was forced to leave his cover and hobble toward the shattered window of a nearby building, but as he retreated, he opened fire on the massive beast, carefully aiming each shot to avoid its armor as much as possible. His first few shots struck the beast in the head, but it merely lowered its head and raised its armored right arm to shield it from further shots, and continued stalking toward him.

"Brainless bastard," Zaeed growled, amazed that two shots into the creature's skull had failed to kill it.

He reached into the compartment in the thigh of his armor that held his grenades and clicked the activation trigger on one, counting a few seconds and then hurling it at the approaching monstrosity. The grenade exploded less than a meter in front of the beast, precisely where he had expected, and the incendiary elements detonated as they rained over the creature, showering it in flaming thermite. The beast roared in pain and fury and set itself for a charge, and Zaeed immediately started peppering it with fire, shooting as fast as he could squeeze the trigger. He held his ground as the creature barreled toward him, firing until his thermal clip was at capacity and the alarm rang out to warn him of the fact.

The brute's sweeping swing was easy to dive beneath, and Zaeed rolled to the creature's side, coming up in a crouch. A twinge in his knee made him wince, but he ignored the pain and turned, slapping the thermal clip out of his Mattock and snapping a new one into place. The beast was extremely close now, and as it turned toward him, he aimed his rifle up at the metallic elements in the neck that connected its head to its body and fired several times. To his satisfaction, the alloy snapped after the second shot, and the creature's neck went slack. The monster teetered and then toppled over onto its side. Zaeed snorted and used its massive bulk as cover while he fired on the other Reapers in the area, putting several of them down in rapid succession. Then he was on the move again.

* * *

**Dotterstown Ruins…**

Aida crouched behind an overturned skycar, cradling her injured wrist, and watched with mixed feelings as the Reapers drove everyone apart. She saw Illitha being driven further southward by a horde of enemies and soon lost sight of her behind a building. She saw Zaeed slowly working his way north, running from cover to cover and gunning down one Reaper after another. She couldn't even follow the captain's progress… flashes of bluish-purple whizzed back and forth across the battlefield, and the elder asari seemed to be everywhere. The two human males with their group fled into a building, and she could occasionally hear the sharp crack of the sniper rifle one of them was carrying.

When her eyes roamed to the blonde human, she saw the girl desperately fighting off a swarm of husks. The girl was repeatedly being yanked off of her feet by the creatures and pummeled while she kicked and clawed and fired her rifle to free herself, and though she managed to regain her footing time and again, it seemed a losing battle. One of the husks tore her helmet off, and another managed to yank the weapon out of her hands. Aida felt horribly guilty, but she was silently hoping that the creatures would overwhelm the girl. She blamed the blonde for Illitha's insistence that fighting the Reapers was a good thing. If the blonde died, maybe Illitha would realize that they needed to stop fighting and just leave the planet. A small part of her mind was berating her for thinking such cruel thoughts, but she _knew_ she was right. None of the Reapers had yet threatened her… because she wasn't shooting at them. It seemed so obvious. Why else would they leave her alone?

Aida lost sight of the blonde human as she tried to elude the horde of husks, and she sighed and left her hiding spot behind, slowly working her way north, hiding in shattered storefronts, crouching behind smashed vehicles, and darting from pile of debris to pile of debris. The Reapers seemed to be everywhere, and though her heart leapt every time one of the big brutes stalked into view, and she felt like she might cry each time she saw one of the turian ones, none of them ever seemed to notice her. Before she knew it, she was approaching the south gate of the fabrication plant.

She sprinted across the wide lane between the buildings south of the plant and the plant's perimeter wall, whimpering with every stride because of the way her broken wrist was jarred by the up and down motion inherent in running. When she reached the gate on the opposite side, she crouched outside of the security checkpoint, clutching her injured arm and rocking back and forth, giving the pain time to subside. The others said that they would be meeting here, but something was telling her not to wait for them. She felt compelled to go inside and find a safe place to hide. If her friends made it into the plant, it might help to keep them safe if she'd had a look around already and could steer them away from conflict with the Reaper troops.

_Perhaps while I am getting a look around in there I can see what Salik is up to_, she thought. At the idea, a surge of conflicting emotions assailed her. Grief, anger and sadness rose up at the mere thought of the salarian, and Aida's heart raced at the thought of seeing him pay for Prathus's death. On the other hand, if Salik was truly an agent of the Reapers, then killing him would only draw the Reapers' ire back to their little group, when they should have been leaving the Reapers alone. But she felt drawn to the interior of the plant, and so she eventually gave in to that instinct. She carefully crossed the exterior lot, keeping out of sight as much as possible, and passed through the shattered security doors into the building itself.

It was immediately clear that at some point a great deal of fighting had taken place in the facility. A lobby lay beyond that exterior door, and the signs of battle were all over the room. The walls were riddled with bullet impacts and scorched by explosives, and there were bloodstains all over the floors and some of the walls. However, there were no signs of bodies. Aida could hear the distant sound of machinery in operation… a constant hum, rhythmic clanks, hisses, and similar noises. She crept through the corridors, which were illuminated only by the occasional intact light, and searched for some sign of activity. Thus far, she'd seen neither humans nor Reapers in the structure.

A strange, static-filled burst of white noise suddenly issued from her omni-tool, startling the asari so much that she jumped and whirled around in alarm before she finally realized the source. When she brought up her omni-tool and checked the display, she found that all incoming and outgoing comm channels were scrambled beyond the communications filters' ability to clear them. She was both surprised and dismayed at the readout. She had thought their communications were clear for good. It might have been Lith or the captain calling with an update, and she couldn't hear it.

_One of them could be in trouble!_

She turned to head back out into the streets to look for them, but the compulsion to stay inside and look around was so strong that for a moment, her head swam. She slumped against the wall and put a hand to her head, trying to resolve the disparity between her instincts and this strange certainty that she was already where she needed to be.

_Something is wrong_, she told herself. _I just do not feel… right._

She frowned and slid to a seat against the wall. If she could just stop fighting herself for a moment and think, she was sure everything would become clear. She almost felt like she was still trapped in that Reaper cell, with the whispers speaking to her from the shadows. But in thinking back upon those barely-heard voices now, she found a small sense of comfort in them.

_My friends are all capable people,_ she told herself. _They will manage to survive. And when I see them again, I have to convince them that they are doing the wrong thing. We will all leave this planet together. If the humans want to fight the Reapers, they can do it without us._

The young medic suddenly felt much better about the situation. She didn't need to go back outside. She would find her way out to the factory floor and meet her friends there. The captain would understand her argument and would agree. Perhaps with the elder asari's support, the others would see reason. And if the Reapers killed the humans in their group, it would make things so much easier. She was sorry it had to be that way, but if it was the best thing for her friends…

* * *

**Dotterstown Ruins…**

Rachel's back slammed up against a slab of fallen concrete, and a heavy blow against her jaw had her momentarily seeing stars. The weight of the husk upon her kept her pinned in place, and only out of instinct did she manage to shield herself from the follow-up blow from the creature. She felt an arm wrap around her calf and try to yank her off her feet, and she struggled to keep her remaining leg beneath her while she sized the waist of the husk that was clinging to her and heaved upward with all of her might, dislodging the cybernetic corpse and hurling it off of her. Other husks pressed in all around her, and she was yanked off of her feet for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Blows rained in upon the kinetic padding covering her sides, and she struggled to free her limbs from the grasp of the desiccated corpses. Panic overwhelmed her when she felt one of the creatures twist her left leg viciously and felt something pop in her knee, sending a sharp pain lancing through her. Another monster was twisting her right arm, and she had a sudden, terrifying vision of being literally torn limb from limb. She struggled and twisted and screamed at them, thrashing violently in an attempt to free herself of their grasp, and her left hand came down upon a jagged chunk of concrete just as a creature leapt onto her chest. Only the solid plating covering her torso kept the sudden weight from driving the breath out of her.

She swung the piece of concrete into the creature's head as hard as she could manage. She felt, more than heard, the dull crunch when its skull collapsed, and it went limp. She hurled the chunk of rock at the husk that was trying to tear her leg from its socket and had the satisfaction of seeing the debris smash into its face. With a few less hands upon her, she was able to once again pull free of the horde and start scrambling over a nearby pile of rubble. Half a dozen husks scrambled up the pile after her and another dozen or so circled around at the ground level to try to cut her off. Every time she put weight on her left leg, it sent a sharp pain through her, but she had no choice other than to ignore the pain and keep scrambling until she reached the top of the pile. She was surrounded, but if her only chance of survival was to play Queen of the Mountain, she would do it.

_Why the fuck are these things all over me?_

It seemed to the blonde as if they could smell her blood or something. She hadn't been wearing her helmet prior to the crash, and during all the tumbling that followed the impact something had struck her face and cut her pretty badly. Of course she had applied medigel to the wound, but for some reason when the Reapers first appeared and drove their group apart, the husks had swarmed her. She'd barely even been shot at since the attack started. Her helmet had been torn from her head at some point; she had no idea where it was now. Her rifle was similarly lost, lying somewhere amidst the debris where she'd been using it to bludgeon the husks a few minutes earlier. She drew her pistol now and fired point-blank into the faces of the two husks closest to her, but the creatures were scrambling up the pile of rubble toward her from all sides and she didn't want to lose her last firearm. She quickly returned it to the maglock at her hip and activated her omni-blade, simultaneously grabbing a piece of rebar that was jutting out of the pile of rubble and yanking it free. She would have loved to throw a grenade into their midst, but they'd been all over her since the fighting started. She would be within the blast radius of any grenade close enough to them to hurt them, and her shields hadn't been able to regenerate since they first went down.

"Come on!" she shouted, more as an attempt to control her fear than because she thought the husks actually understood her.

The first husk to reach her opened its mouth and screeched, only to have her omni-blade shoved right into its throat in response. She twisted her wrist to break the single-use blade off, and watched as another one snapped into place. But from that point on, clear thought about what she was doing was no longer a luxury she could afford. She stood atop the pile and swung at everything that came within reach. She bludgeoned some with the twisted length of rebar, stabbed others with her omni-blade. There were too many for her to hit them all before they got their hands upon her, but she did her best to quickly strike any that grabbed one of her legs before they could actually pull her off of her perch.

She lost count of how many she killed or wounded before an opportunity presented itself. She turned to find one of the husks had reached the top of the pile of rubble, and just when it started to leap for her, she kicked it in the chest, sending it tumbling backward into two of its fellows, all of which tumbled down to the ground below. She whirled around and clubbed another husk with the rebar, and for the first time in what seemed like ages, she had a moment to breathe. Unfortunately, when she took stock of the situation, she immediately wished she'd remained ignorant of what was coming.

There were still a bunch of husks scrambling up the pile toward her, but of more pressing concern was the massive brute that was stomping its way toward her position. If the husks held her still long enough for that thing to get its claw upon her, she knew she would end up dead. The husks were still too close for her to risk using grenades on them, but she quickly tucked her rebar beneath her arm and pulled a grenade, clicking the activation trigger and hurling it at the approaching brute instead. The explosion rocked the beast, and she knew the thing would have been peppered with shrapnel, but it only seemed angered by the explosion; it pounded its chest and roared at her. She pulled a second grenade and hurled it at the behemoth, and at that moment one of the husks barreled into her from behind, seizing upon her distraction. She toppled off of her perch and tumbled down the pile of rubble with the creature clinging to her back. Her head struck something on the way down, leaving the rest of the fall a bit hazy in her mind.

She felt hands upon her throat and reacted purely out of instinct, seizing her sidearm and firing several shots into the abdomen of the creature that was perched on top of her. When the grip went slack, she shoved it off and started to get to her feet, but everything was spinning, and it seemed as though someone pulled the pavement from beneath her feet, because she found herself back on the ground again. The concrete was trembling beneath her hand as she pushed herself up for the second time, and she shook her head in an attempt to clear it. Something grabbed an ankle, and she rolled over and fired several bullets into the center of its form, watching as it fell over. But a massive shadow was looming closer to her. She got unsteadily to her feet and started staggering away while the fuzziness faded from her head.

_I hope Illitha is doing better than I am,_ the blonde thought grimly. Something was trickling into her eye, and she reached up to wipe it away. Her hand came away covered in blood. She scowled and tried to ignore the feeling; husks were swarming toward her once more, and the brute was close behind them. But it seemed that in one way, the husk that had tackled her off of the rubble had done her a favor. For the first time since the fighting started, the other husks weren't right on top of her, and her shield had been given sufficient time to reinitialize. She closed her right eye to keep the blood out of it and raised her pistol, gunning down one husk after another as they closed upon her. And then she turned the pistol upon the brute, firing steadily as she fell back to stay out of the beast's reach. She felt like she was irritating the thing more than she was hurting it, but determination filled her as she fired.

_I _will_ get back to the team, you bastards. Even if I have to fight my way there with an omni-blade and whatever scrap I can pick up off the ground._

* * *

**Dotterstown Ruins…**

It had been many years since Julisa's biotics had been pushed to the extent that she was forced to push them as she tried to get to the factory. Her entire body was tingling with the aftereffects of channeling biotic energy through her nervous system to keep her barriers strong and execute charge after charge while she fought the Reapers. The asari military was not suited to large-scale conflict, and her training had been for small guerilla engagements, infiltration, and sabotage. However, she had a keen strategic mind, and she was decimating the Reaper ground troops while she fought her way to the factory.

The Prothean rifle was an excellent weapon, and even the armored cannibals and husks did not survive long under assault from the particle beams the ancient weapon fired. However, even as impressive as the weapon was, it was the former commando's biotics that were felling the Reapers in entire groups. She picked a target that was surrounded by several other Reapers and hurled a singularity into their midst, hoisting several into the air. And as she had done a dozen times already, she immediately followed the singularity's creation by hurling a warp field into the heart of it. The shifting mass effect field created by the warp instantly disrupted the unstable gravitational field, resulting in a brilliant biotic explosion, sending Reapers sailing in all directions. She chose one of the survivors of the blast and executed a charge, slamming into the creature like a biotic battering ram, and then turned her rifle upon anything else in the area that was still moving.

She was making steady progress in this fashion, and her biotic charges were allowing her to cover the distance to the factory in leaps and bounds. However, she was also accomplishing a second, and in many ways more important objective. She was drawing a great deal of fire from the other Reapers in the area because of the damage she was dealing to their force. The more Reapers her biotic explosions pulverized, the more attention the survivors gave her. Bullets ricocheted off of her barrier constantly, grenades sailed into her vicinity, and it was only by constantly repeating the process… forming a new singularity, warping it to destabilize and detonate the field, and then using a biotic charge to bolster her shields and get a few seconds of recovery time… that she was managing to remain uninjured. She only hoped that the spectacle she was making of herself would give the others a little extra breathing room.

Once she was within sight of the factory, the former commando allowed herself a moment of respite. Instead of going through the process again, especially since the Reaper forces were thinning out ahead of her, she took cover behind a huge slab of fallen concrete, taking a moment to catch her breath and allow her body to relax. There were a few snaps and hisses as nearby Reapers fired upon her cover, but she was in no immediate danger. She activated the comm channel to the others.

"I need updates."

_"Copy that,"_ the gravelly voice of the mercenary was the first to issue from her aural implant. _"I'm about half a block west of the factory. Had to circle around. Should reach the west gate in ten minutes or so."_

_"C-Captain, I am almost to the south gate… B-But I am tired. I barely have enough energy left to keep my barrier up. Reapers are everywhere!"_ Illitha sounded like she was on the verge of panic.

"Keep calm, Illitha," Julisa urged. "Switch to your armor's shield generator to give your biotics a rest, and be as stealthy as possible."

_"Selura and I are having some difficulty getting to the ground level, Captain, and we're planning on taking a long detour to keep out of the Reaper swarm, but we'll get there,"_ Neela reported. _"We have that weapon you wanted, Zaeed."_

_"Good,"_ was all that the mercenary said in response.

_"Me and Jay aren't going to the factory,"_ Elliot's voice was the next one she heard. _"We ran into this building to get away from the Reapers and they're all over the ground floor now. We're headed up to the roof. Jay will cover you guys with his rifle and I'll keep anything that follows us up bottlenecked at the rooftop access."_

"Good plan. We could use the cover. It is a bit chaotic down here. Aida? What is your position?" the captain prompted. When only silence greeted her transmission, she frowned. "Aida, do you copy?"

_"Captain… w-we have to find her!"_ Illitha pleaded.

"Illitha, remain calm and concentrate on reaching the factory. She may not be able to answer because she is hiding. We will try to contact her again once we reach our destination, if she is not there when we arrive. She will be alright."

_"But why would she not answer somehow? Even a ping to let us know she is okay… Aida? Send us some sort of signal if you cannot answer…"_

Only silence followed the younger asari's suggestion, but this time, the silence was more of a concern. Illitha was right. If Aida was able to hear them and was well enough to reach her omni-tool, she could have sent some sort of response to them, even if it was a text-based update or a simple location ping. The fact that there was no response was a bad sign.

_"Rachel… have you seen Aida?"_ Illitha asked.

Again, the only answer to the transmission was silence. Julisa sighed and shook her head. It seemed that the two people Illitha cared about most were now out of contact. And she knew, beyond any doubt, that the younger asari would plunge back into the heart of the Reaper forces in an attempt to find them both and be sure that they were okay if she was forced to do so. The captain was sure she had the better chance of surviving an attempt to double back and find them, so she was quick to reassure her young engineer.

"Illitha, you continue north to the plant. I will double back and find them. But I do not want to have to find you as well. Do you understand me? Get to the factory. I promise I will find them."

_"C-Captain… I need to know-"_

"I know," Julisa cut the girl off. "You must trust me. Get to the factory. Meet up with Zaeed and find Salik. I will go back for them."

Julisa didn't wait for the younger asari's answer. She had to trust that Illitha would do as she was told. She rose from behind her cover and fired upon a nearby Cannibal until it dissolved into residue, and then she picked a target to the south, shifting the properties of her barrier in preparation for a charge. She couldn't see either Aida or Rachel from her current position, but if she used her charges, she would be able to traverse the battlefield quickly.

Before she could execute the charge, however, a tremendous impact from behind shattered her barrier and struck her armor, sending her face-first to the ground. Fortunately for her, the round hadn't penetrated the latter. She heard the echo of the distant gunshot after she was already lying on the pavement. It was at that moment that she realized what had happened.

_That was sniper fire. And the shot came from a tremendous distance._

It seemed that the salarian sniper was in the area, and had a clear line of sight to her. A sudden snap off of the concrete surface just inches from her head confirmed her suspicions, and she rolled to the side just in time to avoid a third shot, which struck the ground right where her torso had been a second before. She quickly took cover, slowly raising her head over the rubble she was using as a hiding place to try to spot the sniper.

A bullet impacted with the surface of her cover just in front of her head, showering her face with chips of stone and dirt. Fortunately none of it got into her eyes. But even more fortunate was the fact that she had seen the muzzle flash from the rooftop of the factory. She knew where the sniper was perched. Aida, Illitha and Rachel would have to forgive her. She had a more important objective to neutralize before she began her search. With any luck, by the time the sniper was dealt with, one or both of the missing women would have reached the factory rendezvous.

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: As always, my sincere thanks go out to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited/followed, or otherwise given any attention to this story. I've had a great deal of fun so far writing this tale, and it's odd to finally see the end in sight after so long spent working on it. As anyone who reads my Author's Notes is aware, I keep a four-Chapter buffer between my latest published Chapter and the last one I've written, meaning I finished writing Chapter 62 this morning before I started editing this one. And I can now say with a fair amount of certainty that Chapter 64 or 65 will be the end of the story. Plus, I have plans to write two epilogues, so I guess you could say there will be 67 total Chapters. I am not sure where my writing plans will go from there, but I thank you all for staying with me throughout this tale.**

**Not a whole lot to say about this Chapter, except to address the shuttle crash before any PMs call me out on it. The in-game codex stated somewhere that with Mass Effect technology, the creation of super-dense alloys became possible. I have to assume that with such alloys for the hulls of shuttles, combined with inertial dampeners and mass effect fields for occupant protection, surviving a shuttle crash like this is very feasible. Some may disagree, but go with me on this. :)**

**Unless something changes drastically, the next Chapter will go up on Thursday morning. I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. And thank you again for reading!**


	59. Chapter 59: Support

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Fifty-Nine: Support

.

**Crash Site, Dotterstown Ruins…**

Selura hopped down from the wreckage of a shattered column to a crumbling section of floor, and then immediately set the heavy launcher Zaeed had requested aside, turning to assist Neela down. When the others had informed them that they were going ahead and Neela promised that they would get themselves down, neither the quarian nor Selura had been aware of the treacherous nature of the climb ahead of them. With Neela's broken ankle, they couldn't simply hop from perch to perch like the others must have done. She had to assist Neela with every drop so that the quarian didn't hurt herself any worse.

Neela was not a heavy girl, but even so, Selura was tiring from the exertion of essentially carrying the girl down each time they had to cover a new drop, as she was doing now. Neela slowly inched herself off of the shattered column, which was as tall as the asari was, and Selura wrapped her arms around the quarian's thighs, slowly lowering her to the ground. They had only a few more drops left to cover, and then they would finally be at ground level. They couldn't reach the ground floor soon enough for the asari.

Selura was a bit worried about getting to the factory. She was actually tempted to suggest that they find somewhere nearby to hide instead of going to join the others. It wasn't that she didn't want to help, though she _was_ afraid to confront Salik again… it was more because Neela was in no condition for running, and she knew that if the Reapers started chasing them, running might be their only option. She was starting to think that the two of them would be more hindrance than help if they joined the others.

"Come on," Neela urged, hefting the weapon they were transporting. "We have to get this thing to Zaeed…"

Selura sighed. She forgot that the mercenary needed that launcher. She wasn't sure why, but he'd requested that they bring it. She supposed that hiding wasn't an option. They had to try to find a way to get the launcher to the group. _And hiding was starting to seem like such an appealing option…_

The asari scanned the remaining pile of wreckage around them, trying to find the path that would be easiest for Neela to traverse. She was just hopping down to the top of a fallen block of concrete when she heard a strange sound from nearby. It sounded like a mixture of a croak and a screech. Startled, she looked around frantically for the source, and spotted a cannibal climbing in through a hole in the wall nearby, followed by several others. She glanced back at Neela and felt a chill run down her spine. On her current perch, there was no cover behind which the quarian could hide.

Her hand closed upon the grip of the pistol she carried at her side, and she extended the other hand and clicked the quick activation trigger for her omni-tool's incineration program, showering the lead cannibal with flame. She followed the incineration drone with a somewhat wild burst of gunfire, leaping down to the floor and running to the cannibals' left, hoping to draw their attention and fire away from her girlfriend. Neela's new suit had a shield generator, but it didn't have built-in sensors for breaches or automated medigel dispensers in case of injury. She would rather not see Neela come under fire if she could draw all the hostile attention herself.

Fortunately, her plan seemed to be working. The other cannibals in the group all turned and fired at her as she ran, and she could hear the static-like sound of bullets being deflected by her armor's kinetic barrier. She continued to fire, but her accuracy with a pistol left much to be desired, and the few shots that did find their mark struck the beasts' armor plating with audible clanks. The asari had spent the majority of her time on Terra Nova fighting Cerberus or not fighting at all. While they had naturally come into conflict with a few Reapers here and there, dealing with them was still a relatively new and terrifying experience for her. Her panic only increased as more Reaper soldiers drifted into the building through breaches in the walls.

The amount of fire striking Selura's shield increased quickly, and she knew that the field would collapse, so she sprinted for a pile of rubble in a nearby corner and dove over it, hitting the ground on the other side with a grunt. She heard a rapid-fire series of pops from nearby, and realized that Neela was firing on the Reapers in an effort to defend her. Her heart leapt.

"Neela, no! Find a place to hide! Let me lead them away!"

Rising from behind her cover, she launched an incineration drone at one of the cannibals whose attention had shifted to Neela, and she sprayed the others with pistol fire, trying to reclaim their focus. A few of the creatures turned and resumed firing at her, but the majority seemed to think Neela was a better target. The quarian was scrambling to find some semblance of cover as bullets struck her shield and the debris all around her, each impact with the rubble sending a fine rain of grit and dust spraying over the area.

_Goddess, they will kill her!_

Selura never gave what she was about to do another thought. She leapt over her cover and sprinted into the midst of the cannibals, firing an incineration burst at one in passing and shooting the ones closest to Neela in the back as she ran. One cannibal fell to her shots, but an alarm rang out at that moment to alert her that her thermal clip was at capacity. Desperate to save Neela, she tossed the gun aside and leapt onto the back of one of the cannibals, furiously beating its bloated body with her fists.

Her attack had the effect she had hoped. The cannibal to whom she was clinging thrashed around, trying to dislodge her from its back, and the others in the area were now focused solely upon her. However, while her primary goal had been achieved, she hadn't considered the position in which she now found herself. She was in close quarters to half-a-dozen cannibals, and without a pistol. She heard Neela scream something, but there were too many angry screeches from the cannibals around her to hear what her girlfriend said. The sound of the quarian's submachine gun returned.

A tremendous blow struck her from behind, instantly shattering her shield and simultaneously knocking her off of the cannibal's back. She hit the ground awkwardly, and was just trying to scramble to her feet when another tremendous blow smashed her into the ground. A third quickly followed, driving the breath from her lungs despite her armor's protection. Panic overwhelmed her as the realization set in that she might be beaten to death right there. She heard Neela shriek her name, but she knew there was nothing the quarian could really do to help her.

A thunderous shot echoed through the room, and a heavy weight fell upon her back, knocking the wind out of her for the second time. As the corpse settled, she felt like its bulk was going to crush her head; her forehead was being pressed firmly against the floor. She heard more shots echo through the room, as well as a series of strange sounds that reminded her of shattering glass. The screeching of Reapers swiftly died out, and she heard several deep voices in succession shout "clear!"

"Selura? Selura, are you alive?" Neela's voice was filled with anxiety.

Selura heard a muffled thump from nearby. She couldn't even raise her head to see what was going on, thanks to the rather smelly and tremendously heavy corpse that was lying upon her upper body, keeping her face pressed firmly into the tile beneath her.

"I am alive," she mumbled, and felt relief flood through her as the realization finally set in that she was not about to be killed after all. "Please get this thing off of me…"

The weight was hoisted off of her, and a strong hand seized her arm, pulling her to her feet. She found herself looking at the helmet of an unfamiliar human in Alliance armor. She looked around dazedly and saw Reaper corpses strewn across the floor, some encased in shells of ice and others merely lying in pools of gore. She was about to thank the man when a smaller hand grabbed her arm and spun her around, and Neela wrapped her up in a vice-like embrace.

"Keelah… I thought I was going to lose you…" the quarian gasped out the words. Selura returned the embrace, and she could feel Neela shaking. She was just about to assure Neela that she would be fine, when the quarian pushed away from her, and she saw the girl's beautiful features contort with anger. Before she realized what was coming, Neela slapped her across the face. "You bosh'tet! Don't ever do that to me again!"

"Ow!" Selura's hand went to her stinging cheek, and she stared helplessly at her girlfriend, who was still glaring at her.

"What were you thinking?" Neela demanded.

Someone nearby cleared their throat, and both Selura and Neela's eyes turned to the three humans that were standing nearby. Judging from the portions of their faces Selura could see through their visors and the way they were shifting position, she could tell that all three men were uncomfortable, and she felt herself blushing.

"So… you're welcome," one of the men muttered. "Aaaand… We need to go…"

"Uh… Thank you," Selura said as they all started to walk away. "If you had not come along when you did-"

"You would be dead, you bosh'tet!" Neela shouted at her.

"They were shooting at you! I was trying to keep you safe!" Selura whirled around, her anger rising because of the persistent stinging that plagued her cheek. "And the thanks I get for it is a slap in the face? I cannot believe you did that!"

She saw the three humans resume their path toward the door. She glared at Neela, and then ran after the trio, grabbing the arm of the first man she reached to pull him to a stop.

"Thank you," she repeated. "You saved our lives."

"We heard all the shooting and came to investigate," the man shrugged, and then glanced past Selura, apparently to Neela. "She still looks pretty mad. You should probably go apologize or something…"

"Uh… yeah," she nodded. "But… Not that I am complaining about your very timely arrival, but why are you here? I thought all the Alliance forces were south of here."

"Our captain diverted us north to check out the Novaburst fabrication plant," the human explained. "He sent a team in already, and assigned us as support."

"Ah," Selura shook her head, smiling ruefully. "Yeah. That team was us. The rest of our group already headed that way. Neela and I were trapped in the shuttle," her gaze shifted upward to the smashed vehicle perched upon the ledge three floors above, and the soldier followed her gaze.

"Holy shit," the man exclaimed. "You guys were _in_ there?"

"Yes," Selura glanced back at Neela, and saw the girl limping back and forth, apparently pacing. She sighed. "I need to talk to Neela. But… it would really help us if we could go with you to the factory. Would you mind giving us a minute?"

"I didn't catch your name," the human pointed out.

"I did not throw it," Selura muttered.

The man laughed, finally extending a hand. "Corporal Jeff Ecksley," he introduced himself, and then gestured to his companions. "These are privates first-class Dallas and Colte."

"Selura Leneur," she introduced herself in turn, and then glanced over her shoulder at her girlfriend. "That is Neela'Xara nar Ganaza."

"Nice to meet you both," Ecksley's tone was warm. "And while I know how hard it can be to calm an angry girlfriend, you should try to be quick about it. We don't have a lot of time to waste, and more Reapers might come to investigate the noise we made. We'll secure the perimeter and scout the road ahead a bit."

Selura smiled faintly, but the moment the three men turned to go, her smile faded. She turned to face Neela, slowly crossing the room to rejoin her. She'd been shocked at first that her girlfriend had slapped her, and had responded out of anger when she shouted at her, but now that she'd had a chance to calm down a little, she realized that if the positions were reversed, she might have reacted just as badly.

"Neela…"

"You don't get to do that," Neela muttered sullenly.

"Do what?"

"You can't go around throwing yourself into groups of Reapers!" the quarian turned to glare at her, and Selura could see tears upon her cheeks. "If you died…" she trailed off, bowing her head.

"I am sorry," Selura held a hand out to her, palm upward in invitation. "They were shooting at you. Your suit does not have the emergency systems mine does. I just wanted to keep them from hurting you…"

"I want us to have a _future_ together," Neela was staring at her outstretched hand, but made no move to take it. "If you get yourself killed…" she trailed off.

Selura did not withdraw her hand; she still hoped to entice Neela to take it. "I want us to have a future together too," Selura said softly. "Which is why I could not risk that they would kill you. I can run. You cannot. My armor has emergency systems. Yours does not. I could have led them away…"

Neela slowly took her hand, and Selura tightened her grip, gently but insistently pulling the quarian closer. When her girlfriend finally relented and stepped close, she slid an arm around her waist, pulling her into a gentle embrace.

"I am sorry I scared you," she murmured.

"You should be. It made me so angry that you would risk your life like that…"

"For you," Selura pointed out.

"I know," Neela whispered. "But… If we are going to have a future together, we can't go throwing ourselves into crowds of living Reapers…"

Selura laughed, squeezing the quarian tighter. She was relieved when she felt Neela's arms tighten around her in turn. "Then let us make a promise to one another… We _both_ promise to be careful and to survive this stupid war, so that we can enjoy our time together when the fighting is all done. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Neela nodded, drawing back and gently running her fingertips along the cheek she'd earlier slapped. The severity in her expression slowly relaxed, and she sighed softly. "I'm really sorry I slapped you. Forgive me?"

"It could have been a lot worse," Selura shrugged. "You could have repeatedly punched me in the thigh until I was bruised…"

Neela laughed.

"Come on. We should rejoin these Alliance soldiers and get moving. Where is that launcher?"

"I left it up there," Neela pointed to the ledge where she'd been standing when the Reapers first arrived.

"Of course," Selura grinned, hurrying over to the pile of rubble and climbing up to retrieve the weapon. "You just wanted to watch me climb up and down this thing again…"

"Well," Neela's voice was suddenly playful, "there is a certain charm to the view…"

Selura felt herself blushing at the observation.

* * *

**Novaburst Fabrication Plant, Perimeter Wall…**

Julisa streaked across a gap in the perimeter wall of the factory, using a biotic charge to limit her exposure to fire from the enemy sniper. She was gradually closing the distance to the factory itself. She had covered the remaining block and a half from where she'd originally come under fire, and now all that remained was to cross the shipping yard ahead of her. The building was too tall to allow her to use a charge to get onto the roof, but she was confident that she would manage to find the salarian up there eventually. There was an exterior access ladder leading up to the roof from the shipping yard below, but she knew that she would be an easy target if she tried climbing it. Her plan was to circle around to the north side of the factory while remaining outside the building, hoping that the salarian would shift position on the roof to find her, and that she could sneak inside while he couldn't see her. If she managed to get inside without alerting him to the fact, she planned to find an interior access somewhere. There was unlikely to be more than one or perhaps two rooftop access points inside the factory, so she thought it possible that she could trap him up there by reaching the interior access before he realized she was in the building. He might try to climb down outside, but once she was on the rooftop, she could simply float down in pursuit if she had to.

She leaned out slowly to get a look at the factory, trying to spot the next piece of cover she could use in her advance. As she expected, she had only an instant to find something, because the moment her head was exposed enough for her to see the shipping yard, a shot rang out, and a loud snap heralded the bullet's collision with the wall just inches from her head. She was confident that her barrier would keep the rifle's fire from penetrating with enough force to kill her if the sniper actually hit her directly, but she still didn't want to risk being shot any more than was absolutely necessary.

She had spotted a shipping container a few dozen meters into the shipping yard, so she quickly cocooned herself in biotic energy and charged out to the waiting cover, pressing her back against the surface once she skidded to a stop behind it. From there, she could see piles of barrels, pallets full of crates, and dozens of other points of cover she could use to get closer to the factory. From here on, it would be easy going.

_"Captai-"_ a heavily distorted message reached her, distracting her from choosing her next destination. The transmission faded into static almost immediately, but she had recognized Illitha's voice. _"-ve found any sign of them ye-" _the interference returned. _"-ou read me?"_

"Illitha… I can barely read you. Repeat your transmission. There is some kind of interference… I say again: Repeat your transmission."

Only static answered her request, and she activated her omni-tool, running a scan of all available comm frequencies. She frowned when the results showed critical signal degradation throughout the area. She had no need to wonder about the source. The salarians were on-site and were obviously up to something. No doubt they had deployed scrambling tech to keep anyone investigating the factory from communicating with allies off-site. However, there was one bright spot to the interference. It gave an alternate reason for the lack of response from Aida and the blonde human. If they were already at the factory, they might have been unable to receive the earlier transmissions. Until now, she had assumed both girls were dead simply because no other explanation for the lack of response on the comms made sense.

"If anyone can read me, there is some sort of signal scrambler set up in the factory," she announced over the channel to the team. "It seems to be centralized to the building itself, so anyone present inside will likely be unable to send or receive transmissions."

She knew it was unlikely that anyone had received more than fragments of her warning, but she wasn't about to risk retracing her steps out into the streets just to broadcast the information. She had a sniper to deal with. She picked her next destination and executed a biotic charge, instantly covering the distance to a stack of metal barrels several dozen meters closer to the building. She crouched behind the pile and peered out through a gap between two drums, looking for another source of cover closer to the building entrance.

A shot rang out, and a hole erupted in a barrel above her head, dumping a bitter-smelling solvent all over the pavement beside her. A second shot followed the first, and a barrel on the opposite side of her sprung a leak, showering her with the foul-smelling liquid. She coughed at the fumes that rose from the puddles, and felt her stomach tie itself in knots. Her gaze drifted to the diamond-shaped label on the drums, with numbers that rated the flammability, among other traits, of the contents inside. The numerical rating for flammability was the only one that concerned her at the moment, because it was at the top of the scale. The salarians had proven to be intelligent tacticians in the past, and no doubt at least one of the barrels was turned so that the salarian knew how dangerous the liquid inside the drums was. In that instant, she realized that she'd chosen her cover poorly. She rose to her feet and prepared to charge to a new spot, but she saw the fiery orange trail streaking toward her position even as she was focusing her energy. It was already too late.

An incineration drone slammed into the ground beside her, and the solvent immediately burst into flames, engulfing her in an inferno. She charged out of the heart of the fire, slamming into a pallet full of crates nearby, but she could tell from the persistent heat that her armor was on fire. Searing pain assaulted the tips of her scalp crests, and she knew she couldn't afford to hesitate. She set her sights upon the factory doors and charged, colliding with the portal a second later. She hit the trigger and scrambled inside, where the flames immediately set off the lobby's fire suppression system, dousing her with a thick blanket of fire-retardant foam and setting off alarms throughout the building. She collapsed to the tile, shaking as a result of the pain, and reached for the medigel she had stowed in a compartment of her armor, hurriedly smearing it all over the back of her head. Fortunately, her face seemed to have escaped the fire's effects, but she was sure she had some serious burns over the back of her neck and scalp.

_Curse that damned salarian,_ she raged. _First he almost kills me with a sneak attack, and now he nearly incinerates me. And worse, he knows I am inside the building, and he will take the opportunity to flee from the roof before I have had the time to find the access point…_

The medigel had already dulled the pain of the burns to a barely-noticeable level, and Julisa rose to her feet, pulling her rifle and examining it critically. While the exterior plating of the Prothean weapon was blackened and a little warped, a quick diagnostic showed that its function was unimpeded. She allowed herself a small smile and nodded in satisfaction. At least when she found the salarian next time, she still had a working weapon with which to incinerate him. She would derive a great deal of satisfaction from watching his body dissolve into greenish residue…

* * *

**Dotterstown Ruins…**

"Captain? Captain, do you read me?" Illitha shouted, and received nothing but white noise and static in return. Hisses and snaps sounded all around her as the Reapers fired upon the remains of the shattered wall she was currently using as cover, and she winced when chips of stone rained over her head as a result of one of the bullet strikes.

The young engineer activated her omni-tool's sensor suite and ran an analysis of the interference on the channel, puzzled over the source of the trouble. She'd thought that the communications filters from Fulton's Folly would keep their comms clear. As she expected, however, she found the transmission was being jammed at its source.

_Must be Salik's work. He set up some sort of scrambler at the factory, I guess. Which means the captain must be there now. And perhaps Aida and Rachel as well. Maybe that is why my earlier attempts to contact them failed..._

Illitha rose from behind her cover just long enough to find a Reaper turian as a target and fire a few shots, smiling when she saw the tall figure collapse in the street. She had been trying to focus on the turian Reapers first because of her pistol's phasic ammunition mod. The rounds passed through their shields with only a minor loss of force, she was able to quickly disable them in most cases. However, she couldn't stay still for long, and she knew it. She sprinted out of her cover and toward the remains of a nearby skycar, stumbling a little as multiple Reapers shot her in the back while she ran. She slid across the hood of the vehicle and dropped onto the ground on the other side, quickly setting her back against it and scanning to her left and right for any sign of Reapers that might already have flanked her. There were enemies all over the area, and she'd run right into several different groups already. She could never be certain that her destinations were clear. She struggled to catch her breath and gave herself a moment to recover. She was exhausted by all the running and the use of her biotics.

A bestial roar caught her attention. It was difficult to pinpoint the source because the sound echoed a bit, but she thought it might have come from somewhere in the building on her right. A moment later, she heard a tremendous explosion, and then several gunshots. She knew the sounds made by the Reaper weapons – she felt like she'd spent hours running from hostile Reapers while they were shooting at her – and these shots had a decidedly sharper sound to them. She scrambled to her feet and ran to the building, quickly climbing through the gaping hole of a shattered window, naturally assuming that one of her friends was the source of the commotion.

The sounds of gunfire continued, only drowned out by the occasional roar of a brute. Illitha moved through the building as quickly as she could manage without risking that she would overlook an ambush of some kind, and before long, she came upon the origin of all the noise. She saw a glimpse of blonde hair through a nearby doorway, and then the massive form of a brute hurtled past. Almost at that same instant, there was a tremendous thump that caused cracks to run through the entire wall.

"Rachel!"

Illitha sprinted to the doorway and into the neighboring room, where she found the blonde trapped in a corner, firing frantically at the brute in an attempt to back the creature off. Illitha's weapon came up even as the beast lunged for Rachel, and she fired several rounds into its back. It ignored her and seized the blonde in its claw arm, hoisting her off of the ground while she shrieked for help. Wispy tendrils of biotic energy rose around Illitha, desperation to save Rachel lending her both strength and focus. She hit the brute in the back with a biotic throw, the force of which rocked the beast and distracted it from its captive. She followed that throw with a singularity, hoping that the gravitational pull of the field would keep it off-balance. She wasn't disappointed.

"Rachel, cover your head!" she shouted, and saw the blonde shield her head with her arms.

She hurled a biotic orb into the heart of the singularity and watched the destabilized field explode with a brilliant flash, knocking the brute off-balance and sending it reeling into the wall. The beast dropped Rachel, who scrambled away from it. Illitha didn't have time to check on the marine at the moment. With the brute already regaining its footing, she needed to keep up her assault. She holstered her pistol and activated her omni-tool. The brute was hit with another throw as it started to rise, and that was followed by an incineration burst that left the beast's flesh smoldering. Illitha kept up a relentless assault in this fashion, showering the creature with flame as fast as her omni-tool could recharge for the follow-up bursts and alternating the tech attacks with biotic throws whenever the creature started to move toward her. The throws didn't seem to be hurting the creature at all, but the impacts kept it off-balance.

Rachel grabbed Illitha's Carnifex from the magnetic holster at her hip, and the blonde joined in the assault, firing at the beast to help put it down. Together, the two of them were too much for the brute, and it soon teetered unsteadily and then crashed to the floor, twitching a couple of times before becoming still. Illitha immediately deactivated her omni-tool and turned to face the blonde, and her expression softened immediately when she saw the girl's face.

Rachel had obviously been having a bad time of things. Her left eye was swollen and purple, her nose was bleeding, and her lip was split. One entire side of her face was covered in dried blood, and her hair was soaked with the crimson fluid. Her skin was awfully pale, and she was obviously trying to keep her weight off of one leg. Even as Illitha tried to find the words to tell the girl how happy she was to see her, the blonde collapsed into her arms, sobbing. Illitha was taken aback. She had never seen Rachel lose her composure like this. In all the time they'd spent together, the blonde had never once cried or even seemed upset. Angry, yes, but upset? Never. She wrapped her arms around the girl and tried to soothe her, and felt ashamed at the surge of happiness she experienced over having Rachel holding onto her.

"Shhh… You are okay," she said softly. "Everything is okay."

"I was… It… it grabbed…" the blonde sobbed. "If… If you… You…" the girl couldn't even get a full sentence out past her tears.

"I know," Illitha nodded, squeezing the girl more tightly. She knew what Rachel was trying to say, and she didn't need to hear it. It would have crushed her to find out the blonde had died. She was just happy she'd been able to save her. She drew away from the girl, gently cupping her face in her hands. "You are hurt. Sit down and let me apply some medigel…"

Rachel nodded slowly, tears still running down her face, and Illitha led her to a corner from which they would be able to see both entrances to the room clearly. Rachel winced as she lowered herself to the ground, still hiccupping and sniffling as she tried to get her emotions under control. Illitha did her best not to make the blonde uncomfortable, concentrating upon treating her injuries. She started by locating the wound in the blonde's hair, gently picking a few chips of concrete out of the rather nasty cut she found there and quickly emptying an entire packet of medigel over the wound, spreading it to cover the laceration.

By the time the scalp wound was treated and she turned her attention to the cut on the blonde's lip, Rachel had regained some semblance of control over herself, and she looked more than a little embarrassed. Illitha gently smeared a small dollop of medigel over the split in the girl's lip, and found herself blushing as the sudden urge to kiss the blonde seized her. She averted her gaze quickly, reaching for the pistol that Rachel still held in her hand and returning it to the maglock at her hip, more to distract herself from the foolish urge to kiss her companion than because she actually needed the weapon back at that moment.

"God… I'm sorry for falling apart on you like that," Rachel muttered. "I just… When that thing grabbed me…"

"I understand," Illitha assured her, unable to meet her gaze. "I was afraid it would crush you at any second…"

"Yeah. That makes two of us," Rachel snorted. "And that was only about the twentieth time since the Reapers attacked us that I was almost killed."

"Where is your helmet?" Illitha asked.

"A husk took it."

"And your rifle?"

"Husk took it."

"Pistol?"

"I dropped it when that brute picked me up. It's over there," she pointed.

Illitha followed her gaze, and frowned when she saw the shattered casing of the weapon. Apparently the brute had stepped on it after the blonde dropped it. She shook her head slowly, wondering if the girl had any weapons left at all.

"Please tell me you have a couple of grenades left…"

"I used the last one on that big ugly bastard," Rachel sighed.

"Here," Illitha offered the Carnifex back to the blonde. "You have to have a weapon."

"What about you?"

"I-I have my biotics… and my omni-tool."

"I have an omni too. I can't take your pistol-"

"You are a much better shot than I am," Illitha cut her off. "And from this point on, we are sticking together no matter what. So you can do the shooting, and I will do the supporting..."

Rachel regarded her in silence for a moment, and then finally nodded, apparently deciding not to argue further. Illitha smiled and put an arm around the blonde, assisting her to her feet. Rachel was limping heavily as the two of them headed for the door, and the asari bit her lip in worry.

"What happened to your leg?"

"A husk tried to take it," the blonde muttered.

Illitha blinked, and then started giggling. She didn't know if the blonde had meant it as a joke, but just the absurdity of the statement made her laugh. After a moment, Rachel started giggling as well, shaking her head ruefully.

"I am j-just glad to find you still in one piece," Illitha admitted once her mirth started to fade.

"I am glad you found me in one piece too," Rachel said softly. "Now let's see about staying that way until we reach the factory."

"We will," Illitha assured her. "I think the others are already there. There is some sort of signal interference localized to the factory, and I have not been able to raise anyone."

"Well, unless their comms were routed through their helmets and husks took their headgear, I think it's a safe bet that you're right."

"A husk really took your helmet?"

"No joke. Tore the thing right off my head. Hence the bloody nose… Alliance helmets weren't designed to be yanked off at that angle…"

"Well, maybe we can find you another one…"

"Don't worry about it," Rachel shook her head. "Let's just get to Salik and end this. Then I could use a week of shore leave…"

"I could use a _lifetime_ of shore leave," Illitha said with a sigh. "I was not meant for the life of a soldier."

"Oh yeah? Whatever you say, Spectre. It's not like you just ran in here and saved my ass from a brute or anything…"

"That's different."

"Why? Because you were caught in the throes of a blood rage or something?" Rachel teased.

"S-Shut up," Illitha muttered.

"Please don't hurt me, Miss Krogan," the blonde nudged her playfully.

"I am not a krogan," Illitha protested.

"You fight like one."

"I do not. I prefer omni-tool tech assaults and biotics to brute force."

"If you say so. You still manage to decimate everything that puts itself in your path."

"Stop," Illitha urged, feeling herself blushing at the praise.

"Or what? You'll head-butt me?"

"Maybe…"

"Okay," Rachel held up her hands in a gesture of surrender. "I'll stop."

Illitha only smiled. She felt much better with the blonde at her side. Now all they needed to do was find everyone else, and perhaps they could bring this situation to a satisfying end. She only hoped there were not many more delays. Salik was already in the factory, and by now, he might very well have been able to hack past all the failsafe systems on the reactor… if that was truly his goal. At any moment, the factory could explode. She would rather not be within the blast radius if such an explosion occurred.

* * *

**Novaburst Fabrication Plant, Upper Walkways…**

Aida crept slowly along the elevated catwalks that crisscrossed through the factory, cradling her injured wrist as she gazed out over the array of machinery below. The interior of the building was wretchedly hot, even in comparison with the sweltering heat outside, and she felt her head throbbing because of the intensity of it. Below her, molten metal was being poured into massive molds and carried along assembly lines. The entire automated portion of the factory was in full-swing, and VI-controlled loaders and drones buzzed back and forth among the machinery. The noise was constant and intense. The clanking of machinery, the hum of mass effect fields, the buzzing of electrical equipment and the hiss of steam combined into a droning cacophony that she knew would leave a persistent ringing in her hearing long after she left the factory's confines.

The walkways were a confusing maze of ladders and crisscrossing bridges that linked to machinery and offices on multiple levels, and the asari maiden was trying to make sense of them, moving past the occasional vacant workstation and exploring more on instinct than because she had any idea of what she was looking for. Whatever Salik was doing, he had obviously chosen to start all of the factory's systems to help him, and the sheer volume of movement created by the drones and the automated lines made any chance of spotting a lone figure moving among them remote at best.

She was just starting up another ladder – an awkward process since she was climbing one-handed – to a series of walkways above her when alarms rang out through the entire factory, and flashing red lights appeared all over the walkways and walls of the entire chamber. The sudden noise and the change in her surroundings startled Aida, who clung to the ladder and looked around in confusion. After a moment, a synthesized female voice blared out over the intercom system.

"Warning. Fire suppression systems activated in the western lobby. Emergency lockdown of volatile materials commencing. All personnel: Please activate the emergency lockouts on your workstations now. Stand by for resolution of the situation and the all-clear signal. Section supervisors, join emergency channel 11-A."

Aida frowned to herself and resumed her climb, completely mystified as to what most of the information meant. She was tempted to try to connect to the station's internal emergency channel as the VI had recommended, but given the fact that her communications were scrambled when she arrived on the scene, she didn't expect anything different from the internal communications network.

Once she was on the walkway above, she once more scanned the maze of interconnected pathways in front of her, trying not to look down any more than she had to. While she was generally not afraid of heights, something about the moving sea of machinery below and the glow of molten metal made her feel a bit nervous. She was trying to figure out how she would ever find her friends once they were inside of the factory, and so far had managed to come up with nothing. A part of her hoped they were not able to reach the factory at all. If they did not come into conflict with the salarian agent of the Reapers, then they wouldn't further provoke the Reapers' ire by killing him. She really needed the conflict between the two groups to stop if there was any hope of convincing the others to flee the planet.

A thump from directly above her caught her attention, and she looked around for an access ladder that she could use to ascend one more level. If someone was moving around up there, it could be one of her friends. It was also possible that it was a hostile party, but if she was careful, she could at least find out which was the case. She spotted a ladder nearby that she could use to ascend to the area above, and she quickly made her way over to it, climbing up just far enough to get a look at the walkway onto which it would deposit her.

Seeing nothing at first, she hesitantly finished the climb and then crouched low, gazing out over the transparent security glass of the railings in search of whatever had made that noise. Eventually she spotted a figure moving along a connecting walkway nearby. It was dressed in armor and wearing a helmet, but from where she was located, with the steam and the heat rising from the vats of molten metal below, she couldn't make out any fine details. She crept slowly along the walkway, trying to get closer to the mysterious figure.

When she reached the point where the two walkways connected and was able to get a better look at the armored individual, she found herself frowning. The general shape of the individual marked it as a male, and the armor was decorated with Alliance colors and insignias. It held an assault rifle, and was moving cautiously along the catwalk, seemingly engrossed with scanning the room below. Aida glanced up and realized that there were no more levels of catwalks above them… only a few ladders connected to hatches in the ceiling. From this perch, anything else had to be on equal level or below. It made it a perfect vantage from which to search for signs of enemies.

The question that plagued her was whether she should risk drawing the figure's attention or not. The humans had generally brought nothing but trouble for herself and her friends in the long run, and she wasn't sure that getting involved with any more of them was a good idea. There were already enough human ties to this world pulling her friends deeper into a conflict they were better off avoiding. As she stared at the figure's back, however, her curiosity was nagging at her. She was very interested to know why a lone Alliance soldier was prowling around this factory when there were supposedly no Alliance forces in the area.

She crept along the walkway behind the figure, confident that there was no way the man could ever hear her coming over the din of the factory's automation. She wanted to be close enough to keep him from whirling around and shooting at her if she surprised him. However, when she was halfway to his position, she saw his omni-tool flare to life, and the man whirled around and raised his rifle, aiming it directly at her head. Aida's heart leapt, and she quickly raised her hands to show that she wasn't armed, wincing when the sudden motion sent a flash of pain through her broken wrist. Fortunately, the man had discipline, and didn't fire before identifying his target. His rifle lowered a fraction of an inch, and his head tilted slightly to the side, as if he was trying to decide what to make of her.

"Miss Dalinas?" the man's voice was barely audible over the drone of machinery, but something about it sounded familiar to Aida.

"Yes…" she said slowly, "Who are you? Your voice seems familiar somehow…"

"Lieutenant Mullins," the man introduced himself.

The name brought a scowl to Aida's features. It was just her luck to stumble upon the man that had knocked her unconscious and left her for the Reapers to find and imprison. One of Captain Tarrislav's men. Apparently the human recognized the foul turn her mood had taken and guessed the reason for it.

"Hey, don't tell me you're still angry with me for knocking you out," he shook his head. "You assaulted my superior officer. I had to take steps to neutralize the threat to my commander."

"You left me lying unconscious in a Reaper-infested field," Aida growled the words.

"Hidden in tall grass, where they would never see you," the man added. "I'm sorry if you took it personally. It wasn't personal. I was just doing my duty. What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same question," Aida regarded him with a mixture of distrust and anger.

"Your friend may have been right about the devices in Mivian Heights," Mullins told her, finally lowering his weapon and creeping closer to her on the walkway. "I think the majority of Tarrislav's command is indoctrinated. I was assigned to Bulwark Charlie for the offensive, but right when the Reapers hit our lines, most of the unit turned on the rest of us. Traitors…" the lieutenant spat.

"Was that near here?" Aida asked. She had no idea how the units had been positioned for the battle.

"No," the lieutenant shook his head. "I was cut off from most of the others in my unit and was going to shift over to the neighboring unit to support them, when transmissions started about all the activity up here. I decided to come north and investigate… see if I could pass along intel to command."

Aida nodded slowly. Her scowl had faded as the man spoke, and she was now regarding him curiously. So he had come up here to act as a scout for the Alliance, and intended to pass along information about what the Reapers were doing. But he probably couldn't communicate with his superiors because of the jamming signal in the factory.

"I could not get a signal out when I tried to contact my friends," Aida finally spoke. "Do you have a working comm?"

"Your friends are in the area?" Mullins asked.

"Yes," Aida admitted, though not without some hesitation. "We were sent up here for the same reason you decided to head this way. The Reaper activity was a matter of concern for your superiors."

"I figured it would be," Mullins nodded, turning to gaze out over the machinery below. "And no, I don't have a working comm channel. But there's a salarian moving around the factory. I don't know what he's up to, but I don't like him being here. Something isn't right. The Reapers aren't making a move against him. Not that they're mingling, but… I don't know. He just doesn't seem concerned by their presence. And the salarian doesn't seem to be _doing _anything. It's like he's just… killing time. I lost sight of him a little while ago. I've been trying to spot him again ever since."

"How do you plan to spot anything among all that movement?"

"My visor has an optical zoom feature… up to eight-times magnification. As long as he doesn't spot me up here, I have the time to scour every inch of the production area to find him. Do you have a weapon?"

"I have a pistol, yes," Aida nodded, drawing the weapon and holding it up for him to see.

"A Predator? Really?" the man shook his head in obvious disgust. "That thing is useless against armored cannibals. Here," he pulled the much heavier hand cannon from the maglock on his hip and held it out to her. "It's modded for armor piercing and has an extended barrel for added punch. If you see any Reapers coming up on us, take them out."

Aida took the weapon from him, turning it over in her hand. The weight of it was surprising… it was at least twice as heavy as the pistol she had taken from the shuttle after they crashed. She was glad to have something with a little more power, but decided to keep the other one as a backup.

"When your friends arrive, they can help me clear out the Reapers and find that salarian," Mullins commented. "With a larger team, we could do a grid search. Maybe we can even figure out what he's up to. If we could turn his plan against the Reapers somehow…" he trailed off.

_Goddess… Do these humans never learn? All he thinks about is how to fight the Reapers. And he wants to draw my friends into it. If it meant his people would benefit, I bet he would turn on my friends as quickly as he turned on me. He promised to keep me safe. And then he knocked me unconscious and left me for the Reapers to take prisoner…_

Aida's grip tightened upon the Carnifex pistol Mullins had given her, and she regarded him with growing anger. His blind devotion to his duty had led to her imprisonment. If she hadn't escaped, who knew what the Reapers might have done to her?

_I will not let you sacrifice my friends…_

Aida never gave what she was doing a second thought. She raised the pistol and pressed it against the back of the man's helmet while he was engrossed with searching the machinery below. At such close range, the shot would come from inside of his kinetic barrier's detection threshold. She felt sick when she pulled the trigger and saw the spatter of blood and other organic material that stained the security glass lining the walkway, but the reaction was physical, not emotional. There was no guilt; she was certain that she had done the right thing.

She started to get up so that she could get away from the corpse, but her gaze fell upon the man's heavy assault rifle as she rose. She hesitated for a moment before reaching down and pulling the weapon from the man's lifeless grasp. She had no intention of fighting the Reapers and making a target of herself, and she couldn't use the rifle with a broken wrist, but she figured it couldn't hurt to have a little extra firepower to pass off to her friends when she met them again.

* * *

**Shipping Yard, Novaburst Fabrication Plant…**

Zaeed crouched behind a shipping container just inside the perimeter wall that surrounded the factory, ignoring the twinges of pain in his knee, and scanned the courtyard in front of him. The entire area was filled with cargo equipment, hover-pallets, and stacks of crates and barrels, and had the look of a shipping dock that was hurriedly evacuated. Discarded safety gear and machinery was spread across the ground. He imagined that when the Reapers hit, the workers had run for their lives. His eyes went to a smoldering patch of concrete near the center of the area, surrounded by burned-out barrels, and his expression hardened. He knew the signs of recent destruction when he saw them, and something had ignited the contents of those barrels very recently.

He warily scanned his surroundings, his gaze sweeping along the rooftop of the factory as well as along the top of the perimeter wall, searching for any sign of hostile forces lurking in ambush, but he saw nothing threatening. He slowly limped out into the open, his rifle in firing position, and he made his way across the shipping yard, watchful for any sign of movement. The shipping yard was as quiet as a ghost town.

Something had been nagging at the veteran mercenary as he drew closer to the factory. Salik had been operating independently as an agent of the Reapers, which made perfect sense while the salarian was pursuing objectives far from the main Reaper force. But if he had indeed been listening in on their communications and had determined the location of the true objective of the Alliance offensive, Zaeed couldn't figure out why the salarian wouldn't have just told the Reapers. There were three of the massive mechanical monstrosities stomping through the city. Any one of them could have simply lifted off and come down directly on the embassy, destroying it and everything inside of it. It made no sense to go through all of the trouble of bypassing the safeties on a reactor and overloading the thing. And he still wasn't actually sold on the fact that the factory's reactor would generate a sufficient blast to level a building four blocks away…

It had originally been Zaeed that had suggested Salik's possible plan, and at the time it had seemed reasonable. But he'd had time to think about it since then, and he knew in his gut that he was wrong. Salik was definitely here and he was up to something, but the real goal of the plan was something more than an attempt to demolish the embassy. The fact that Reapers were swarming all over the area, and yet the factory seemed all but deserted, only added to his sense of disquiet.

The mercenary's eyes went to the doors at the center of the west wall of the building, and he quickly left his position behind, hurrying from cover to cover as fast as he could manage with an injured leg. Once he managed to get inside the factory and see what Salik was up to, he was sure he'd have a much better insight on the strange lack of enemy forces in the place. He supposed his initial guess could still be correct, even if his instincts were now telling him that it wasn't. If the Reapers had brought in containers filled with some form of incendiary, they might be used to expand the blast radius of a reactor detonation.

He settled behind cover just a dozen meters from the door, and then activated his omni-tool to contact the rest of the team. He hadn't heard any updates in a while.

"This is Zaeed. I'm at the factory. What's the ETA on everyone's arrival?"

Only silence and static answered his transmission, and the mercenary frowned. _Of course. Should have seen this coming. Salik used a communications scrambler at Fulton's Folly. Of course he'd deploy one here. Smart as the bastard is, in some ways he's pretty goddamn predictable. And with communications down, we have no way to contact the Alliance with an update._

The mercenary frowned and hobbled to some cover a bit closer to the doors that led into the factory, wincing as he crouched behind a pallet full of storage crates. The more he moved around, the more the pain in his knee increased. It was getting harder to ignore it.

The doors seemed intact, and the holographic trigger was green, so it hadn't been locked from inside. He wondered if there would be Reapers stationed in whatever room lay beyond them, waiting in ambush. He would be surprised if there _wasn't_, given the sheer numbers of Reaper shock troops spread throughout the rest of the neighborhood. Perhaps that was why the courtyard was deserted… to lull intruders into relaxing their guard before they were ambushed just inside the building. The Alliance would face a serious fight just getting there if they diverted a portion of their forces to the factory to try to secure it.

Zaeed headed for the doors and hit the trigger, bringing his weapon up as soon as the portal opened. To his surprise, he found the lobby beyond the doors empty of Reapers. He scowled as he stepped beyond the threshold. There was something here that he was missing, and he was more curious than ever to get an update on the Alliance offensive. He hoped the asari were already inside. If not, he'd have to find the scramblers himself and hope that bullets would be enough to shut them down…

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: First, as always, my sincere thanks goes out to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited/followed or otherwise given any attention to this story. Life has been incredibly hectic of late for me, and as a result I am once again eating into my buffer, as I ran out of time for writing the Chapter I was working on and had to shift to editing this one instead. But I am determined to remain on schedule despite everything. So I will (optimistically) say here that the next Chapter should be up Tuesday morning. Hopefully by then my buffer will once again be intact. But buffer aside, the only thing that will stop me from updating that day would be computer failure. If I can't regain my lead, so be it. So here's hoping nothing like that occurs!**

**Once again, as this is an action-heavy Chapter, I don't have a lot to say about the contents of the Chapter itself, save that I'm excited to be moving things forward and approaching some moments that I've been waiting for a long time to share.**

**I hope everyone had a good weekend, and I hope that the week so far has treated you all well. Have an excellent weekend, and barring disasters, I hope to see that you've all come back Tuesday or around then. :)**


	60. Chapter 60: Traps

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Sixty: Traps

.

**Novaburst Fabrication Plant, South Lobby…**

Illitha carefully lowered Rachel to a seat on a bench just inside the lobby. Once the blonde was settled, she turned and looked around at the bullet-scarred and bloodstained room with a frown. It was obvious that there had been some fighting in the building at some point, but both the lot outside and the lobby itself was eerily quiet at the moment. She would have liked to contact the others to find out where they were, but she knew that there was a scrambler in operation here. She activated her omni-tool, running a quick scan of the signal interference in the facility, just to verify what she already knew. Communications within the factory were completely blocked. While a part of her hoped she would be able to detect the source of the scrambling signal, she knew that the salarian would have covered his tracks better than that. Thus she was not surprised when her efforts to trace the interference yielded no results.

"I'm ready to go," Rachel assured her. The blonde put a hand against the wall and rose awkwardly to her feet, doing her best to keep her weight off of her injured knee.

"Sit down and rest," Illitha muttered, still working feverishly on her omni-tool. She had seen the size of the building from outside, and was now trying to hack her way through the factory's security grid so that she could download schematics of the structure. It would be much easier to find Salik if she knew exactly where the reactor and the relevant control systems were located.

"Do you think your friends are all here yet?" Rachel asked, hobbling over to stand beside her.

"Neela and Selura s-should be arriving here soon," Illitha muttered distractedly.

"It sounds like the factory machinery is running," the blonde pointed out, drawing Illitha's attention to the muffled clanks and hisses from deeper in the structure. "So the salarian must have the reactor running, right? Can you detect whether the safety systems are offline from here?"

Illitha didn't answer at first. The factory's internal security was impressive, and though she was stripping away the layers of defense one by one, it wasn't easy. When she finally brought the last one down, she sighed, silently congratulating herself on a job well done. The first thing she did was to bring up the facility schematic, saving it to her omni-tool, and then she tapped into the building's emergency monitoring systems, scanning through the log of recent alerts.

"That is odd," she muttered. Rachel stepped closer to her, gazing over her shoulder at the omni-tool's holographic display.

"No mention at all of reactor warnings?" Rachel seemed as confused as Illitha felt. "Maybe hacking through the failsafe systems is more difficult than we thought?"

"No," Illitha shook her head. _I competed directly against Salik in hacking the systems at Fulton's Folly. I know what he is capable of. He could easily have bypassed the safety systems by now._ "I-I think we may have misjudged his purpose here. I am sure that if he was after the reactor, it would be compromised by this point."

"But he has to be here, right? I mean… _someone_ set up scramblers in this place."

"The only recent alerts are an unauthorized access warning for the main assembly processes, and an alert about fire-suppression systems coming online in the west lobby," Illitha frowned.

"Where are all the Reapers?" Rachel wondered aloud, hobbling away from Illitha and glancing down the few hallways that led from the room.

Illitha merely shook her head. She didn't have an answer to that question, but the complete lack of enemy activity over the past several minutes left her feeling uneasy. She had a feeling that there was something she was missing.

"The reactor core is below-ground," she said softly. "W-We should go down and check it out… j-just to be sure it has not been tampered with."

"I agree," Rachel nodded. "But we need to be really careful. If Salik _has_ been down there, like in the Prothean ruins…" the blonde trailed off.

Illitha had been thinking the same thing. Prathus had been drawn down to the reactor by the salarian and had fallen into a trap… at least as far as they'd been able to guess. They might very well walk into a similar snare here. Salik's objective was apparently something other than the reactor, but if he anticipated their interference, he would very likely have left some surprises.

Illitha set a nav-point on the generator and activated her omni-tool's course-plotting routine, so that she could follow simple directions to reach the system without having to pause frequently and consult her map of the facility. Then she took the lead even though she was currently weaponless, walking slowly so that her companion would not have difficulty keeping up. Rachel kept close behind her, though the blonde was looking behind them more than ahead.

Rachel was clearly on edge, and Illitha shared that sense of disquiet. The asari had been dreading each confrontation with Salik, and the more they faced the salarian and were outsmarted, the more the next confrontation frightened her. She was almost hoping that they were wrong about his presence. As much as she wanted to see him pay for Prathus's death, she was terrified that confronting him again would only deprive her of someone else she cared about.

The access door to the subterranean level was ID restricted, and once they reached that door, their progress briefly ground to a halt while Illitha hacked her way through the security. As she worked, however, she couldn't help noticing that someone else had recently been tampering with the system. There was trace bits of code left behind in the security processor from a previous hack. The knowledge caused her pulse to quicken considerably. She would have much rather confronted Salik with their entire team together than just herself and Rachel. Especially since the blonde was already bruised, lacerated, and having increasing difficulty walking.

"S-Salik may be down here," she warned. "Someone else has hacked through this lock."

"I hope so," Rachel muttered. "I've had it up to my eyeballs with him."

Illitha blinked at this last statement. She'd never heard that particular expression before, and wondered at its meaning. Her musings were dispelled, however, when the security finally gave way under her technical onslaught and the doors opened.

"I will shield us both at any sign of hostile forces," Illitha promised. "You concentrate on doing the shooting."

"Don't worry, Spectre," the blonde murmured. "I've got your back."

Illitha nodded, and the two of them descended the stairs into the dimly-illuminated underground area. The asari could feel her knees shaking with every step, but her nervousness, in some strange way, was comforting to her. She wasn't sure she ever wanted to feel calm about the prospect of fighting.

The stairs deposited them on a walkway overlooking a massive chamber filled with pipes, power conduits, and machinery of all sizes and descriptions. The lighting was poor, but she could see multiple levels of walkways below them, and dozens of places where an enemy could easily hide. There was a persistent hum throughout the entire area that reminded Illitha of the drone of a starship's mass effect drive core, and the subtle energy in the air was almost immediately comforting to her. She'd been out of engineering for far too long. Suddenly she felt like she was home. She led the way over to a staircase that descended to a walkway below, following the direction indicator on her omni-tool.

"It's creepy down here," Rachel muttered.

Illitha smiled. She had been thinking exactly the opposite. She had thought it creepy upstairs. Down here, she felt a bit more comfortable. However, as they started moving along the walkway, that comfort was quickly stolen from her.

A high pitched hissing sound assailed her hearing, and a quartet of Reaper turians rocketed up from somewhere below, landing upon the walkway around them. Illitha immediately pushed outward with her arms, expanding her barrier into a dome to protect them both, and the sound of Rachel's pistol thundered through the air as the blonde attacked. Illitha felt the surges in the field when the Reapers opened fire upon them, and she watched in dismay as husks crawled out from beneath conduits and pipes, and cannibals stepped out of the dark corners behind machinery nearby. They were trapped on a walkway with no real cover, and they'd just walked into an ambush.

Rachel had been correct. Salik had organized a trap for anyone coming down here to investigate. And despite knowing it was a possibility, Illitha had led them right into it.

* * *

**Novaburst Fabrication, East Lobby…**

Neela limped into the building on the heels of her girlfriend, watching as the three Alliance snipers spread out through the room, securing the exits and confirming that the area was clear of enemies. By circling around the main bulk of the Reaper force, they had actually managed to save a great deal of time, even though it meant a lot more walking. The quarian's ankle was throbbing, and she wished she could just sit down in a corner and rest, but she knew that they couldn't afford the delay, and she refused to be the one responsible if they didn't arrive in time to help the rest of the team.

As soon as Neela staggered past the detection threshold of the exterior door and the portal closed, a blaring alarm rang out through the lobby, startling her so severely that she jumped. The synthesized voice of a VI came through in deafening volume on the intercom.

"All hazardous materials catalogued and present within facility. Activating emergency quarantine lockdown. All personnel, report to decontamination chambers for mandatory isolation until cleared by medical staff."

A massive blast door slammed down over the exit, once again startling the young pilot, who whirled around at the tremendous clank generated by the contact of the bulkhead with the floor. She quickly looked around at the others, and noted that everyone was exchanging nervous glances. Selura had activated her omni-tool, and was busily working at the holographic interface. Neela staggered over to her, resting a hand on the asari's shoulder for support while she watched her work.

"It was an improvised trap," Selura finally announced.

"We figured that much," Corporal Ecksley muttered.

"Someone hacked into the facility VI and uploaded captures of our faces specifically… Me, Captain Nisaria, Illitha, and Zaeed," Selura explained. "We are listed as 'hazardous contaminants' and the VI was programmed to lock down the facility if all four of us were detected at once."

"So everyone is here then," Neela smiled at the news. While being trapped did not bode well, it was just a relief to know that everyone had reached the building.

"Wait," the corporal frowned, stepping closer to the two girls. "You mean this whole thing is a trap for you guys?"

As the import of the man's words sank in, Neela's smile vanished. In the Prothean Ruin, they had managed to wound Salik. Or at least, Illitha's sniper friend had. Had the salarian truly taken it so personally that he decided to orchestrate a trap to eliminate them? She tried to reconcile that plan with the salarian she had briefly traveled with, and couldn't put the two together. Revenge didn't seem like Salik's style.

Neela exchanged glances with Selura, and found a similar look of confusion and doubt upon her girlfriend's features. Maybe Salik had hoped to trap and eliminate them, but it wasn't his sole purpose here. It was just the first step in a larger plan. Somehow, she just knew there was more to it.

"Salik is too methodical to go to this much trouble just for us," Neela said slowly. "He might want us out of the way because of what happened at the Prothean ruin, but there's more going on here."

"Well, whatever the plan is, he's got us locked in a killing ground now," Ecksley muttered. "What can you tell me about this 'Salik'?"

"He claimed to be STG when we first met him," Selura answered before Neela could. "We have discovered since that he is an indoctrinated agent for the Reapers. He has a pistol that fires technology-devouring nanites, a tactical cloak, a combat drone, and a host of other Reaper-augmented gadgets, I am sure."

"He's very intelligent and extremely devious," Neela added with a frown. "We need to find the captain and the others. We'll have a much better chance if we stay together."

"If he has a tactical cloak, that might not make much difference," Ecksley shook his head. "Listen."

The group fell silent, and Neela could hear the distant drone of machinery, the hum of power systems, hisses and clanks, and a host of other sounds. She nodded in understanding. "With the automated assembly line active, spotting a cloaked figure will be almost impossible."

"Exactly," the sniper nodded. "With all the motion and noise out there, we'll never spot the subtle shimmer of a tactical cloak. We'd be lucky to see him coming if he _wasn't_ cloaked."

"Maybe we should set up a perimeter here and wait," Private Colte suggested. "If he is trying to eliminate your group, either as his primary or secondary objective, he would have to come to us eventually."

"We can't wait," Neela protested. "Our friends are out there, and we think that Salik is trying to overload the reactor and destroy the building! Sitting here just gives him all the time he needs to do it!"

"He won't destroy the building while he's inside of it," Ecksley snorted.

"He has a shuttle on the roof," Selura pointed out. "Once the reactor is prepped for overload, he will evacuate and leave the rest of us trapped here to die."

The marines exchanged glances, and the corporal finally nodded. "Okay, I see your point. But it'll be dangerous out there. Here's my suggestion: We go for the shuttle."

"What?" Neela frowned. "We can't just take the shuttle and leave."

"I never said anything about leaving," the sniper shook his head. "If we head up to the roof and seize the shuttle, we rob him of his exit strategy. We can lock it down or one of us can stay and guard it. He can't overload the reactor if he can't get out. And if he lifts the lockdown of the facility, we can _all _escape. It's the only option."

Neela's brows rose. She glanced at her girlfriend, and she saw the asari smiling. The human had a point. If they were able to steal Salik's means of escape, he would have to adjust his strategy to compensate. She smiled and nodded. The plan had definite potential.

"Okay then," Ecksley raised his rifle and turned, heading for the door that led to the factory floor.

Selura's arm slid around Neela's back, and the quarian leaned upon her, grateful for the assistance. Her arm settled over the asari's shoulders, and she limped along beside her, following the humans through the short tunnel and into the sweltering confines of the factory's production area. Once they were out on the factory floor, Neela's eyes roamed over the machinery and the levels of walkways above them in awe. A stream of automated drones floated back and forth among the machinery, and even through the filters in her mask, she could detect the smells of smoke, metal, and steam.

Neela and Selura followed the Alliance team through the machinery, using stairs and short walkways to cross over the assembly lines at multiple points until they finally reached a winding staircase that led to the catwalks above. The snipers never spoke, likely because it would have been hard to hear over the rather loud drone of the machinery. They communicated with hand signals only.

Neela found herself wishing for her old suit's auditory filters as she and Selura followed the soldiers. The noise in the place, while not deafening, was loud enough and constant enough that she could already feel, more than hear, a ringing in her ears. She imagined that workers in the place were forced to wear some form of protection for their ears, lest the noise damage their hearing permanently.

None of them had any real idea of where they were going, and the soldiers frequently brought the group to a halt so that Corporal Ecksley could look up, tracing the paths of the catwalks overhead to determine the best way to proceed. Eventually, they reached a ladder to the third-level catwalks, and one by one their team ascended. Neela was the last to climb, as she was forced to hop from one rung to the next. It was simply too painful to use her broken ankle in climbing.

Selura grabbed her arm as she was just reaching the top of the ladder, and the asari helped her up onto the solid surface. Neela smiled at her girlfriend, and was just about to thank her when she noticed that the soldiers around them had all frozen in place and had their rifles in firing position. She followed their gaze, straining to see what it was that they had spotted. At first, she could see only a maze of catwalks and work stations and the haze of steam rising from below. Then she spotted it.

A figure seemed to be crouched behind a console at one of the work stations. From her vantage she could see only the occasional glimpse of an omni-tool's orange holographic display, and the even more infrequent appearance of a black shape… perhaps a knee protruding from behind the equipment. It certainly wasn't enough of a target for any of them to shoot, and the snipers seemed to agree. Ecksley gestured to his fellows and waved a hand above his head in some sort of signal, and then he slowly advanced along the walkway, with the other soldiers close behind.

Neela hobbled along after them, and Selura kept close behind her. The quarian's hand drifted down to her submachine gun, and she pulled it from the magnetic holster at her hip, activating the targeting VI. With all of the noise, it seemed clear enough that the soft beep when the system came online would not be audible from where their quarry was hiding.

They were halfway to the work station, and the figure hiding behind the console gave no indication of having detected them. Thus Neela was completely unprepared when a series of explosions tore through the walkway all around them, sending her stumbling into the railing that flanked the path. The tremendous groan of twisting metal filled the air, and the entire catwalk suddenly gave way, twisting around and down. Neela reflexively wrapped an arm around the railing when the floor tilted out from under her, and everything seemed to whirl around her for an instant. The next thing she knew, she was hanging from the railing over open air, with vats of molten metal passing beneath her at regular intervals. She glanced around in a panic, trying to see where the others had gone, and saw no sign of anyone but Selura. The asari was hanging quite literally by her fingertips from the railing just a few meters from her, and Neela felt her heart skip a beat at the look of panic upon the girl's face… a panic she suddenly shared.

"Selura hold on!" she screamed, trying to get a better grip on the rail so that she could work her way closer to the asari. Unfortunately, the tremendous weight of the Cain upon her back was making it difficult to maintain a good grip. Had she not needed both hands to maintain her hold, she would have dropped the weapon to lighten the load.

"Goddess, help! I am slipping!" she heard her girlfriend shriek the words.

Neela tried desperately to figure out some way to help, but she was making no progress in getting closer to Selura. But she could only watch in agony as her girlfriend's fingertips slowly slipped off of the rail, and the girl fell from the catwalk with a terrified scream. Her own scream exploded from her throat, and she felt her heart stop as the girl plummeted from the rail, expecting to see her vanish into a vat of molten metal. She was simultaneously relieved and heartsick when her girlfriend's fall took her between the containers that were passing beneath them. It was a relief that she hadn't been forced to watch the woman she loved meet such a grisly fate, but she had no idea where the girl had landed. Smoke and steam obscured her view of the ground below, and she knew that the fall might have killed the asari just the same.

_Keelah, please let her survive_, she prayed, feeling a sob well up in her throat.

Tears blurring her vision, the young pilot shifted her gaze to the workstation above, of which she had a clearer view now that she was hanging below and slightly to the side of it. Fury welled up inside of her as the image they had been moving toward shimmered into static and vanished. She knew the termination of a hologram when she saw one. It had been nothing but a decoy.

After several false starts, Neela managed to swing her leg up and over the bar of the railing, giving her a little more support and lessening the strain upon her shoulders. She was practically seething as she worked to climb back up to solid ground. She had already been intent upon seeing Salik suffer for all he had done to them. She swore at that moment that if Selura had died because of Salik's trap, she would make that suffering last until she could no longer stomach torturing him. She just hoped she wouldn't need a weapon anytime soon. She had dropped her submachine gun during the moments when the catwalk collapsed; she had no idea where it was now.

* * *

**Novaburst Fabrication Plant, Production Floor…**

The screech of husks sounded from all around Zaeed, and the creatures bounded from between stacks of pallets full of neatly piled metal drums, rushing him from all sides. There were easily dozens of the creatures, and they had clearly been lying in wait. The mercenary responded with practiced ease and precision, lining up one husk's head in his sights and squeezing the trigger, then turning upon another and another. The walking corpses pitched over one by one as his shots found their marks, and half a dozen bodies littered the floor within seconds.

Despite his skill, however, Zaeed realized that there were too many husks to kill on his own unless he was smart about it. He glanced at the pallets around him… each pallet held metal solvent barrels stacked two rows high, and the pallets were stacked in columns of three. He quickly turned his rifle upon the barrels on the ground-level pallet to his right, using concussive bursts to knock out the containers at the corner, depriving the entire stack of the stability it needed to remain upright. When the stack tilted, he scrambled backward, turning his weapon upon the creatures ahead and to his left while the pile came crashing down. The thunderous sound of the metal drums striking the floor drowned out even the crack of his Mattock. He was glad he was wearing his helmet, because he assumed the smell of the chemicals would be overpowering if he was not. When he glanced at the results of his effort, he saw that a handful of husks had been crushed by the falling containers, and the other husks on that side were having difficulty staying on their feet as they tried to scramble through the liquid spilled from crushed barrels among the mess.

He was quick to turn his rifle on other pallets in the vicinity, toppling additional piles of the factory's inventory into the Reapers' ranks. He would have liked to toss an inferno grenade into the solvent to finish the job, but given the sheer number of barrels stored in the area, he knew he couldn't risk it. If he ignited them all, the fire could engulf that entire area of the building within seconds. He concentrated on executing surviving husks with shots to the head as quickly as he could manage, but it wasn't long before the survivors were too close and he was forced to sling his rifle and move to hand-to-hand combat.

Yanking his combat knife from its sheath, Zaeed turned to meet the first husk to get within arm's length of him, quickly lunging close and burying the blade beneath its chin at an upward angle. When the corpse went limp, he turned and shoved it into a second husk, yanking the blade free and turning to meet a third. A blow from behind collapsed his shield, but Zaeed had been a mercenary for a long time. He knew how to remain calm and meet an opponent in close quarters with brutal efficiency. It was true that the tech-enhanced corpses were far stronger than they appeared, but it was little different from fighting hand-to-hand with a batarian squad, something he'd done more than once in the past.

He kicked, punched, elbowed and stabbed at every husk that got close to him, hacking his way through the horde. There were too many for him to avoid every incoming blow, and he suffered multiple strikes to the ribs, back and helmet, but his armor protected him from the worst of it. When his knife found home in the eye socket of the last husk standing, he tossed the corpse aside with grunt of satisfaction, frowning at the bodies that littered the area.

_It's about time the damned things showed up…_

The lack of Reaper presence in the outlying portions of the factory had been unnerving on some level, especially after the quarantine alarms went off and the blast doors sealed the factory. He'd found himself wondering if Salik's plan was to poison them all. The sealing of the facility, however, had finally allowed him to settle his mind as to what it was that he'd been missing. Their group had repeatedly come into conflict with the salarian's goals, and Salik had to have known from their radio transmissions that they were nearby. It seemed the salarian was interested in getting them out of the way. It was a logical choice, given their repeated confrontations. If Zaeed was right, Salik's goal was fine with him. If Salik wanted a showdown, he'd be happy to oblige and put his vow to help deal with the salarian to rest.

He also had a theory about the Reaper presence in the area, but it was of lesser concern at the moment. His suspicion was that the Reapers were hoping to draw the Alliance forces to the factory as well when their team failed to report in… hence the communications scramblers. If the Alliance committed a sizeable force to reaching the factory, it would allow the Reapers to more efficiently eliminate the opposition. At present, the Alliance units were spread all over the city, making them much harder to deal with. If the Alliance gathered a significant force in any one place, the Reapers could easily bombard them from orbit, or land in their midst and destroy them with overwhelming force.

Zaeed pulled his rifle and resumed his search of the warehouse portion of the factory. The Alliance forces, even if they took the bait, would need time to gather and push north to the facility. There was still plenty of time for their team to find and kill Salik, disable the scramblers, and warn the Alliance of the situation. Thus Zaeed took his time in sweeping the area, wary for any further ambushes. He also kept his eyes peeled for any sign of unfamiliar tech in the area; restoring communications was a top priority.

The remainder of the warehouse proved to be clear of threats, and Zaeed moved on through a large bay door to the factory floor. Once the massive portal opened, the noise and the heat of the production area assailed the mercenary, and he was forced to pause and activate his omni-tool, adjusting his armor's environmental controls to compensate for the temperature. He had anticipated the manufacturing areas of the plant being unpleasant… the heat on Terra Nova was already intense, and when compounded with the presence of molten metal and an enclosed space, it was predictable. His gaze swept over the sea of moving machinery and automated drones, and drifted up to the walkways and elevated work areas above.

_Goddamn it. I knew this would be unpleasant, but I didn't think the place would be so big. That bastard picked a hell of a site for an ambush. Trying to spot a cloaked figure in here will be a goddamn nightmare._

The mercenary suppressed his frustration over the idea and turned to his right, deciding to handle the situation methodically. The production lines seemed to cut back and forth across the factory in more-or-less straight lines, so he would search one row at a time before ascending to the catwalks. Either he would eventually spot one of the salarians during his search, or one of them would spot him. Whichever was the case, he knew now that the confrontation both sides sought was inevitable. And he already knew which side would win. He wasn't about to let two indoctrinated salarians and a bunch of Reapers prevent him from getting his revenge on the Illusive Man.

* * *

**Novaburst Fabrication Plant, Assembly Line…**

Selura's heart was beating so hard that she was afraid it might burst from her chest as her fingers slowly slipped from the railing. She could feel waves of intense heat below as huge containers of molten metal passed beneath her, and she knew that when she fell, she was going to die. She gazed up at Neela, who was desperately trying to work her way along the rail to reach her, and she tried to memorize every minute detail of her girlfriend's face. She hoped to take that memory with her into whatever waited after death, even as she prayed for a miracle that would save her. When she finally lost her hold, she couldn't contain the scream that burst from her lungs. She closed her eyes and waited for the searing heat that would almost surely engulf her.

Instead of falling into a vat of molten metal, her legs struck the rail of the conveyor along which the containers traveled, and she felt the world spin around her as she careened off of that surface and spiraled toward the floor. Then she felt a strange wave of pressure burst around her, and all at once, the momentum of her fall slowed to a much less terrifying drift. She immediately recognized the sudden feeling of weightlessness that had saved her. Her mother had used biotic pulls throughout her childhood to keep her out of trouble. She saw the floor slowly rising to meet her, and she immediately started sobbing in relief.

_Thank the Goddess…_

Rhythmic clinking sounds and a strange buzz mixed irregularly with the more repetitive sounds of the machinery that surrounded her, and Selura struggled to right herself in the air so that she could see what was going on. As she spun around to a position where she could look up toward the catwalks above, she caught a brief glimpse through the steam and smoke of Neela climbing the twisted and dangling walkway toward safety, and she once again thanked the Goddess for her favors. Her girlfriend was safe… or at least as safe as she could be in a building with Salik.

The effect of the biotic field upon her dissipated, and Selura dropped the remaining meter or so to the floor, impacting the concrete with a jarring thud. Her legs were both throbbing, but when she pressed her heels against the ground in an attempt to gauge the extent of the injury, she didn't feel any sharp pains, so she doubted anything was broken. Glancing up at the conveyor track above her, she guessed that it was only about a ten meter drop from the damaged catwalk where she'd been hanging to the rail she'd struck. The Alliance armor she wore had undoubtedly helped as well in sparing her from serious injury. But the biotic pull had been her saving grace. She glanced around, trying to find some sign of Illitha, Captain Nisaria, or Aida. One of the three had clearly saved her, and she was eager to thank them.

She didn't see any blue faces initially, but she could still hear the sounds she'd heard before, and could see flashes from the opposite side of the machinery that ran beneath the conveyor above. She was about to set off in search of her savior when her eyes fell upon a twisted, armored form lying on the concrete a few meters away. She recognized the armor as Alliance issue, and realized that it must have been one of the snipers that had been with them. From the way the figure's legs were bent, she was sure both limbs were broken, but the man was not moving. She swallowed and moved closer to investigate, sighing when she got a look at the man's face through the visor of his helm. His eyes were wide and staring. She turned away, feeling sick. There was nothing she could have done to save him, but it still grieved her to see him dead. She had to assume the others had met a similar fate… or worse. Her eyes drifted up to the huge vats drifting by beneath the shattered catwalk. She knew that there was no way they had _all_ missed falling into those containers.

Swallowing her sorrow, she hurried along the production line until she found an access tunnel leading to the other side, and she quickly darted through, emerging into a staging area on the opposite end, where pallets were lined up in neat rows. Movement to her right drew her attention, and she spotted a pair of cannibals hiding with their backs to the pallets, occasionally leaning out of cover to fire at something she couldn't see. When a beam of greenish-white light flashed out of the space between the pallets and impacted with the machinery under the assembly line, her curiosity as to the target vanished. She knew who carried that weapon.

Selura activated her omni-tool and locked on to one of the cannibals, launching an incineration drone at it. She drew her pistol as the burst arced toward the target, and as soon as the drone struck, erupting in a fiery flash, she opened fire on the second Reaper. The creature turned and returned fire, stalking toward her as it did so. The moment it stepped into the open, however, the particle beam struck it in its flank, and the creature pitched over and crumbled into ash. Selura ran to the pallets the Reapers had been using as cover and put her back against it.

"Captain?" she shouted. "It is Selura! Do not shoot!"

The maiden could hear the buzz of the particle beam being fired, as well as the sounds of rifle fire, but given the fact that there were no particle beams flashing past her hiding place, she assumed the captain's attention was now focused elsewhere. She slowly leaned out to get a look at the situation.

The staging area seemed to consist of two rows of pallets, each one running parallel to a different production line. In the space between the rows, one of the pallets had been overturned, and Captain Nisaria was bunkered down among the pile of crates the pallet had once held, fighting off Reapers on three sides, from the look of things. Directly across from her, a swirling vortex of biotic energy held a trio of cannibals prisoner, and the former commando repeatedly rose from cover, firing first left, and then right. Selura didn't doubt that the elder asari could take care of herself, but she was sure some help would be welcome. She quickly ran out to the pile of spilled crates, leaping into the midst of them with her elder. She took it upon herself to immediately fire on the Reapers floating helplessly in the singularity, so that when the field collapsed, they would no longer be a threat.

"You survived," the captain commented, speaking up to be heard above the gunfire and machinery. She rose from behind her cover to fire at a turian Reaper when the creature stepped into view to attack them.

"Thanks to you," Selura nodded, turning and firing in the opposite direction.

"The explosion was hard to miss, and I heard the screaming," the former commando told her. "I could not see who was falling through the haze, but I could see clearly enough to hit you with a biotic pull."

Selura nodded. She wanted to hug the elder asari, but the snaps of bullets ricocheting off of the crates around them kept her focused on the danger at hand. She waited for the cannibal she'd been shooting at to reveal itself, and when it did, she locked on with her omni-tool and launched an incineration drone at it. She nodded with grim satisfaction when the creature staggered into full view, flailing around in agony, and collapsed to the floor.

"Is Neela safe?" the captain demanded.

"I saw her climbing to safety, thank the Goddess," Selura smiled as she conveyed the news. She knew none of them were truly safe in the facility with Salik and the Reapers roaming the place, but for the moment, she was confident that her girlfriend was alive.

"The two of you have grown quite close," Julisa commented, hurling a singularity into the space near the neighboring pallets to snare a few more Reapers.

Selura glanced sidelong at the elder asari, wondering what would have prompted a comment such as that. Uncertain what else to say, she merely nodded. "Yes…"

"What are your intentions toward my pilot, Miss Leneur?" the elder asari didn't look at her, focused as she was upon firing at their enemies, but there was a certain severity to her tone.

Selura forgot all about firing upon the Reapers, turning and staring at the other asari for a moment in disbelief. "Are you kidding me?" she finally shouted. "Now? You choose to bring this up _now?_"

"I have come to realize that I may be killed before there is ever a good time to discuss it," the captain informed her. "Neela is a sweet girl, and she deserves to be cherished and respected. If your intentions are to indulge in some casual fun-"

"That is none of your business!" Selura cut her off, feeling herself blushing. She felt as though she'd just stumbled into some surreal nightmare. She was actually being interrogated about her romantic interests while fighting off a horde of Reapers. She half-expected to wake up upon the concrete at any moment and find that it had been some sort of strange dream. She fired several shots at their enemies until her thermal clip reached capacity, and then crouched behind her cover to swap it out.

"What happens to my pilot is very much my business," Julisa's tone was severe. "A blind asari could see how smitten she is with you. I will not stand by and watch as her heart is broken."

"What do you expect me to say?" Selura demanded. "That I intend to ask her to become my bondmate? I am barely more than a child. This is hardly the time for-" her words caught in her throat when a dark object landed in the space between them, and she realized numbly that it was a grenade. However, before she could even think about scrambling to get away from it, the captain grabbed it and hurled it away from them. It exploded in midair, peppering them both with shrapnel. Fortunately they were outside of the lethal distance of the explosive by the time it detonated, and Selura's shield was able to deflect the debris without collapsing.

"Let me be clear," the captain grabbed the collar of her armor and jerked her forward. "If you break Neela's heart, I will not hesitate to break every bone in your body."

"I would never hurt her," Selura glared at the elder asari, shoving her angrily. "I love her with every fiber of my being."

The captain and Selura continued to glare at each other for a moment, and then finally the elder asari nodded once. "See that you remember those words. Now stay here."

Selura watched as a bright glow appeared around the elder asari, and she vanished from their cover in a streak of bluish-purple light. The young scientist turned to stare in amazement as the captain's charge took her into the midst of the Reaper troops, and she quickly reduced two of them to ash with her rifle before another charge took her all the way to the opposite side of their cover. She whirled around and watched the former commando continue her rampage. Between the two of them, they had managed to reduce the enemy's numbers enough to make the offensive not only possible, but easy for the captain. In moments, it was over.

Selura swallowed nervously as the captain strolled back to their cover. While she had no intention of ever hurting Neela and she was certainly not toying with her girlfriend's emotions, she felt suddenly nervous over what might await her if things didn't work out between them in the long run. The ire of an asari commando was clearly not to be taken lightly.

"Where were the two of you headed before the explosion?" the captain questioned, scanning their surroundings for any further signs of danger.

"To the roof. We were going to lock down Salik's shuttle and deprive him of his means of escape."

"A wise plan," the elder asari commented. "I was also headed that way. So let us hurry up there to assist her."

Selura nodded. She would be only too happy to rejoin her girlfriend, especially with the captain there to support them both. She hated being away from Neela. Not knowing whether the woman she loved was safe or not was agonizing. She turned to leave.

"I expect to be invited to the bonding ceremony," the captain informed her.

Selura had to smile. Though a sense of humor was something she wouldn't have associated with the serious and intimidating former commando, somehow, she got the sense that the comment had been spoken in jest.

"I do not know," Selura's tone was playful as she glanced back at the captain. "You might have to save my life once or twice more to earn that honor."

Julisa regarded her without a hint of a smile, and finally walked past her, apparently meaning to take the lead. As she passed, however, she paused and met Selura's gaze evenly. "I was not joking," she spoke just loudly enough to be heard over the machinery.

Selura could only stare at the other asari's back as she walked away. She had been so sure that the captain had been teasing her with the first comment. Now she felt that certainty evaporating as she fell into step behind her.

* * *

**Novaburst Fabrication Plant, Subbasement…**

Rachel winced as her back hit the metal grate that served as the floor of the catwalk and the weight of yet another husk came down upon her. She shielded her head with one arm and jammed the barrel of Illitha's Carnifex into the creature's ribs, firing the weapon twice through its torso. When the husk fell limp atop her, she shoved the corpse to the side and sat up, quickly scanning for a new target. Illitha was bent over the railing and there was a husk clinging to her back. As the blonde watched, the creature grabbed the asari's helmet and tore it from her head, tossing it into the room below. Rachel took aim, waiting for a clear shot, but she knew that the asari's barrier was down, and she couldn't risk hitting her friend.

To her vast relief, there was no need. Illitha grabbed the railing with both hands and shoved herself backward, driving the husk's back into the opposite rail. Then the asari's entire arm started to glow with a brilliant bluish-purple aura, and she drove her elbow into the creature's ribs, yanking free of its grasp when it loosened its grip. The asari bent and grabbed the creature's foot, and then heaved upward, pitching it over the side of the catwalk.

Rifle fire rang out, and the asari staggered as the rounds ricocheted off of her tech armor. Rachel quickly spotted the turian responsible for the attack and fired her weapon. Thanks to the phasic ammo mod installed in the hand cannon, the bullet sheared cleanly through the creature's barrier and she saw its head snap backward in response to the strike. Two more husks hurtled up the walkway toward Illitha, but the engineer activated her omni-tool, hitting the lead husk with an incineration burst that engulfed them both. Two smoldering corpses staggered and pitched over, and the stench of charred flesh and smoke filled the air.

Alarms blared out all around them, and immediately, a thick layer of fire-retardant foam blanketed the entire area. Rachel frantically wiped the foam from her face and trained her weapon on her surroundings, scanning for any other hostile targets. Finding none, she finally lowered her weapon.

Illitha staggered toward her, and Rachel frowned when she saw the asari's hand press against her side. The blonde returned her pistol to the maglock at her hip and grabbed the railing with both hands. She pulled herself up, getting her good leg beneath her so that she could stand without assistance. The Reaper ambush had been perfectly positioned, and in Rachel's mind, that either of them survived was owed solely to Illitha's biotic barrier. They'd been caught without cover, and if it hadn't been for the asari's ability to shield them…

As she looked down at herself and then at the asari, both of them covered in thick, white, fluffy foam, she started laughing. She was reminded of when she was a child and she and her younger sister Holly had decided to get into a food fight with cans of whipped cream. She was sure the two of them looked a little ridiculous.

"What is so funny?" Illitha stared at her in confusion.

"Just look at us!" the blonde exclaimed merrily.

Illitha looked down at herself, and then she finally smiled and started laughing as well. However, before she could really do more than giggle, she winced and pressed her hand more firmly against her side. Rachel's laugher ceased immediately. It was clear that her friend was hurt.

"You okay?" she asked, watching the asari with concern. Illitha's cheeks were scraped, no doubt from the violent removal of her helmet, but it was the other wound that really worried her.

"I think one of the bullets penetrated my armor," the asari sighed, lifting her hand away from the kinetic weave on her side. Her palm was wet with purple blood.

"Let me see," Rachel insisted, stepping closer to her friend.

"I will be fine. The suit released medigel to stop the bleeding. The pain is already fading," Illitha assured her. "Are you hurt?"

"Not physically," Rachel shrugged.

"W-What do you mean?" the asari regarded her with obvious concern.

"After today, I swear I'll have nightmares about zombies for months…"

"I… It has always baffled me," Illitha murmured, "this fascination your species has with the walking dead. I have seen one or two of those vids, and they always unsettle me."

"Asari don't have vids about strange terrors that stalk the innocent?"

"Well… yes… b-but I cannot recall one about something so grim as a planet-wide apocalypse that has turned our people into the walking dead… our monster vids feature things of myth."

Under other circumstances, Rachel might have debated the matter. She had always enjoyed zombie vids… at least until the Reapers invaded. At that moment, however, she couldn't find it in her to defend them. She had to voice the thought that floated to the forefront of her mind. "After the Reapers are gone… I think zombie movies will see a dramatic fall in popularity," she predicted with a sigh.

"Come on," Illitha turned and started along the walkway once again. "We must still find the reactor and make certain that it is intact."

Rachel nodded and hobbled along after the asari, pulling her Carnifex so that she would be prepared if there was a secondary ambush. The two of them eventually reached a stairway, and they descended to the floor below. Rachel was soon completely lost amongst the maze of machinery and pipes that crisscrossed the area, and followed Illitha's lead. The asari kept her eyes upon her omni-tool's display, eventually leading them directly to the plant's reactor.

Rachel had known that the factory's power plant would be a massive device, but until she saw the huge cylindrical construct, which filled the majority of a concrete pit at least a fifty meters wide, she hadn't imagined the true scope of it. She'd had her doubts that a reactor detonation could cause any significant destruction, but now that she was looking upon the real thing and marveling at the size of it, she could easily envision the explosion encompassing the entire building and more.

Illitha immediately moved to an access console, and she started working busily upon the holographic interface. Rachel kept watch on the rest of the room, and her eyes were eventually drawn to an area at the far side of the reactor. She could see a ring of slender towers with blue lights running up along their sides, and spotted a host of wires that rose from the heart of the circle and disappeared into the ceiling far above. She wondered what the device was. It didn't seem to be Reaper tech. It had the look of something that had been incorporated into the building long ago.

"All reactor failsafes are online," Illitha announced. "It… I… I guess Salik did not come here to tamper with the power systems."

"Then why the Reaper ambush down here?" Rachel wondered aloud.

"I do not know. P-Perhaps he anticipated that we would guess this was his goal?"

"Maybe," Rachel nodded. "What's that over there?" she gestured toward the ring of devices.

"It looks like the facillity's VI core," the engineer murmured. "W-We should check it out while we are down here. Salik may have tampered with it to gain access to the factory's systems."

"Makes sense," Rachel muttered. She felt a little out of her depth with all of the technical details involved in hacking the systems, and was glad that the asari was there to handle such matters.

The two of them made their way along the perimeter of the reactor pit and approached the ring of ceramic towers. Rachel knew nothing about the construction or function of the data systems, but she found the general shape of them and the blue lights that ran along their sides rather pretty. Illitha stepped between two of the exterior towers and into their heart, so Rachel followed her.

Inside, thick bundles of fiber-optic cable sprouted from each of the slender towers, gathering together in a spherical black object over their heads before extending up into the ceiling. The blonde's eyes fell to a small holographic platform to the right, which even she recognized as a VI access terminal. Illitha pressed the interface trigger, and a pale blue image of a human woman shimmered into view.

"Welcome to Novaburst Fabrication," the synthesized voice of the VI cheerfully greeted them. "I do not have your biometric data on file. You are cleared for visitor access only. How may I assist you?"

Illitha activated her omni-tool and immediately went to work, her fingers rapidly drifting across the keys. Rachel realized she was probably hacking the VI's systems to grant herself full access, and the blonde hobbled around while she waited, examining the VI core with mild curiosity. As she was looking around, however, she spotted a small triangular device with red lights on it attached to the base of one of the towers. She was about to call Illitha's attention to it when the VI started speaking again.

"Welcome, Chairwoman T'Zari," the VI cheerfully renewed its greeting. "As member of the Board of Directors, you have full system access. How may I assist you?"

Rachel shook her head and smiled. Somehow, Illitha always managed to find herself in possession of esteemed titles. First Spectre, now Chairman of the Board. She eyed the strange device she had spotted dubiously, but it didn't seem to be an explosive device, so she supposed it was harmless enough for now. It could wait until they'd had a chance to investigate the VI.

"Perform system diagnostics," Illitha instructed the VI.

"Performing diagnostics. Please stand by," there was a brief pause. "Diagnostics complete. Alert: External hardlines have been disabled. Remote access offline. Alert: Primary communications interference detected. All external communications are offline. Alert: Virus detected. Internal systems and data storage compromised. All anti-intrusion countermeasures have been disabled."

"That doesn't sound good," Rachel muttered.

"It is essentially what I expected," Illitha murmured. "Salik would have had to hack through several key systems to seize control of the facility and enact the quarantine lockdown that we heard. I am not sure about this 'virus' though," the asari frowned. "What systems are infected by the virus?" she addressed the question to the VI.

"Unknown. Seventy-one percent of all VI functions are compromised. Experiencing critical code degradation. Recommend VI systems be taken offline to prevent total system failure. Emergency shutdown threshold approaching. Alert: emergency shutdown systems compromised."

"What does that mean?" Rachel asked. She wished she had some measure of technical expertise. She had absolutely no idea what was going on.

"I do not know," Illitha muttered, working feverishly on her omni-tool. "I-I think there is a Reaper code being uploaded to the system. It seems to be rewriting the VI's processes."

"Wait. Could this thing be uploading something like that?" Rachel turned and pointed to the device she had spotted earlier, cursing herself for dismissing it as harmless.

Illitha turned to look at the device, and she quickly crouched beside it, using her omni-tool to run a scan. After a moment, she nodded once and quickly stepped away from it. "Shoot it!"

Rachel never hesitated. She fired two shots into the small device with her Carnifex, and watched as a shower of sparks erupted from its interior and the red lights died. She frowned and berated herself once again for not bringing it to the asari's attention sooner. Illitha seemed to sense something of her frustration, because the asari offered a reassuring smile.

Rachel was about to smile back, but behind Illitha, the VI's image flickered and vanished, replaced by a red holographic representation of a Reaper. The feeling of dread that came over her chilled her to her very core. Illitha must have seen the fear in her expression, because the asari's smile vanished and she turned to face the VI as well. Rachel could hear the gasp that passed the engineer's lips. Rachel had no idea what it was that the Reaper wanted with the VI's systems or whether or not it intended to speak to them, but she knew one thing with certainty: Its presence was not a good thing. She didn't intend to give it the chance to do any damage. She raised her weapon and started firing at the processing towers all around them, intent on depriving it of whatever opportunity it had been seeking.

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: As always, thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited/followed or otherwise given any attention to this story. While life continues to be hectic and I've fallen further behind, I plan to continue to release on schedule. I figure even if I only write one Chapter for every two I release at this point, I will still finish the story in its entirety in time to release every Chapter on my usual rotation. I'm trying not to stress the little things. :)**

**As for this Chapter, hopefully it doesn't come too much out of left field that Salik is looking to get the crew out of the way. I think it makes perfect sense given the story to date. Salik has repeatedly had to deal with at least some of the cast every time he goes somewhere to do something, and after he was wounded last time, I think it's logical that he would need to take some steps to neutralize them. As to any other theories that were put forward by Zaeed or others... well, you'll all have to wait and see on those fronts. :P**

**As to the little conversation between Julisa and Selura... Long ago, even before several reviewers expressed an interest in seeing it take place, I had this scene in my head. It was why I mentioned Julisa wanting to have a "talk" with Selura about Neela in the first place. It's been a lot longer in coming than most people probably expected (and I wouldn't be surprised if some of you forgot all about it) but I had to work that scene in.**

**I will shut up now about this Chapter, since I just added about 500 words to the overall count with my A/N, I'm guessing. Unless something goes drastically wrong, the next Chapter will go up on Sunday morning. I hope you all had a good weekend, and that the rest of the week treats you well!**


	61. Chapter 61: Casualties

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Sixty-One: Casualties

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**Novaburst Fabrication Plant, Subbasement…**

Illitha felt like her heart leapt into her throat when she turned away from her friend and found a red holographic Reaper glaring at her. She involuntarily took a step backward, her mind awhirl with the myriad possible explanations for the Reapers' goal in rewriting the factory VI in their own image. The only thing of which she was absolutely certain was that it was a bad idea to let the Reapers actually seize the building's systems.

Before she could even suggest cutting the hard lines, however, gunshots rang out from behind her, startling her severely. She whirled around to face Rachel, who was firing shots into the processing towers around them as fast as she was able to pull the trigger. Sparks erupted from the hardware on all sides, and the lights on one tower after another flickered and died. The red holographic Reaper faded from view.

"Screw that," Rachel spat. "Whatever it was up to… problem solved."

Illitha pressed a hand to her side and let the tension ebb from her posture. Even that brief glimpse of the Reaper's holographic image had scared the hell out of her. She was thankful that Rachel had been so quick to act. She didn't think she had it in her to speak to an actual Reaper. And in truth, having already seen the horrific things the machines were willing to do to achieve victory, she didn't have any interest in hearing anything they had to say.

A ping from Illitha's omni-tool alerted her to an incoming message, and her eyes widened when she saw the display. Communications were clear! She eagerly activated her omni's audio emulator, happy to once again have contact with people outside of the facility. Jay's voice greeted her.

_"-o you read me? Elliot, get down!" _Several gunshots followed the words, followed by the 'click-clack' of a bolt being pulled to eject a thermal clip. Illitha was amused on some level that the sound had become so easily identifiable to her when she'd had so little experience with firearms in the past, but that amusement was secondary to the concern she felt over what she was hearing. _"Fuck, I think they're dead or something. I'm not getting anything! Can anyone in there read me?"_

"Jay? Jay, we read you! There was a communications scrambler working in here, but I think we have disabled it!" The clearing of the signals made sense to the engineer. If the communications scramblers were routed through a VI-controlled system, then disabling the VI would have cleared the interference.

_"Illitha? Damn am I ever glad to hear your voice!"_ Three sharp cracks of the sniper's rifle followed the statement. _"We're doing our best to hold out up here, but I'm down to about three thermal clips. The Alliance has shifted all Warcry and Spearhead forces north to assist us because of all the Reaper activity, and the rest of the team reports that they've got the QEC components and they're withdrawing now. But I'm not sure we can hold out long enough for them to get here."_

"What about the rest of the Alliance forces?" Illitha asked.

_"They suffered pretty heavy losses during the diversion, from the sound of it,"_ Jay told them. _"Most of the Alliance forces are retreating to the F.O.B.. Captain Shirakawa has ordered a retreat from the city."_

"So Dotterstown is lost," Rachel bowed her head, and Illitha could see her hands clench. The asari understood how she was feeling, but she had hope. The operation had been a success. They had recovered the QEC, and that meant they might be able to call in reinforcements to help retake the settlements.

_"Look,"_ Jay's voice returned. _"I know you have a lot going on already, but… is there any chance someone can get out here and save our asses? We're gonna be fighting Reapers off hand-to-hand in a few minutes…"_

"Jay…" Illitha faltered. She didn't know what to say. How could she tell the young man that they were sealed inside of the building and couldn't get out? Now that the VI was offline, there was no way to lift the lockdown short of cutting through heavy blast doors. And that would require much heavier equipment than omni-tools.

_"Okay,"_ the young sniper seemed to understand the reason for the silence perfectly. _"We'll do what we can on our own. Good luck in there."_

"And to you," the asari said softly.

_"Illitha?" _Neela's voice replaced that of the young sniper. _"You cleared the communications! Good work!"_

"Neela! Thank the Goddess! Are you and Selura safe? Where is everyone else?"

_"Neela! You are safe!"_ Selura's voice echoed her own. _"Thank the Goddess…"_

_"Selura! Keelah, you survived! When you fell, I thought-"_

_"Enough chatter,"_ the gravelly voice of the mercenary interrupted them all. _"Good work with the communications, asari. I heard your friend's report. Most of the Alliance forces are falling back, but they diverted their strike divisions north. We have to warn them away. I'm almost positive that drawing them north was part of the plan all along. You've got Shirakawa's trust. Tell him to order all his men out of the city."_

Illitha had no idea what the mercenary's reasoning was, but she knew that if he was correct, allowing the Alliance to walk into some sort of Reaper trap was a bad idea. She tapped into the Alliance frequencies. "Captain Shirakawa, this is Illitha T'Zari… Y-You should… You… I-I think you should order your men to stop heading north and get out of the city. W-We think the Reapers are trying to draw your people up here for some reason…"

Only silence answered the transmission. Illitha glanced at Rachel, whose expression had darkened, and she tried again. "Captain Shirakawa, come in!"

"Something is wrong," Rachel frowned. "The Captain knows us. He would answer if he could. Maybe something happened at the F.O.B…."

"This is Illitha T'Zari to any Alliance forces heading toward Novaburst Fabrication," Illitha decided to shift tactics. "Stay away from the factory. We… I-I think this is a Reaper trap! Stay away!"

_"Negative, Whisper Alpha," _a voice answered the transmission. _"Command ordered us in to clear the surrounding area and secure the perimeter. Until we receive new orders, our duty is clear. But we will take your warning under advisement and proceed with caution."_

"No! You have to stay away," Illitha ground her teeth in frustration. "Caution will not help you if the Reapers are truly trying to lure you in here…" When she didn't receive another response, she tried again to prompt further discussion. "Hello? You have to stay away."

There was no further acknowledgement from the Alliance forces, and Illitha clenched her fists, shaking her head angrily. She knew soldiers were expected to follow orders, but doing so blindly was beyond stupid. She glanced at Rachel, who shook her head slightly.

"Zaeed could be wrong," the blonde muttered. "We'll keep trying to reach Captain Shirakawa, but we need to get moving. If we can take out Salik, the Reaper plan… whatever it is… might fall apart anyway."

_"Agreed,"_ Zaeed's voice addressed them over the communications channel.

Illitha was startled by the interjection, and looked at Rachel, who smiled a little sheepishly. "I kept the channel to the team open," the blonde explained.

_"What's our situation here?"_ the mercenary demanded.

_"I am on my way to the rooftop to take Salik's shuttle,"_ Neela informed them.

_"Selura and I are on our way up there as well,"_ the captain's voice was a welcome addition to the conversation, at least in Illitha's eyes. _"The salarian sniper was up there when I entered the building. By now it is a strong possibility that he will have come inside. Watch yourself on the upper catwalks."_

_"Acknowledged, Captain,"_ Neela replied.

_"I'm on the production floor. I've run across a handful of Reaper troops so far, but there's been no sign of Salik or his partner yet. I assume they're on higher ground,"_ Zaeed relayed his situation. _"Has anyone spotted the bastard?"_

_"Only a holographic decoy,"_ Neela reported, and Illitha could hear anger in her tone. _"Drew us and an Alliance team into a trap and almost killed us…"_

_"Copy that,"_ Zaeed muttered. _"Good to know he has decoy tech."_

_"I think the Alliance marines were killed,"_ Selura's voice was downcast. _"I found one dead on the ground near where I landed. I think the others fell into the vats on the conveyor."_

"S-Salik attached a device to the plant's VI core that was slowly uploading Reaper code to it. Rachel disabled the system before it could finish. But all of the automated systems are now offline," Illitha warned them all.

_"I was wondering why all the automated drones stopped moving,"_ Neela commented. _"I'm going to try to get to the shuttle as fast as possible so I can go and evacuate Jay and Elliot. I can't wait for you and Selura, Captain."_

_"Do it,"_ the elder asari urged.

_"Just be careful,"_ Zaeed warned. _"That bastard rigged his own ship to blow up so no one could steal it. Hard to say what he did to that shuttle..."_

_"Acknowledged,"_ Neela answered.

"Aida?" Illitha was concerned over the lack of input from her best friend. Ordinarily, Aida would have jumped at the chance to communicate. "Where are you?"

_"On the uppermost level of the catwalks,"_ her best friend's voice was a welcome sound. _"There is a dead Alliance soldier up here. Shot once in the back of the head. I cannot use his rifle with my wrist injured, but I have it here for someone to use when we are together again. But… I really think we should all board the shuttle and leave this place. Staying here to fight the Reapers is foolish. Most of the Alliance has withdrawn. We should as well."_

"No way," Rachel shook her head, scowling. "We have that salarian bastard trapped in this building with us. When he is dead, _then_ we can retreat."

"I second that," Illitha said softly. She still had pangs of uneasiness over the fact that she actually wished death upon someone… it made her feel some measure of disappointment toward herself… but they needed to eliminate Salik. If not for revenge, then to prevent him from doing any more damage on the Reapers' behalf.

_"Lith…"_ Aida managed to put a great deal of frustration into the sound of that single word, but said nothing more.

_"Everyone stay in regular contact," _Captain Nisaria instructed. _"Give status reports every ten minutes. If anyone goes out of contact, we will have to assume they've been lost."_

"Come on," Rachel urged. "Sounds like things are about to get a bit crazy up there. I think the team could use us."

Illitha nodded slowly, glancing around her at the wrecked hardware of the VI's systems. It was a shame that they'd had to disable the entire system, but it really had been the only option. The more the engineer thought about it, the more the Reapers' takeover of the facility made sense. If they seized every large, fortified building with an installed facility VI, they would be able to cut Terra Nova's defenders off from any significant shelter. Entering any advanced facility would put defenders at risk of being locked in, harmed by automated systems, and otherwise harassed and delayed by the Reapers. Even just having control of the security systems would allow the Reapers to keep watch over defenders hiding in the buildings and to spy upon strategy meetings… She would have to warn the Alliance commander about the possibility of Reaper infection of VI systems in major buildings when they managed to reestablish contact. Still, she would have liked to have some control over the factory's systems…

Her eyes widened at the thought. She glanced up at the routing junction through which the VI's connections had been bundled. The processing units were offline, but if she was to wire in a system with a remote link to her omni-tool, she might be able to seize manual control of the factory's core systems. She reached into the canvas pouch attached to her belt and removed the mangled remains of her drone, Crawler, and then glanced up at the junction overhead. The drone had a remote uplink installed.

"I am sorry, Rachel," she sighed. "I know your knee hurts. But can you boost me up? There is something I must do before we go upstairs…"

* * *

**Novaburst Fabrication Plant, Second-Level Walkways…**

Over the course of his career, Zaeed had been part of mercenary teams working in dozens of different industrial areas. Sometimes defending and sometimes assaulting, he'd fought in refineries, production plants, robotics facilities, research facilities, munitions plants, and a host of similar places. Thus he was fairly familiar with the general setup of the factory's production area, if not its specific layout. The ground level was primarily home to the assembly line itself and most of the automated systems. If the factory were still staffed, there would also have been men operating loaders to move pallets full of materials out onto the production floor.

The upper level catwalks provided easy access to monitoring stations, VI-controlled drone hubs, recharging systems for the automated workers, and a number of similar positions where workers would have spent their days during normal operations. Zaeed had performed a cursory sweep of the ground level, but he knew that Salik and his mate would have chosen a position on an upper level somewhere as their perch, so that the two had a better chance of spotting and ambushing members of the team.

It was fortunate, in the mercenary's view, that their group had been split up by the Reapers and had entered the facility from different points. It meant one of two things for the salarians. Either they would have been forced to split up to keep an eye on the team's progress, or they had been forced to choose a bottleneck where they could see most of the surrounding area. Zaeed was assuming the latter, since neither Salik nor his friend had been lurking with a clear line of sight to their decoy trap. Obviously the trap had originally been set with the intention of snaring and killing some of their group, but if the salarians hadn't been forced to withdraw, they would have left someone with a clear line of sight to the trap so that they could pick off survivors. Neela's survival was a pretty clear indicator that they'd had to change their plan. Still, he knew better than to expect any foolish mistakes from the pair. They would be within sight of one another, where one could easily come to the aid of the other if needed.

_"Ascending to the third-level walkway,"_ the asari captain announced. _"No sign of salarian contact."_

The mercenary frowned. He wanted to suggest using a code to conceal their movements; he felt in his gut that Salik was monitoring their transmissions. In fact, they'd disabled the scramblers so quickly, he had his suspicions that the communications interference had been mostly for show. The asari were quick to take advantage of radio contact the moment the comm lines were clear. However, he couldn't warn the others of his suspicions without alerting Salik, if his instincts were indeed correct. He was forced to misdirect both his friends _and_ enemies.

"This is Zaeed. I thought I saw something on the production floor, northeast corner. I'm headed down to investigate."

_"Understood,"_ Illitha responded to his report. _"Rachel and I are just going up to the second level catwalks."_

Zaeed continued along the second-level walkway until he reached a monitoring station that was closed off by walls on three sides. He placed his back against the exterior of the cubicle area and inched along it, pausing at the corner. Then he raised his rifle and swung around that corner, quickly scanning the interior for any sign of motion. He found nothing. He stepped inside and took cover there, warily scanning the surrounding catwalks for any sign of a blur or shift in the shadows that might give away a cloaked figure. He had to admit, the salarian had chosen the most advantageous environment possible. The noise, the haze of the heat and steam, all of it combined to provide the perfect environment to conceal even the most obvious aspects of a tactical cloak.

His gaze came to rest upon a nearby ladder, and he quickly left his cover behind, limping out to the waiting access to the upper level. Climbing was uncomfortable, but it seemed clear to him that the salarians would be lying in wait near the rooftop access points. With his allies split up and spread all over the place, nothing else made sense. If their communications were being monitored, Salik and his companion would know that their shuttle was the goal of the team. The pair couldn't leave those ladders or stairways undefended and risk the asari cutting them off from their shuttle.

He was halfway up the ladder to the third level when he came under fire. Impacts peppered his shields, and he had to scramble up the last several rungs to get out of the hail of bullets. As he heaved himself up onto the walkway above and flattened himself on the deck, he spotted a trio of the Reaper turians on a neighboring walkway. They had fired upon him while he was exposed on the ladder. He growled at the ambush, watching the three spread out, keeping crouched below the cover afforded by the safety glass that lined the rails.

The mercenary set his back against the safety glass on his side and readied his rifle. It was time to take advantage of the new armor-piercing ammo mod he had installed at the Alliance base. He heard the Reapers open fire upon him a second time, and could hear the crystalline sound of bullets impacting upon the safety glass he was using for cover. He waited patiently until the sounds of gunfire came to a halt, and he turned and took aim at one of the Reapers, sighting in on the body of the creature behind the safety glass it thought was serving as protection while it reloaded.

"Surprise, Jackass," he muttered as he squeezed the trigger.

His shots sheared through the clear polymer material and impacted with the Reaper's shields, driving it to shift position quickly. He tracked and continued to fire until the creature's shield went down, and then he paused to take more precise aim. Return fire from the other Reapers was impacting with his shield one again, but he was veteran enough to make use of the protection afforded by the barrier. He remained in the open until he had his shot lined up perfectly, and he put a round cleanly through the side of the fleeing Reaper's head before withdrawing to cover to let his shield recharge.

The other Reapers scattered in opposite directions, trying to flank the mercenary while maintaining their fire to keep him in cover. Zaeed rose from behind his cover just long enough to hammer one of the two with a concussive burst, and then crouched low, moving in the direction of the one he had staggered as quickly as possible. Once he reached the corner where a connecting walkway provided access between their respective perches, he quickly darted around that edge. The second Reaper was at the far side of the walkway he had been using, so his move put distance between him and one of the attackers while getting him within easy striking distance of the second.

The moment the turian showed itself, he hit the creature's shields with a second concussive burst, and then fired upon it when it staggered under the force of the blow. His shots quickly wore down the shields of the Reaper, and as soon as it was exposed to direct fire, he put a final round through its head as he had done with its companion.

Once only a single Reaper remained, his work was easy. Within seconds, he sent the creature to the deck with rifle fire, and he ejected the spent thermal clip from his rifle, snapping a new one into place with practiced ease. With the situation clear for the moment, he berated himself silently for allowing his focus to shift too much onto cornering the salarians. There were other enemies in the facility, and it had been a rookie mistake to forget it. It wouldn't happen a second time.

"I'm on the ground floor, but I saw Reapers on the third-level walkways above me," he announced over the radio to the other members of the team. "Watch for ambushes."

With that said, he scanned his surroundings for the nearest ladder, and once he spotted one, he hobbled directly toward it, eager to get onto the upper level. He knew it wouldn't be long before Salik and his companion made their move. He wanted to be there when it happened.

_"Oh shit,"_ the voice of the teenager, Elliot, caught his attention over the radio as he was climbing the ladder. _"One of the Reapers just took off from the city. I could be wrong, but I think it's headed straight for the F.O.B…."_

_"This is Illitha to anyone still on this frequency,"_ the asari engineer's voice was broadcast over the channel that had been set up for her 'command' prior to their departure from the Prothean ruin. _"A Reaper just left the city and is headed for the F.O.B…. My people need to evacuate that base immediately."_

Zaeed heard a voice repeat Illitha's warning over the Alliance channels, and he nodded in satisfaction. There wouldn't be much time to evacuate, but hopefully the soldiers remaining at the F.O.B. could get out of the base before the Reaper hit it.

* * *

**Novaburst Fabrication Plant, Top Level Catwalks…**

Neela paused and scanned the walkways ahead of her, her omni-tool held extended with a shaking hand. She had tried a few times to take cover behind the safety glass that lined the walkways while she was watching for signs of danger, but the pain that such a position sent through her ankle was just too much. The best she'd been able to do was to bend forward and brace herself against the rail, but it still left her far too exposed for her liking.

She knew from their status updates that the captain and Selura were somewhere on the top level, but she couldn't wait for them. The sooner she was able to reach the shuttle, the sooner she would be able to go and airlift Jay and Elliot from the rooftop where they'd cornered themselves. She didn't know either of the humans particularly well, but she would leave no one to be killed by the Reapers if she could help it, and the fact that Illitha seemed fond of both boys was added incentive.

She could see the long ladder that led up to the roof from her current position, but now that she had spotted it, she found herself concerned about the climb. It was surrounded by a fence-like cylinder intended to prevent a climber from losing their grip and falling. Unfortunately, the bars were too far apart to provide any protection from enemy fire during the climb, and Neela was far too slow in climbing ladders, since she had to hop from rung to rung to keep off of her injured ankle. Now that she was so close to her destination, she felt like she was looking at the most obvious trap ever. If the salarians somehow anticipated that someone would try to reach the shuttle, their sniper would almost certainly have those rooftop access points covered.

"I'm within sight of one of the rooftop ladders," Neela announced over the radio. "But now that I'm here, I don't think I can make that climb. On that ladder, I'd be an easy target."

_"Any sign of Salik or his friend?"_ Illitha inquired.

"I don't see them," Neela shook her head, straining her eyes to spot any indication of a cloaked figure in the area. "But since Salik can cloak, I don't think that means much. If there was some way to spot them more reliably…"

_"Hold on, Neela,"_ Illitha responded. _"I just got an idea."_

The quarian waited anxiously for Illitha to explain whatever idea had come to her, and hoped that whatever she'd come up with was a good solution. While she waited, she decided to try to get a little closer to the ladder. She hobbled along the walkway, warily searching the surrounding paths for signs of danger. There seemed to be a central hub on their level, filled with machinery and work stations, that was placed equidistant from the ladder to which Neela was headed and an identical ladder she could just barely make out on the opposite side of the room, and the quarian was sure that if Salik and his companion were up there, that hub would be their perch.

The silence over the radio stretched on, and Neela was just about to prompt Illitha to explain her idea when suddenly alarms blared out throughout the area, red warning lights began to flash, and the walkways all over the level were suddenly doused with fire-suppressant foam. The sudden deluge of white startled the quarian, and she frantically wiped the foam from her visor. When her vision was clear, however, the genius of the plan immediately became apparent.

A crouched salarian figure was clearly visible just inside of the central hub, positioned at a workstation with a clear view of the ladder to which Neela had been moving. She could see shimmers where the foam didn't cover, and knew that the figure had been cloaked, but the foam was too thick for the cloak to obscure, leaving their enemy exposed.

"Illitha, you're a genius!" Neela exclaimed, and immediately locked on to their enemy with her omni-tool. She knew that an incendiary drone would be of questionable use against a target covered in fire foam, but she had dropped her submachine gun when the walkway collapsed beneath her earlier, so it was the only weapon at her disposal. As soon as the drone was airborne, she took cover to the best of her ability and waited for the omni-tool to recharge for a second shot.

Her target had initially seemed surprised and confused by the sudden rain of foam, but the moment he came under fire, all traces of hesitation vanished. Neela saw him raise a pistol and shift position, firing several perfectly-placed shots in return. The first two shots were deflected by her barrier, and the third collapsed the field entirely. She quickly pitched over onto the floor, raising her injured leg slightly so it wouldn't be jarred by the impact. However, another shot easily sheared through the safety glass behind which she was now lying, slamming into the steel plating of the floor right in front of her face. Neela gasped and quickly rolled onto her hands and knees, frantically crawling toward a nearby monitoring station in search of more significant cover, whimpering at the pain in her ankle as she did so.

The holographic sphere of a combat drone shimmered into view on the walkway ahead of her, cutting off her retreat. The drone instantly hit her with an electrical burst that sent a paralyzing jolt through her even with the protection of the ceramic armoring and the kinetic underweave of her new armor. She raised her omni-tool and blasted the drone with an incineration burst as it drifted closer, hoping to disable it. Another shot from the salarian's armor-piercing pistol passed through the safety glass beside her while she was distracted, slamming into the ceramic plating that covered her side. She was rolled over by the impact, and frantically pawed at her flank, trying to see if there was a hole in her armor. Fortunately, the overlapping plates Selura had installed to protect the flexible parts of her armor seemed to have protected her from the shot – likely because some of the bullet's velocity had already been bled by passing through the safety glass – but Neela quickly realized that she was going to die if she didn't get some help.

"Help!" she cried out. "I'm in trouble up here!" She couldn't be more specific than that, because at that moment, the drone hit her with another electrical discharge. She showered the glowing sphere with a second burst of fire, and smiled in satisfaction when the holographic image blurred and faded.

She never expected the deafening explosion that resulted from the drone's destruction. Concussive force flattened her into the deck, and the pressure of the detonation hit her like a sledgehammer, sending pain exploding through her entire body. She lay there stunned, trying to clear her head and allow the ringing to fade from her ears. By the time she was recovering her wits, she realized that the salarian should have been able to shoot her a dozen times while she was down. She rolled onto her side and tried to get a look at what was going on.

Chaos had erupted in the hub. Though she could hear nothing over the ringing in her ears, she could see the flashes of gunfire and the glow of biotic orbs streaking around and saw the captain engaged in close-quarters combat with one of the salarians. She saw a fiery orange trail descend into the midst of the melee, and the lurid glow of the incendiary burst momentarily highlighted the scene. Her gaze shifted to a position a little closer to herself, and she saw Zaeed crouched behind the security glass on the walkway, carefully choosing his shots. It seemed that the captain and Zaeed, at the very least, had joined the fight.

A hand grabbed hold of her arm, startling her, and she looked up to find Selura crouched over her, insistently pulling her to her feet. The asari was saying something, but she couldn't make out the words at the moment. She stood up with her girlfriend's assistance, and Selura slid an arm around her to support her, even while the scientist discharged another incineration drone into the melee. Neela hobbled along with Selura's help, and the two of them headed toward the monitoring station and the cover that awaited them. Neela could only hope that the two veterans had things well in hand.

* * *

**Novaburst Fabrication Plant, Central Monitoring Station, Top Level…**

Julisa had been impressed with Illitha's rather inspired plan to rob the salarians of their key advantage. Any doubts she had ever harbored about how the younger asari had managed to earn the respect of soldiers and keep her team alive vanished when the fire-retardant foam sprayed down over the whole level and she got a glimpse of one of the salarians crouched on a distant platform. She heard the thunder of a hand-cannon discharging and saw the fiery glow of an incineration burst being launched from a walkway on the far end of the level, and immediately spotted Neela scrambling for safety.

"Go!" she shoved Selura, but the younger asari had already been setting off to save the quarian.

Julisa saw the long barrel of a sniper rifle as the figure closer to their position turned, likely in preparation to fire at Neela, and her eyes narrowed dangerously. It seemed she finally had her chance to confront the one that had almost killed her. She channeled her energy in preparation for a biotic charge, quickly wiping the foam from the rail in front of her and leaping up to get a foot upon that surface as a launching point.

An instant later, she was driving a knee into the side of the salarian's helmet, and the two of them tumbled over in a heap. Julisa's hands braced upon the floor as she came down on the ground, and she deftly turned with the momentum of her charge, cartwheeling around to a crouched position. The salarian scrambled to rise, but the captain gave him no such luxury. She channeled all of her biotic energy into her foot and propelled herself forward, swinging a thunderous biotic kick into the jaw portion of the salarian's helmet as he tried to push himself up. The outer shell of the helmet shattered, and the sniper's head snapped violently to the side; he slid across the foam-slick floor and into a nearby console. She turned and hurled a biotic orb toward the other salarian, but Salik's attention had been drawn by the commotion; He dove to the side and rolled out of the path.

A flash from Salik's omni-tool and a sudden surge of electricity caused her barrier to fluctuate, and she felt the field almost collapse under the effect of the salarian's electromagnetic pulse. Almost at that same instant, her foe raised his pistol and a thunderous shot rang out. The impact of the shot against her barrier caused the former commando to stumble to the side, almost tripping over the foot of the fallen sniper. The protective field collapsed. She channeled her energy in preparation to charge into Salik and restore her barrier for the added protection, but just as she was starting to manifest the field for the charge, the salarian extended his hand once more, and there was a blinding strobe from his omni-tool. The intensity of the flash seemed to pierce the depths of her skull, and the surge of pain from her eyes was agonizing. The biotic field dissipated before she could focus it. She tried to get a glimpse of her target, but she could see nothing but a whitish-orange afterimage of the flash.

Shots rang out, and were answered by the much closer sound of the salarian's Carnifex, but it seemed that Julisa was no longer the target of the salarian's attention. Someone else had joined the fray. She reached out, searching for a console she could use as cover while she gave her eyes time to recover from the strobe.

A tremendous impact with her ribs drove the breath from her body, and she instinctively lashed out with a backhand in response, her knuckles colliding with a hard object before her attacker could withdraw. However, given the brief, sharp pain that followed as her assailant stumbled away and the immediate wave of numbness in its wake, the commando realized she had been stabbed in the side, not punched. It was actually very common for a sudden stab wound to feel like a jarring impact at first, rather than a piercing pain. She had known that with the helmet for protection, the salarian sniper would not have been killed by her kick, but unfortunately Salik's response had distracted her, clearly giving the second salarian a chance to recover from the blow.

Her vision was starting to clear just the slightest bit, but she needed additional time, and she could hear the high-pitched whine of a new omni-blade snapping into place nearby. She focused upon her biotics, channeling all of her energy into an omni-directional blast, knowing that the force of such a discharge would knock her opponent away. The surge of energy through her body brought a renewed wave of pain with it as the biotic power reawakened nerves that had given way to numbness, but she could hear the grunt of her opponent and a squeak indicative of a boot sliding upon wet floor, and then a muffled thump. She once again silently thanked her engineer for the foam.

Her vision continued to improve – she could see vague shapes and outlines – so she turned and hurled a biotic orb at the moving figure to her right that could only have been Salik. She had the satisfaction of seeing him stumble as the warp field hit his shields. At that moment, the other salarian leapt for her, and she deftly hooked an arm around the wrist that was outlined by the glow of an omni-tool, using a pressure lock to yank him into the space between herself and Salik. If the STG agent meant to retaliate against her, he would have to fire through his friend to do it.

However, the sniper was not without hand-to-hand skills of his own. Within moments, the former commando was forced to abandon thoughts of Salik and concentrate on self-defense, exchanging a furious series of blocks, punches, feints and counterattacks with the more immediate threat. Fortunately her vision was already almost clear, and she knew that allies were close at hand. The salarian duo would soon find themselves outmatched.

* * *

**Novaburst Fabrication Plant, Top level…**

Zaeed sprinted along the walkway, doing his best to keep his sights upon Salik as he fired. Given the salarian's armor-piercing ammunition mod, he couldn't rely upon the safety glass for cover as he worked with the asari commando to deal with the two. He was forced to keep moving and try to evade his enemy's shots. Behind Salik, he could see the asari furiously exchanging blows with the second salarian, and while he couldn't spare the time or attention to truly check on her status, he got the impression that she was getting the better of the exchange.

Salik's pistol rang out again and again, and some of the shots were shearing through the safety glass, some struck the wall behind Zaeed, and some struck his barrier, but his mobility was working to his advantage in defensive terms. Unfortunately, his accuracy suffered while he was moving so frantically to avoid the salarian's fire, and so his own shots were missing more frequently than normal. His experience had at least prompted him to shift to a position where any missed shots would not risk striking his asari ally.

The salarian lowered his pistol and seemed to be retrieving an object from his belt, so Zaeed seized the opportunity to quickly snatch his last inferno grenade from the compartment in his armor. By his estimation, Salik was just far enough from the melee going on behind him that the asari would be safe from the incendiary detonation. He clicked the activation trigger and hurled the explosive just as the salarian was doing the same. A dark object sailed out onto the walkway right next to him, and he quickly scrambled away from it, just in case it was a grenade or mine of some kind. He heard the series of explosions that marked his own grenade's detonation, and hoped that the salarian was frying under the thermite.

The object the salarian had hurled leapt into the air and a shimmer marked the activation of a shield around it. The mercenary swore as he realized that it was an automated sentry turret. His shield was immediately struck with a burst of fire from the turret, and he quickly took aim and fired in return, working to overload the turret's shields before it could do the same to his.

As he fired, he quickly backpedaled, trying to reach a point where he could take cover against the turret's fire. He doubted that the small portable sentry unit would be equipped with armor-piercing ammo. As soon as he found a corner in the walkway, he darted behind it and crouched low, turning to check on his real target.

Salik's armor was smoldering with the aftereffects of the incendiary grenade, and Zaeed rose from his cover and fired a few quick shots. He had the satisfaction of seeing one of them connect, piercing the salarian's side and causing him to stagger. Unfortunately, Salik ducked behind a console before he could follow up with further shots.

His attention was drawn to a brilliant blue flash from behind Salik's hiding place as the asari commando delivered a massive biotic punch to the second salarian's head. He saw the sniper stumble backward into the railing, only to have the captain hurl a biotic orb that struck the salarian squarely in the face, sending him tumbling over the side. Zaeed tracked the progress of the sniper as he plummeted from the walkway, his back striking the edge of a vat on the assembly line two stories below and bouncing off to vanish into the steam that obscured the factory floor. The mercenary allowed himself a small nod of satisfaction. No amount of armoring would protect a person from death after a drop and an impact like that. Finally, they'd inflicted further casualties upon their enemy. Salik was the only remaining target.

A flash drew his attention, and he saw an object of some kind streak out from the salarian's hiding place and strike the railing of the hub. Then Salik surged from his hiding spot, sprinting toward the rail and leaping over the side. Zaeed was quick enough to rise and take a few shots, but neither of them seemed to connect. Salik sailed out over open space and then suddenly jerked to a stop and reversed direction, swinging through the air toward one of the walkways below, where he was lost from sight. Zaeed cursed angrily. The salarian had clearly deployed some form of grapple to make a quick exit now that he was outnumbered. Zaeed was about to leave his position, but as soon as he rose, bullets impacted with his shield. He had almost forgotten about the sentry turret, which had been just waiting for a clear target within its acquisition range.

He saw a streak of bluish-purple that marked the asari commando's charge from her former position to a spot near a ladder, and he saw her swing herself over the edge and slide down to the walkway below. He wished her luck. With her biotic charges, she would easily be able to catch up to their fleeing enemy. In the meantime, he would finish off the turret and then follow.

* * *

**Novaburst Fabrication Plant, Third Level…**

Aida's gaze was repeatedly drawn up to the level above, where flashes and the peal of gunfire were almost constant. She knew that some of her friends had gone up there and that they were now fighting with Salik. A part of her wanted desperately to go back up there and support the people she cared about. But she had spotted her best friend and the blonde human on this level a few minutes before, and had come down in the hopes of making Illitha see reason. Now that the captain was on the upper level, the fate of the salarians was sealed, the medic knew. But the death of the Reapers' allies would only focus their attention even more upon their little group, and if Illitha didn't come to understand that they needed to abandon this fight and find a way to escape this world, everyone Aida cared about would almost certainly die.

Gunfire rang out from the walkways ahead of her, and her eyes were immediately drawn to the source, where a glowing dome of biotic energy was faintly visible through the haze. Aida hurried her steps in an attempt to reach that spot, and as she drew closer, she could see her best friend standing fearlessly amidst a group of Reaper turians and cannibals, projecting her barrier to protect both herself and the blonde girl while the human fired upon their enemies. For a moment, Aida felt a flash of intense pride for her friend's bravery, even though she wondered how Illitha had learned to project her barrier; she'd never seen the engineer do that before.

She hurried along the walkway to join the pair, and as she moved, her gaze came to rest upon the blonde human. The girl was doing all the shooting and keeping close to Illitha… blatantly putting the asari in danger for her own protection while she was focused upon the enemy. Aida's eyes narrowed at the human girl's audacity. Illitha clearly cared about her, and the human seemed to be using the shy engineer's interest to manipulate her into taking unnecessary risks. The two of them could have retreated; the walkway behind them was clear of enemies. But they were standing their ground and fighting. It _had _to have been the blonde girl's influence.

Aida moved up behind the two just as the last of the cannibals was collapsing to the walkway, and she saw her best friend's posture sag visibly as she dropped the barrier dome. The blonde hobbled past Illitha without a word and fired one last shot into the fallen Reaper's body. When she turned around and spotted Aida, she started to raise her weapon, but checked the motion quickly. Illitha slowly turned around.

"Aida!" the engineer cried, hurrying forward and slipping an arm around her.

Aida returned the hug fiercely, and would have held on for much longer had her friend not quickly slipped from her grasp.

"I… I thought… I am so glad you are safe. When we lost contact, I was afraid the Reapers had killed you," Illitha confessed. "C-Come on. We have to get up there and help the captain."

"Good. You brought that rifle you mentioned," the blonde girl passed the pistol she was holding to Illitha and extended her hands, silently demanding that the rifle be handed over.

"The captain does not need our help," Aida shook her head. "She will easily handle two salarians. We need to get out of this place."

"What?" Illitha turned to regard her uncertainly.

Aida saw the confusion in her friend's gaze and was starting to think that she had missed something that should have been obvious. Unfortunately, since their reunion, the two had not had much chance to talk about what had happened while they were separated. Between grief over Prathus's death and being rushed to place after place to fight Reapers, Aida knew very little about what had gone on in her absence.

"Aida, one of those salarians almost killed the captain in the Prothean ruin," the engineer frowned. "Had it not been for Doctor Tillman, she would have died."

Aida's brows rose, and she shifted her gaze to the walkways above. They were almost directly below the point where all the commotion was taking place, so she couldn't see what was going on, but the revelation that the salarians had gotten the better of the captain was astonishing to her. The captain had always seemed so indestructible. She never showed fear or doubt. She always knew exactly what to do. The realization that she'd almost lost her chance to confess her feelings to the elder asari chilled her. It was yet another reason why they needed to stop fighting the Reapers and get to safety.

"We must ask her to retreat," Aida was filled with resolve. "Fighting the Reapers is useless. We must flee."

"We can't just run," the blonde girl shook her head, stepping forward and snatching the rifle off of the maglock on the back of Aida's armor. Aida flinched away from the human's grab, thinking at first that the girl was going to strike her. "We have to take those bastards down and then regroup with the others to deal with the Reapers… assuming the F.O.B. is still standing."

Aida turned to Illitha, silently begging her to see reason, and was disappointed when she saw her best friend shake her head slightly.

"Rachel is right," Illitha told her. "We cannot abandon the fight. We can help defend this planet. A-And Salik and his friend _must_ be stopped."

The young engineer turned and started to walk away, and the blonde fell into step beside her. Aida watched them helplessly at first, and then resentment filled her. Her best friend had once again sided with the human girl over her. _Why? _She wondered. _I know she likes this girl, but how could she side with a human she has known for so short a time over me?_ Her hand crept to the pistol at her side before she even thought about what she was doing. She had to end this girl's influence over her friend. It was clear that until the blonde stopped filling Illitha's head with these thoughts of resistance, they would never escape this world.

Two shots rang out, and the blonde stumbled when both bullets impacted with her shield from behind. There was a flash as the barrier went down. Illitha whirled around in alarm, jerking the pistol from her hip, and the look of confusion and dread that filled her expression was almost more than Aida could bear. The blonde whirled as well, but before she could raise her rifle, Aida hit her with a biotic throw that flattened her. Illitha quickly put herself between the blonde and Aida's pistol.

"Aida! What are you doing?" Illitha demanded.

"She… She is going to get you killed! Do you not understand? The Reapers are not here to kill _us_. We need to stop fighting them and escape! They will not harm us if we do not antagonize them further!"

"How can you believe that?" Illitha stared at her incredulously. "You were there when the first images of the attack on the human home world came in. The Reapers are destroying Earth. And Palavan! They are going to destroy everything!"

"Lith, think about it!" Aida was frustrated. "They will not destroy everything. It is the humans that keep antagonizing them. The humans have been painting them as enemies for years! All the rumors and the lies… It could all be human strategy to get the galaxy to fight their war!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" the blonde girl demanded, finally recovering from the impact of the throw and struggling to her feet. "Illitha is right! The Reapers are here to destroy everything!"

Aida tried to train her weapon once more upon the blonde girl, but Illitha kept stepping in the way. The human was glaring at her, but Aida was focused more upon the look of confusion and pain that clouded her friend's features.

"Aida, listen to yourself," Illitha urged. "Y-You know the Reapers are the enemy. You have seen the awful things they have done. How can you expect them to leave us alone?"

"I have had a great deal of time to think about it. I can see the truth now. I cannot believe you can be so blinded by your infatuation with this human!" Aida shouted, her frustration boiling over.

"What do you mean… you had 'time to think about it'?" Illitha asked. "What… What happened to you?"

"A human knocked me unconscious while we were fleeing from Mivian Heights," Aida scowled. "When I awoke, I was a Reaper prisoner. They took me to a facility somewhere. Locked me in a cell… It felt like I was there forever. I thought I would lose my mind, locked in that place… All I could do was sit and think. But I see so clearly now."

Aida saw a look of pity and sorrow enter her friend's expression, and Illitha bowed her head. Aida saw her shoulders sag, and the pistol her friend held dropped from her grasp as though she'd just lost all feeling in her fingers. The blonde girl was still glaring, but the whole of Aida's attention was upon her friend. She didn't think she had ever seen the engineer look so defeated. She saw Illitha's lips move, but she couldn't hear the words over the ambient noise in the factory.

"She's right! You're indoctrinated," the blonde started to push past Illitha. The shove seemed to snap the engineer out of her stupor, because Illitha quickly turned to restrain the human.

"I am not indoctrinated!" Aida growled at the girl, stepping forward and aiming the pistol directly at her forehead. "I am not working with the Reapers. I just see the truth! Your people provoked an enemy you cannot defeat, and you are trying to draw my friends into your fight!"

"Aida, stop!" Illitha urged, roughly shoving the blonde back and then placing herself once more in front of the medic's pistol. "You… You are not thinking clearly. The Reapers have clouded your mind with their influence. You are helping them and you do not even realize it! Just… Put the gun down. Please!"

"I cannot," Aida shook her head. "Get out of the way, Lith. I know you care for her, but she is using your feelings to manipulate you. I have to put a stop to this."

"Aida… Think about the captain," Illitha urged, and Aida saw a tear slide down the asari's cheek. "Those salarians could kill her while you are delaying us here. Y-You are doing exactly what the Reapers want! Maybe… Maybe we can fix what they have done to you… just… put the gun down. Help us save the captain."

"No," Aida shook her head. _I am not indoctrinated. That is absurd! If she would just stop and think about it… she would see the truth. If the Reapers controlled me, I would be fighting against the Alliance and against my friends. I do not want to see my friends hurt._ "Lith, step away from her. Now!"

Aida took a step forward, intending to shove her friend out of the way so that she could fire upon the human girl and free Illitha of her poisonous influence, but Illitha tried to stay between them. And as Aida came closer, the human girl lunged for the gun. Aida felt hands close upon her wrist, and for a moment the three of them were locked in a struggle over the weapon. Someone jostled her broken arm, and the flash of pain was agonizing. Aida could barely make sense of who was where, and she felt the gun being yanked from her grasp. She started squeezing the trigger as fast as she could pull it, hoping to wound the human girl and back her friend away.

Illitha's face was suddenly in front of her, wearing an expression of shock and betrayal that pierced straight to Aida's heart. Her mind immediately flashed back to the strange dream she'd had while locked in the Reaper cell, where she'd accidentally shot her best friend. In the dream, Illitha had worn that same look. Tears flooded her eyes, and she glanced down at her friend's torso, fully expecting to find that she had accidentally put a bullet through her.

The blonde staggered and her knees gave out, and Illitha swiftly caught her as she fell, lowering her to the ground. "No… no no no no Goddess no…" the engineer was immediately sobbing, pressing her hand against the half-dozen neat punctures in the chest plate of the human girl's armor. Aida could feel herself shaking, and the pistol fell from her nerveless grasp as she watched Illitha gather the blonde close, wailing pitifully. She could hear the heartbreak that her friend felt; the emotion carried clearly in that sound. "Aida… What did you do?" the engineer's voice broke. "Goddess, no…" she sobbed.

_Goddess… What… What did I just do? I… I killed the girl she loves. I could have killed _her!_ What… What has happened to me?_

Aida turned away, feeling a rush of conflicting emotions. Part of her was satisfied that she had ended the blonde's influence over her friend, while another part of her was filled with guilt for inflicting such agony on someone she cared about. But as she watched Illitha sobbing over the blonde, she realized that the human had already done too much to poison her best friend's mind. Even with the human dead, Illitha would never stop pushing for them to keep fighting the Reapers. In fact, by killing Rachel, she might have ensured that her friend would never stop fighting. She might now feel obligated to keep fighting because it was what her fallen love wanted. And if Illitha kept fighting, she might draw the captain further into the war. She loved Illitha dearly, but she couldn't stand by and watch her best friend's grief drag them all to their deaths…

She stooped and grabbed hold of her pistol. Perhaps the best thing for all of them would be if Illitha died as well. She would be broken-hearted over her best friend's death, but if it meant the rest of them would escape and survive, perhaps it was an acceptable sacrifice. She felt sure that if not for Rachel, Illitha would have been willing to die to ensure that the rest of them would live. Before she could change her mind, she once again trained the weapon upon her best friend while the girl rocked back and forth and whimpered brokenly over the dying human girl. However, once her finger was on the trigger, she could only stand there, listening to her friend's heartbroken moans and sobs, feeling wracked by guilt. She was responsible for the pain Illitha was feeling, and she suddenly struggled with what she was doing. It had all seemed to make sense until that moment… But was she actually so positive that fighting the Reapers was wrong that she would execute her best friend over it?

The urge to pull the trigger was almost overwhelming. She didn't want to kill her friend, but somehow, she just couldn't lower the weapon. Inside, love of her best friend and love of her captain were at war. She felt like to save one, she would lose the other. Her heart was torn between friendship and infatuation, and she was finding it difficult to resolve which love was stronger…

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* * *

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**Author's Note: Thank you again to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited/followed or otherwise given any attention to this story! I am happy to say that I've managed to find a bit more time for writing over the course of the week, and while my buffer isn't fully restored yet, I'm working on it.**

**I do apologize for the cliffhanger sort of ending, but there is a lot that needs to be covered in reference to that last little bit, and there was no way I could get all of that, plus everything else in this Chapter included. As far as Aida's actions are concerned, I know that in the games, people have successfully fought indoctrination, if only briefly, but those were exceptional individuals... like Matriarch Benezia. And I just don't see Aida having that kind of strength of will. Thus you get what happened in this Chapter. As for whether she will find it in her not to pull that trigger, I promise that question will be answered next time (obviously!).**

**Unless something goes wildly wrong in my life, the next Chapter of the story will go up on Friday morning! Until then, I hope all of you have an excellent week! And thanks again for reading!**


	62. Chapter 62: Endgame

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Sixty-Two: Endgame

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**Novaburst Fabrication Plant, Rooftop Access…**

Selura kept glancing down nervously as she followed her girlfriend up the long and exposed ladder that would take them to the rooftop, trying to control her impatience while the quarian worked to complete the journey. While she was sympathetic to Neela for the fact that her broken ankle made climbing difficult, they were both horribly exposed, and she was afraid they would come under fire at any moment while trapped in the safety cage that encircled the ladder, with no cover and no ready means of escape. They had both seen Salik leap over the side of the walkway just seconds earlier and escape to the level below somewhere, but they had agreed that it could have been a simple ruse to draw their friends off, after which the salarian could easily engage his tactical cloak and double back to his shuttle. They needed to get to the shuttle and make certain that their enemy couldn't reclaim it.

"Will you please hurry up?" Selura muttered under her breath. She knew her girlfriend couldn't hear her over the noise of the factory machinery, but it made her feel a little better to seize that tiny means of venting some frustration.

The quarian finally reached the rooftop access and pulled the lever, exposing them to the sweltering, arid dusk air of the city when the hatch shifted to the side. The smell of smoke greeted her nose in addition to the usual odors of the planet. After the intense heat inside of the factory thanks to the molten metal and smelting equipment, however, the open air and the breeze were both welcome reprieves. The scientist in Selura imagined that workers in the factories used climate-controlled protective suits in their work… using environmental controls for the entire facility would have been an inefficient means of providing a comfortable work environment, given the sheer size of the plant. Neela climbed out of the hatch as fast as she was able, finally clearing the way for the asari to scramble up and out onto the rooftop.

"I wish I had my old suit's visual enhancement features," Neela commented as Selura joined her on the roof. "I don't like the fact that the shuttle is just sitting there. Salik would have protected it somehow…"

"Absolutely," Selura nodded, just as unnerved by the sight before them as the quarian seemed to be. The Alliance shuttle was parked upon the roof at the far northern end of the building. The side hatch was open, and it seemed almost to be waiting for them. It was so inviting, in fact, that it almost seemed to be too obvious a trap.

"What do we do?"

Selura hesitated, looking at the open expanse of rooftop in front of them and then glancing southward, where a pair of Reapers was slowly stomping through the city. The towering machines were entirely too close for her liking. Fortunately they were facing the other way, or she might have expected a direct attack at any moment. Far off in the distance, she could see the third Reaper as a barely-visible silhouette, made most notable by the frequent crimson beams it was emitting from its central eye. She frowned at the sight. She couldn't be sure, but it seemed like Elliot's earlier guess had been correct. By her estimation, that third Reaper's position was somewhere south of the city, quite likely at the F.O.B.

"Selura?" Neela prompted.

"I do not think we have much choice," Selura admitted with a sigh. "We have to investigate. I feel far too exposed up here with those Reapers so close to us."

Neela nodded slowly and activated her omni-tool, prompting Selura to draw her pistol. The two of them crept along the rooftop, slowly approaching the shuttle while remaining wary of possible ambushes or hidden traps. More than once, an oculus fighter drone rocketed past, and Selura reflexively winced every time it happened, waiting for the machines to notice them and circle around to destroy them.

By the time the two of them were halfway to the shuttle, they still hadn't come under attack, and Selura started to think that Zaeed's original warning was correct. Rather than leaving physical security to ward off intruders, he had somehow rigged the shuttle to destroy itself if enemies tried to access it. She would actually have preferred to find a physical obstacle. It was infinitely more terrifying to think of boarding that shuttle when it might explode, seal the hatch and cut off the oxygen supply, fly them directly to the nearest Reaper or employ any number of other horrible countermeasures.

_"All Alliance forces this net, this is Captain Shirakawa,"_ an incoming transmission startled Selura when the voice issued from her omni-tool. She and Neela both paused to listen._ "Indoctrinated traitors activated a pulse beacon at the F.O.B. and momentarily cut communications with a scrambler. Several minutes ago, a Reaper landed at the heart of the base and started destroying our prefabs and defenses. All units fleeing the city, avoid the F.O.B. at all costs. Shift your evacuation coordinates to rallying point two. I repeat: Shift evacuation coordinates to rallying point two."_

"Keelah," Neela breathed. "How many indoctrinated soldiers were hiding amongst the Alliance forces?"

"We cannot worry about it now," Selura said softly. "There is no way to detect them before the damage is done… I am just happy we do not have to worry about such things in our group."

"Thankfully," Neela nodded. "I don't think I could handle it if one of our friends turned on us."

Selura felt uneasy just thinking about the possibility. But there was no way to identify such threats before they revealed themselves. Or was there? Her mind flashed back to the Prothean VI.

"Goddess!" Selura exclaimed as the realization hit her.

"What?" Neela turned to stare at her, clearly a little startled by the outburst.

Selura didn't take the time to answer. Instead she activated her omni-tool and tapped into the channel their team was using for communication, figuring she could warn the others and answer the quarian at the same time.

"Everyone listen! This is Selura. Salik may be carrying a datapad with information taken from the Prothean archive. We need that data! I have the lockout code to decrypt it, so we must get our hands on it! It has the necessary data to construct a scanner or device to identify indoctrinated agents! The Alliance _needs_ that tech!"

_"Copy that,"_ Zaeed's harsh voice answered the transmission. _"All your friends are on the level below, pursuing Salik. I don't think they can answer at the moment. Get that goddamn shuttle. We need it."_

"We are working on it," Selura frowned at the mercenary's tone, even though she recognized the necessity of having a means of escape.

"Good thinking, Selura," Neela smiled at her.

Selura grinned back, thankful that she'd thought of it. She had, on more than one occasion, lamented the loss of the knowledge in the Prothean archive, because it had been clear to her how much it could have helped them all while they were trapped on Terra Nova. But she had almost forgotten that a copy of some of that data still existed.

"Shouldn't we warn the Alliance about the trap up here?" Neela asked. "They weren't answering before, but-"

"You are right," Selura nodded. In her excitement over reaching the shuttle and thoughts of the indoctrination analysis, she'd forgotten that the Alliance was walking into a trap. Just as she was opening her mouth to say something, however, she heard Zaeed on the radio.

_"Captain Shirakawa, this is Zaeed Massani, come in,"_ the mercenary called.

Selura smiled and shifted the channel to the background. She didn't need to hear the conversation to know that the Alliance was about to be warned away from the factory. It was a relief to know that the Alliance would finally have to acknowledge their earlier warning.

"Wait… Do you see that?" Neela suddenly asked.

Selura followed the quarian's gaze toward the shuttle, and at first she didn't see anything new or alarming about it. After a moment, however, she finally spotted what the quarian must have been talking about. She caught just a vague hint of a shimmer just inside the shuttle door. She immediately thought of the salarians' tactical cloaks, and wondered in a panic if Salik had somehow managed to find a faster way to the roof. However, if the salarian was watching them, she had to wonder why he hadn't opened fire on them before that moment. They were exposed on the rooftop, and there was no cover anywhere near the shuttle. And she hadn't been able to spot more than just that brief shimmer, so she had no idea about the body shape of whatever awaited them.

"Is it Salik?" she asked.

"It doesn't matter," Neela shook her head. "We have to attack and do it quickly, or we won't be able to take the shuttle."

"Really? I thought we could just ask politely if they would mind if we borrowed it," Selura muttered sarcastically.

The comment earned her a glare from her girlfriend, but Selura ignored the baleful look. She had her doubts about this attack. The greatest advantage Salik's defender had, was that the rooftop was flat, wide-open space. There were a few ducts and ventilation housings, but they were too far away to be of use. There was no place to hide. They would need to disable the defender very, very quickly. If they didn't, one or both of them might be killed. Or whoever it was could seal the shuttle and lift off, denying them the opportunity to take it.

"There's no cover," Neela echoed the asari's thoughts. "I guess we just have to hit it hard and fast."

"I wish we had better weapons than these," Selura frowned, looking at the simple pistol in her hand. She would have felt much better about their chances with a weapon that packed a little more punch. Neela was even less prepared, having only her omni-tool.

"What about this Cain thing that Zaeed wanted?" Neela suggested.

"No! Bad idea," Selura was quick to catch hold of the quarian's hand as she reached for it. She saw the puzzlement in her girlfriend's gaze, but she was sure they'd regret using it. "Zaeed warned us against using it. He said something about a 'blast radius' and that we might kill ourselves if we were not familiar with its capabilities. Given the size of that launcher, it might destroy the entire shuttle…"

Neela slowly nodded her head, and then turned her attention to their waiting opponent, who still hadn't revealed himself or made a move against them. Selura took a deep breath and steeled herself for the chaos that was about to erupt. Then she activated her omni-tool and prepared to launch an incineration burst at the machine. Neela's omni-tool once again flared to life, and the quarian raised her hand as well, prepared to do the same.

"On three?" Selura glanced over.

"Ready."

"One… Two… Three," Selura pressed the trigger on her omni-tool as soon as she said the word.

Two fiery trails arced into the shuttle's interior, and Selura immediately opened fire with her pistol as a maelstrom of flame erupted in the opening. However, when the tactical cloak disengaged, they quickly found that their opponent was not a 'he' at all, but a large, floating drone. It was far larger than the portable quick-deploy drones she'd seen used in the past. It looked more like the sort of military drone the Alliance used in their large-scale operations. The response of the drone was immediate and devastating. A rapid-fire torrent of bullets flashed out from the shuttle's interior, and Selura could see the shimmer around Neela as the drone's fire was deflected by her shield. Neela did her best to evade the attack, but with the injury to her ankle, she wasn't moving fast, and the drone tracked and fired with deadly precision. Selura knew that she couldn't allow the drone to pierce Neela's shielding and wound her, so she quickly dashed across the path of the drone's fire in hopes of getting it to switch targets, launching another incineration burst at the machine, even as she continued to fire upon it.

The drone's focus shifted to her, and she could feel herself staggering a little under the force of the hail of bullets that was striking her shield. The drone's fire was more like the Cerberus turrets she'd seen in operation than anything else she could think of, and within seconds, her shield collapsed. The instant bullets started striking her armor directly, she dashed to the side and tried to take evasive action, but despite being a good deal more mobile than her girlfriend, she didn't have any better luck. She felt pain explode through her abdomen and a sudden, wet squishiness throughout the interior of her armor, and immediately felt a wave of numbness in its wake. Her knees buckled and she collapsed mid-stride, striking her face upon the surface of the roof. It took a moment for her mind to register what had just happened, but as she gazed at her shaking hands and found her body refusing to respond to her attempts to rise, she realized she had been _severely_ injured.

The sounds of the turret's fire continued nearby for several seconds, and then a dreadful silence descended over the area. In her mind, she pictured her girlfriend lying in a pool of blood upon the ground nearby, and she closed her eyes, feeling the swift sting of tears behind her eyelids.

"Oh Keelah," the welcome sound of Neela's voice reached her, though the words were filled with dread. "Selura?" She felt hands press upon her shoulders and shake her gently. "Selura, please say something!"

"H-How bad is it?" Selura mumbled the words. She felt dreadfully cold.

"It's… It's going to be fine," though the words were reassuring, the quarian sounded like she was on the verge of tears. The panic and dread Selura could hear in the tone of her girlfriend's voice ruined the effect.

"Liar," Selura muttered.

"This is Neela," she heard the quarian say. "We've secured the shuttle, but Selura is seriously hurt! Aida, I need you up here! Right now!"

Nothing but silence followed the quarian's transmission, and Selura closed her eyes. Everything was starting to feel a little hazy, and she wasn't sure that any help would be coming. She was terribly tired, and was about to drift off to sleep when a voice roused her from the lethargy. She tried to focus on the voice.

"Selura, this… this is going to hurt. But I have to get you aboard the shuttle. I need to get you to a med center… Aida isn't answering."

"It is okay," Selura mumbled. "There is not much pain. I am just tired…"

"No!" Neela shouted at her, making her wince. "Stay awake! Do you hear me? Stay awake!"

Selura was vaguely aware of Neela's hands hooking beneath her arms, and she felt a distant resurgence of the pain as she was dragged across the surface of the rooftop and into the dark confines of the shuttle. She could hear Neela muttering to herself, but only caught the occasional word… something about engines, a device, and hacking. She tried to do as her girlfriend had asked and stay awake to keep her company, but she was so very tired… the last thing she remembered was hearing the horn-like call of one of the big Reapers. And it sounded terribly close.

* * *

**Novaburst Fabrication Plant, Level Three Walkway…**

Illitha held tightly to Rachel's slender, armored form, rocking back and forth and sobbing. She was dimly aware that Aida was standing nearby and aiming a pistol at her, and she caught a glimpse of a figure plummeting past the rail, but all of that was secondary to the soul-crushing realization that was creeping over her. Rachel was clearly dying. Though her armor had released medigel in response to the injuries, she had half a dozen gunshot wounds through the center of her body and the only medical assistance nearby was the girl that had just shot her. Illitha could only sit there and hold the blonde as she slipped away. At that moment, she was actually hoping that Aida would pull the trigger and spare her the agonizing pain in her heart. The Reapers had managed to simultaneously rob her of the girl she loved and her best friend. One would die, and she didn't know how she would ever be able to look at the other again without seeing a murderer instead of a friend.

_Just do it…_ she silently begged the other asari. _I cannot bear this…_

Tears poured down her cheeks, and she could barely see Rachel's face through them. Blood was trickling from the blonde's mouth, and she seemed to be having difficulty breathing. But what seized her attention most was the trail of tears glistening upon the blonde's face. Illitha gently wiped the moisture away from the dying girl's cheeks, closing her eyes while she prayed for whatever gods the humans held sacred to take the injured girl and put an end to her suffering; Rachel was clearly in agony.

"Illi…tha…"

She barely heard the word, but it was enough to seize her attention. She held her breath and leaned close to the dying girl to better hear her words. There was a strange whooshing sound nearby, a thump and a single gunshot, but she barely registered any of it at that moment, because she was focused entirely upon Rachel.

"My… omni-tool… there is… a-a message… m-my mom… and my sisters…" Rachel coughed, gasping for breath.

"I promise… I-I will see that they get it," Illitha vowed.

"S-Salik…" Rachel gasped. "Get… that bastard…"

"Rachel…" a sob welled up in the asari's throat, choking off anything else she had been about to say. How was she supposed to just walk away and go back to fighting? Aida's betrayal, even if it was coerced, had just crushed all the fight right out of her.

"You are… the best soldier… I have ever seen…" Rachel's eyelids fluttered, and she seemed to struggle to hold onto consciousness. Illitha's arms involuntarily tightened around her. "P-Please… keep fight… ing… F-For me… M-My… peop…le… need…"

The blonde trailed off, and her eyes remained fixed upon Illitha. It took a moment for the realization to set in that Rachel was gone. The girl that had been her companion for just a handful of very intense weeks… who in that time had earned her respect and affection… who had saved her life and kept her sane… Illitha felt a tension build up deep in her core, and she let out a wordless shriek of grief and frustration and sorrow.

Gently… almost reverently… she laid Rachel down upon the walkway, and she bent and pressed a soft kiss to the blonde's forehead. It was a gesture she would have been too timid to allow herself before, but now she could not resist. Then her gaze shifted downward, and she pulled the thin chain that dangled from Rachel's neck upward, freeing her dog tags from the confines of her armor. She cradled the thin metal placards in the palm of her hand, sobbing as she gazed at them. Her hand closed around the tags so tightly that the edges might have cut her palm were she not wearing gloves, and she yanked the entire necklace from the girl's neck. She snapped one tag free and dropped the rest of the necklace into a pocket upon her belt, hesitating just a moment before depositing the freed tag into the pouch with the others she had collected over the course of the war.

The moment Rachel's tag fell into the pouch, a bubbling rage welled up inside of the asari. She could hear the blonde's last words echoing in her mind. _Keep fighting_, she told herself, glancing around at her surroundings. Aida was no longer standing over her. She was nearby with the captain, and the two seemed to be in heated discussion. Her gaze fell to the ground, where the pistol Aida had been using was lying next to her own. _For you, Rachel… I will keep fighting._ Her eyes shifted to a cord that dangled beside the walkway. She had been vaguely aware of a figure plummeting past them. Given the captain's presence, she was somehow certain it was Salik. Her hands clenched into fists.

She bent and snatched up both pistols, securing them to the maglocks at her hips. Then she claimed Rachel's omni-tool, slipping it into a compartment on her belt. It broke her heart to think of leaving Rachel's body there, unattended… it seemed so… _wrong_. But if she had any hope of catching Salik, she had to go now. She leapt over the rail without another moment of hesitation, grabbing hold of the dangling cord and sliding down to the bottom of its length. Just as she caught it, she heard Neela's voice over the team's comm channel, calling to Aida for help and informing them that Selura had been injured. She ground her teeth just at the sound of the other asari's name being spoken. Unfortunately, she could spare no time to answer the call. She would _not_ see Salik escape them now…

When her feet met the railing at the bottom, she hopped off onto the new walkway and activated her omni-tool. Tapping into her link to Crawler, she used the makeshift patch into the facility's systems to activate the fire-suppression systems on every level. The salarian was _not _going to evade her this time. She watched as fire-retardant foam poured over every surface in sight, looking for anything moving on the walkways. As soon as she spotted a figure in motion, she sprinted after it.

* * *

**Novaburst Fabrication Plant, Level Three Walkway…**

Julisa slid to the bottom of the ladder, and as soon as her feet hit the walkway, she snatched her rifle from its spot upon her shoulder and raised the weapon, scanning the surrounding area for some sign of the fleeing salarian. Instead of catching some glimpse of her enemy, however, she found herself confronted by a sight that was both puzzling and alarming. Illitha was kneeling upon the walkway, cradling the limp form of the blonde human, while Aida stood over them both with a pistol pointed at the engineer's head. She spotted a thin, dangling cord next to the walkway, giving a clear indication that the salarian was somewhere on one of the levels below, but given the sight in front of her, thoughts of Salik fled her mind. Her enemy was important, but her crew always had to be her first priority.

The glow of a biotic field rose around her, and she rocketed across the open space from her current position to where Aida was standing, wrapping her arms around the cook as they collided. The force of her charge caused the younger asari's finger to reflexively tighten on the trigger, and a shot rang out, but Julisa was not worried. She knew the speed and force of the charge would have thrown Aida's aim _severely_ off-target. When they skidded to a stop, she tightened one arm around her young employee, seizing the pistol with the other hand and tossing it aside before the younger girl could recover from the impact. As she expected, Aida started to struggle as soon as she recovered her wits.

"Let go of me!" Aida screamed at her.

"Aida, stop it!" She shook the younger asari roughly, but she got the feeling that it was the sound of her voice, rather than the rough treatment, that caused her young companion to relax in her arms. Once Aida's posture relaxed, she spun the girl around, glaring at her angrily. "What in Athame's name were you doing?"

"Captain," Aida still seemed a little stunned, but Julisa could see the way her gaze softened and tears filled her eyes. "I… She was never going to stop…"

Julisa studied the tearful eyes of the other girl, and she tried to guess what had happened. Aida had been out of contact for weeks, as she understood it, and no one knew what happened to her in the interim. But now, given what she had just seen, the former commando had a guess. The girl had been captured by the Reapers. Indoctrination was a subject that had been mentioned frequently in recent days, but now that she had seen a glimpse of it as applied to people she had some measure of affection for, it suddenly became much more real.

"I only wanted her to stop listening to that human and try to understand," Aida whimpered. "We should not be fighting the Reapers. They are not here for _us_. I did not want to hurt Lith…"

"You had a pistol trained upon her head, Aida," Julisa was still scowling and the words came out as a growl. She could not soften her expression no matter how hard she tried. She was angry… more at the situation than the girl herself. "You must have recognized that…"

"I-I know," Aida's head fell, and she started sobbing. "I… I did not want to kill her. But… C-Captain, she will drag us all down with her… We cannot fight the Reapers and win…"

Julisa could only shake her head in response. Something was indeed very wrong with the young cook, and the captain was not entirely certain it was something that could be fixed. She found herself in the unfamiliar position of being at a loss for words. What could she truly say, given the situation? She glanced over her shoulder to her engineer, and saw the girl pick up Aida's fallen pistol and a second one and then leap over the rail of the walkway, grabbing the dangling cord the salarian had used to escape and sliding down it. Neela called for help at that moment, but before Julisa or Aida could answer, a thick blanket of white foam poured over Aida, herself, and everything else in sight. She irritably wiped the fire-suppressant from her scalp crests to keep it from running down over her face, regarding her young charge uncertainly.

"Captain, you have seen what the Reapers have done to this planet!" Aida's words reclaimed her attention. The girl was wiping the thick foam from her head and face with a shaking hand. "You were a commando. You must recognize how foolish it would be to fight them. We can leave! Neela was going to take the salarian's shuttle! We can leave here together!"

Julisa sighed. She could feel the younger asari trembling, and though there were still tears trickling down the girl's cheeks, her gaze suddenly filled with the lovesick look to which the captain had become accustomed over the years since she'd taken the girl aboard her ship. The younger asari hadn't even seemed to register Neela's call for help. She shook her head.

"Aida, we _will_ get off of this planet. But the Reapers will not leave us alone. They have come to destroy _all_ of us."

"No!" the girl clutched at her. "You do not understand! I stopped fighting them, and they ignored me! They are only fighting us in self-defense!"

"They ignored you because they have a hold over you now. You are their ally… whether you recognize it or not."

"No," Aida shook her head. "I am doing what I must. I am not doing this for them. I am doing this for _us._ If we leave here, we can be together! You and me… It is all I have ever wanted! I love you!"

"I know," Julisa sighed.

"You know?" Aida's expression filled with puzzlement. "Then… why have you never said anything?"

"I had no wish to break your heart. Your desires had never seemed to hurt anyone until now. But what you want from me is something I could never give," she regarded the girl with a hint of sadness, her anger finally leaving her.

"I only want you to love me…" Aida's lower lip trembled.

"My heart belongs to someone else… It always will."

She had avoided telling Aida those words for too long, she now knew. When she first recognized the younger girl's infatuation with her, she should have put an end to it. But she had been hesitant to do so precisely because she wanted to avoid seeing the look that she saw upon the girl's face at that moment: A look of heartbroken misery.

"You do not mean that," desperation filled Aida's voice.

"I do," Julisa said simply. "My bondmate will always hold my heart. And my only remaining love is for my daughter."

The former commando could see from the stunned realization in the other asari's eyes that Aida had never even considered the possibility that she had either a bondmate or children. However, she could spare no more time for the cook's feelings or her incapacity. Every moment she delayed was a moment that Salik could use to get farther away. If the salarian knew of an alternate exit, he might have escaped already. The question she now faced was what to do with Aida. She could not release her and let her go back to helping the Reapers. And she could not kill a member of her crew. Not without knowing for certain that there was no cure for indoctrination.

"Neela, Aida is… incapacitated. You will have to get help for Selura elsewhere," she finally answered her pilot's call for help, now that Aida was no longer arguing, but was instead starting to cry. She frowned at the lack of response to her transmission, but she was not worried. She was sure that by now, Neela had already taken steps to evacuate the young scientist.

The pounding of heavy boots upon the walkway seized her attention, but she never allowed her gaze to waver from the sobbing and trembling asari in front of her. She could not afford to let her guard down. The Reapers had already twisted Aida's mind. She did not know how indoctrination worked, but if the Reapers had some sort of active influence, they might twist the girl's heartbreak into a means of getting her to attack as soon as she let her guard down.

"I warned the Alliance about the trap," the human mercenary informed her as he reached the two. "They're starting to withdraw, but the Reapers cut them off. Where the hell is Salik?" he demanded.

"Illitha is in pursuit. I have been dealing with this…"

"A crying girl?" Zaeed snorted. "I thought you were a professional…"

"An _indoctrinated _girl," Julisa corrected, ignoring the barb. "She killed the blonde woman and almost killed Illitha."

There was a pause while the mercenary studied Aida. "Best to just kill her then," Zaeed muttered. "There's no goddamn cure for indoctrination. It's permanent and progressive, according to what Shepard told me."

"There is no way to be certain of that."

"Do what you want," Zaeed muttered. "I'm going after Salik. Illitha can't handle that bastard alone."

Julisa said nothing. Zaeed was correct. Leaving Illitha to deal with the salarian on her own was foolish. The mercenary ran off, leaving the two asari alone. Julisa frowned to herself. She wanted to believe that there was a cure. But she could not drag an indoctrinated companion off in pursuit of Salik. If she did so, she would inevitably give Aida a chance to either escape or to further hurt their team. She found herself facing a choice between cold practicality and sentimentality. In the past, she had always chosen the former. But in so doing, she had lost her relationship with her daughter. On impulse, this time, she decided upon the latter.

"I am sorry, Aida," she whispered, pulling the girl close. "It was never my intention to hurt you. We should have discussed your feelings long ago. And I am sorry for what I must do now…"

She felt the younger asari's arms curl around her, and she allowed Aida that brief moment of comfort. Then she insistently pushed the girl away, and the moment she did so, she slammed her fist into the younger girl's jaw, knocking her out cold. The way the younger asari's head hit the walkway when she fell made the former commando wince, but she hadn't the time to handle the girl with care. She hurried over to the railing where the salarian's escape line was hanging, activating her omni-blade and cutting the line for use as a means of restraint. With the cord in hand, she dragged Aida's unconscious form to the rail and bound her hands securely to one of the posts. She could retrieve her later. Now, she needed to concentrate on finding Salik.

* * *

**Novaburst Fabrication Plant, Rooftop…**

Neela's hands shook as she worked frantically beneath the control console in the shuttle's cockpit, her work complicated greatly both by the tears that flooded her vision and by pain. With her helmet in place, she could not wipe her eyes to clear them of the former, and though she had applied medigel to the holes in her leg to seal both wounds – _and the breaches_ – against infection, the injuries she had suffered at the hands of the defensive turret were painful. In the back of her mind, she knew that she was once again facing possible infection and foreign contaminants, and she was afraid of what it would mean for her future. She could only hope that her previous exposure to the environment of Terra Nova would provide her system with some measure of resistance this time.

Of greater concern to the quarian, Selura was severely wounded, and despite her attempts to keep her girlfriend conscious, the scientist had passed out. She knew that the asari needed medical attention as quickly as possible, but her requests for help… both to Aida and to the Alliance… had gone unheeded. She got only the captain's warning that Aida was incapacitated. The comm channels otherwise were a chaotic tangle of overlapping distress calls and requests for information, and she doubted anyone truly knew what was happening anymore. She knew that the odds of her transmissions even having been detected were remote at best.

There were other concerns clouding her thoughts as well. There was a foreign device of some kind wired into the shuttle's systems, and Neela had seen enough of the Reapers to recognize it as Reaper tech. Unfortunately, though all quarians were trained to deal with many kinds of technology, she didn't have the expertise to even guess at the device's function. It was entirely alien technology, and she was afraid of what it might do once they were airborne. Given Selura's condition, however, she had no choice but to bypass the security lockout on the shuttle controls and hope that the device didn't incinerate their shuttle once it was in the air. She tried to focus once more upon blocking out the numerous distractions and returned to her attempt at rewiring the console.

Progress seemed agonizingly slow. Though she was sure she had been working for only a handful of minutes, it seemed to Neela as though it was taking hours to isolate the proper wires and components and reconfigure them. The garble of continued communications chaos filled the cockpit while she worked, eventually blending into a drone that was slowly grinding away any patience or calm she had managed to cultivate.

Just as Neela was wiring in a splice on one last component, a voice from among the chaos caught her attention.

_"Any Alliance forces this net: Emergency medical shelters have been set up at three nav-points in the city, enclosed on this frequency. Get all wounded to these positions ASAP."_

Neela struggled to rise – a task made infinitely more difficult by the injuries she had suffered – and she quickly stored the enclosed nav-points on her omni-tool, desperate to be certain she could get Selura to help in time. Then she glanced at the console, and nodded in satisfaction when she saw that the display had activated. Her work had been a success.

_Hold on, Selura. We're on our way…_

Neela hobbled into the passenger compartment of the shuttle and pulled her girlfriend to the center of the floor, activating the emergency mass effect fields there to keep the asari rooted firmly in place. The system was standard issue in every shuttle… intended for a variety of purposes, from the transport of injured personnel to the transport of cargo. The field would keep whatever was contained within its bounds rooted firmly in place so that it would not slide across the floor during maneuvers in the air. While it was designed for binding objects such as stretchers and containers, Neela hoped it would not harm the asari any without the protection of such a device; she couldn't risk worsening Selura's wounds by moving her to a seat.

Once she was assured that Selura was as safe as she could be, Neela hopped back into the cockpit and collapsed into the pilot's seat, sealing the shuttle and activating the systems as quickly as she could manage. She held her breath when the shuttle started to rise into the air, half-expecting the vessel to explode courtesy of the Reaper device, but to her relief, nothing unusual happened during their ascent. She swung the shuttle around. She could still pick up Jay and Elliot and get Selura to a medical facility in time… or so she hoped.

Oculus drones were streaking toward her when she got a glimpse to the south, and it felt like her heart leapt up into her throat. The last oculus that had chosen to pursue her had shot down their shuttle. She was afraid that the same would happen this time. She brought up the weapon systems – the shuttle was armed with simple mass accelerator cannons – and prepared to fire, but to her astonishment, the drones ignored her completely; they soared past as if the shuttle didn't exist.

Neela didn't have time to wonder. She guided the shuttle south toward the building where Jay had last reported their position, and she circled in the air once, trying to get a look at the situation while she made an attempt to contact the brothers on the radio.

"This is Neela," she called out. "Jay? Elliot? I am in the shuttle circling overhead… Are you still down there?"

Even as Neela spoke, she could see one figure on the rooftop, perched upon its edge, swinging wildly at anything that came within reach. The roof was flooded with husks and the occasional cannibal, and she couldn't tell if there was a second figure among them somewhere.

_"Help!" _the voice of the teenager responded after a moment. It was the only word spoken, but the message was clear.

Neela brought the shuttle around and opened the exterior hatch, careful to keep the vessel level just in case the security field holding her girlfriend in place failed. She brought the ship even with the rooftop, keeping her eyes on the sensor readings since she didn't have a clear view of the shuttle's exterior from her seat. Most piloting was done via sensor readings and virtual displays, so it was a simple task.

"Jump to the shuttle!" she urged, closing the gap to less than a meter. Her heart was pounding. She knew that she had to get close enough for the teenager to leap the distance, but in doing so, it would be easy for husks to make the jump as well.

A series of thumps sounded from the passenger compartment behind her, and she heard the teenager shriek the word "go", so she quickly turned the shuttle and gunned the engine, hoping that the thrusters might fry a few Reapers as they departed. She could tell from the noises behind her that at least one Reaper had leapt aboard the shuttle, but she needed to hope that the teenager could handle it and concentrate on flying the vehicle. There were thumps and grunts, and the occasional screech of a husk, but eventually everything fell into silence. She glanced back to be sure things were clear, and saw the teenager closing the exterior hatch, after which the young man repeatedly slammed his fist into the surface, sliding to the floor and putting his head in his hands.

Neela understood immediately. The Reapers had overwhelmed Jay. She had suspected as much when the boy told her to go the instant he was aboard. She bowed her head and took the shuttle low over the buildings, trying to evade the notice of the Reapers as they sped toward one of the waiting medical shelters.

Her eyes turned toward the scanner display of the city below, where she could see several large units of human soldiers just blocks south of the factory. The Reapers had clearly cut off their retreat, but according to the scans, the majority of the Reaper forces, though just as large or larger in number than the human troops, seemed to be in a full retreat, with only husks left to slow the human advance. Neela wondered what had changed that would make the Reapers flee like that.

Then a warning came up on her monitor. It said simply "Atmospheric Disruption Detected." Her instinctive check of their position showed that the shuttle was clear of danger, but Neela still felt her stomach lurch. She knew of only one thing that prompted such a warning: A massive object entering the atmosphere at extremely high speeds. It typically occurred only immediately prior to a meteor impact… or an orbital strike. In that instant, she thought of the massive buildup of Alliance forces below and suddenly felt sick. The concentration of Reaper forces around the factory had baited the Alliance into sending forces to investigate, and while they had been ordered to withdraw since, they had been unable to escape. In a fraction of a second, most of those men would be incinerated.

* * *

**Novaburst Fabrication Plant, Level Two Recharging Platform…**

Illitha dashed along the walkway toward a large area filled with machinery and cubicles, trying to keep her footing upon the foam-slick grating. The chase after Salik had been less than graceful thus far, with the foam making footing treacherous. Both of them had taken multiple spills during the running firefight, but now the engineer's steps slowed. The platform ahead had been Salik's eventual destination, and he had disappeared amongst the equipment that crowded the area. Illitha studied the multitude of electrical transformers and recharging docks that populated the place. The platform was right up against the wall, so the walkway was the only entrance. While Salik seemed to have cornered himself, there was a great deal of cover to be had. It seemed like the perfect place for an ambush, even without the benefit of a tactical cloak.

Illitha raised her Carnifex, and her free hand snatched the second pistol from the other maglock upon her belt. With the two weapons combined, she felt like she would have a chance to beat the salarian. One pistol was modded with phasic rounds that would penetrate his shields. The second weapon, as she'd seen from the condition of Rachel's armor, had armor-piercing ammunition. Between the two, the salarian's defenses would be of limited use.

Illitha crept into the area slowly, trying to listen for any sound that might give away her enemy's position, but the hum of the power systems on the platform was a constant, droning buzz that, when added to the ambient noise of the factory, blocked out all lesser sounds. She advanced cautiously, turning both weapons into every corner and niche that she passed, ready to respond if the salarian showed himself. She was filled with resolve in a way she'd never felt before. Rachel's last thoughts had been of beating Salik and defeating the Reapers. Illitha was committed to seeing it done out of respect and love for the fallen marine. Grief could wait.

"I must confess, of all the possible individuals in your conglomeration of allies, I did not expect the cowardly asari to be the one to confront me in this fashion," she heard Salik comment. He sounded calm… unconcerned. Perhaps even a little amused. His tone infuriated her. However, his voice seemed to be bouncing out of every corner in the machinery. She couldn't pinpoint his position.

"Cowardly?" Illitha repeated, pressing her back against the outer casing of one of the transformers and looking around for some sign of him. If she kept him talking, perhaps she might eventually be able to trace the sound of his voice to the source. "I-I am not the one in hiding."

"I recall you trembling in fear of Cerberus, refusing to take steps that would help your crewmates save their captain. The term seems suitable. It may comfort you to know that I have already decrypted the asari's lockout on the Prothean data and uploaded it to the Reapers. Whatever Cerberus planned to do with the control-signal data, the Reapers will soon figure it out and will take steps to stop them."

"Cerberus does not interest me at the moment," Illitha commented distractedly, once more moving forward.

"It would interest me to determine exactly how you have managed to survive this long upon Terra Nova, asari, but I am aware that your companions are closing in. I must reach the access tunnels in the basement before they can impede my escape."

"Well… Y-You have to go through me," Illitha warned him, slowly moving forward. The sound of his voice was getting louder, the echoes less pronounced. "You… It… It was a mistake to draw us here."

"Necessity dictated the decision. Some portion of your group was present to interfere with every objective we set before ourselves. Removing those impediments became critical."

"Then you… T-This was never about the QEC," Illitha guessed, inching closer to a deep recess between two machines. She swiftly turned and trained both weapons into the space, but found nothing there. She turned quickly and scanned her surroundings.

"Denying the Alliance the benefit of communication is merely one of many possible tactics the Reapers can employ. Steps have undoubtedly been taken to destroy the base to which the QEC components were headed, and the Alliance was foolish enough to shift its defenses into the city to make their base of operations an easy target. Without a working system in which to place them, the salvaged components are useless. The Alliance dispatched their forces here to investigate all of the activity, as we anticipated, and it is too late now to withdraw. That mistake will cost them dearly. Unfortunately, you will not survive to witness the fallout of that error."

A glimpse of motion caught her attention, and she froze in place, eyeing the nearby drone recharging station from which it had come. It had looked like a glimpse of a figure's shoulder as someone hiding there shifted position. She trained both weapons upon that spot, slowly inching forward and to the side in an attempt to get a better look at the target. As she moved closer to the machinery at the center of the area, she could see more and more of the figure, and she saw the contours of black armor and the salarian's figure. She scowled, her jaw clenching.

In one quick move, she dashed to the side and opened fire with both pistols, peppering her enemy's hiding place with bullets. However, though sparks erupted from breaches in the docking station all around the salarian, the figure never even flinched or staggered. In that moment, Illitha knew she'd been tricked.

An electromagnetic pulse struck her barrier, causing the field to fluctuate wildly. However, Illitha had received a great deal of practice over the past weeks in keeping a barrier strong, and the field held up to the assault, weakened, but intact. It seemed the salarian didn't expect that, because he followed the pulse with a shot that struck Illitha's barrier from behind. Rather than harming the barrier, however, Illitha was immediately standing in a cloud of fine black grit. The dust came through her shield and rained over her, and she fully expected her tech to die under the assault of the nanites. To her surprise and relief, none of the tiny machines seemed to cling to her. They fell away in a rain, apparently fried by passing through an active barrier. She whirled around and returned fire with both pistols, and had the satisfaction of seeing the salarian stagger as he switched to a carnifex and fired back at her. Her barrier dropped when it deflected one final shot, but the flash around him told her that his barrier had fallen as well, and better still, there was a new hole in his armor that announced that one of her phasic rounds had wounded him. Unfortunately, just at that moment, dual alarms warning that her thermal clips were both at capacity rang out.

Acting purely on instinct, she hurled both weapons at Salik. He ducked to avoid the projectiles, but the momentary distraction was enough to allow Illitha to focus upon her biotics, hurling an orb at her foe. The intent was to catch him in a singularity, but he quickly dove forward, and the orb sailed over him, instead striking the transformer behind him. Salik was almost within arm's reach of her following his dive, and he raised his pistol. She lunged for him, but he got off one shot as she closed the distance and her hand closed upon his wrist. Thankfully, her grasp diverted his aim just enough to save herself. She felt a flash of pain in her side, followed by the wet squish of medigel flooding the area.

Illitha's hand tightened upon Salik's wrist, and she tried to wrest the gun from his hand, but the salarian was stronger than she was. Even with two hands upon his one, it was all she could do to keep him from getting the weapon pointed at her, and it left his other hand free. He slammed his fist into the new wound in her side, momentarily doubling her over, though she had the presence of mind to maintain her hold on his arm even so.

Illitha knew she had to disarm him somehow. Fortunately, inspiration seized her at that moment, and she released his wrist with one hand, quickly shifting that hand to the gun itself. After a brief struggle to find the button she sought while wrestling with the salarian, her thumb finally hit the ejection trigger. The thermal clip snapped free and fell into the foam on the floor with a hiss.

Salik's focus shifted from his pistol to hand-to-hand combat in the blink of an eye. As soon as his weapon was without a thermal clip, he dropped it and raised his armored knee, slamming it into Illitha's midsection. While the armor cushioned the blow, the strike still staggered her, and Salik quickly seized the opportunity, slamming his fist into her wounded flank twice and then punching her in the jaw when her arm dropped to her side to protect the injury. The construction of the salarian's armor was such that the plating extended over the back of his fist, so when his attack struck the side of her face, it was dense ceramic alloy striking her rather than a gloved fist. Her head swam and she pitched over into the foam.

Instinct prompted the engineer to try to get back to her feet, rising to her knees in the foam and lunging forward, but Salik quickly delivered a kick to the front of her thigh just as she was rising, sending her back to her knees. She tried to strike him, but he caught each arm in turn, twisting her wrists and holding her immobile. Her attempt to rise was met with the smallest shift in his grip that put pressure on her joints and sent a wave of pain through her. The surge of agony was so pronounced that her body froze up and she was instantly forced back to her knees. She glared at him, feeling both helpless and frustrated.

"Admirable of you to confront me in this fashion," the salarian commented. "But foolish."

Illitha tried to wrest her arms free of his grasp, tears flooding her vision. To come so close to the salarian that had killed Prathus and now find herself at his mercy was agonizing. He lifted his leg, slamming his knee into her nose, and for a moment she was blinded by the flash of pain and the flood of tears that resulted from the strike. She turned her head to avoid any follow-up blows that might be incoming, but at that moment, a tremendous blast rocked the building. Even over the drone of the machinery, the explosive sound of the blast was deafening. The tremor shook the platform beneath them. Because of the clamor, she never heard the rifle shot that struck the salarian, but a hole suddenly erupted in the armor that covered Salik's upper arm. She felt blood spatter across her face. Salik stumbled forward, and his grip upon her wrists went slack.

Illitha responded to the opportunity presented by his injury purely on instinct. She got her feet under her and propelled herself upward in one swift motion, slamming her forehead into the salarian's face with every ounce of strength in her entire body.

Salik staggered backward, clearly stunned by the blow, if not by the gunshot wound. Illitha's hand dropped to her belt and seized Rachel's omni-tool, and her fingers moved out of habit, going directly to the standard omni-tool function she was most familiar with… the welding function. She leapt toward her stunned foe, dragging the active welder across his face, burning a trail through his flesh. The howl of pain he emitted stirred up all the rage that was bubbling inside of her, and she followed up with a tremendous kick to the chestplate of his armor, sending him staggering backward into the rail. A biotic orb formed in her hand, and it was streaking toward him before she even thought about what she was doing.

When the biotic throw struck his armor, it sent Salik sailing over the rail with a startled shriek. Illitha gasped when she saw him rocket over the edge, and her hand flew up to cover her mouth. She watched helplessly as his flailing form vanished into one of the vats on the assembly line below, and she turned away from the sight.

Salik was finally dead. It was over. But in her anger, she'd also destroyed the datapad that Selura said the Alliance needed. She bowed her head and dropped to her knees. Her anger was fading, and with the danger past, grief quickly rushed in to fill the void. She could hear heavy boots pounding along on the walkway, and her gaze shifted. The shot that had saved her had clearly been taken from a distance, and she doubted that Zaeed had been able to see more than a glimpse of the salarian given their position at the time among the machinery. It had been an incredible shot, and she owed the human her life.

Another tremendous blast rocked the factory, and Illitha heard an ominous cracking sound somewhere above. Her head snapped upward, and she watched with a mixture of dread and fascination as fissures appeared in the ceiling and quickly expanded. Realizing that the roof… or perhaps the entire building… was about to collapse, she quickly scrambled to her feet. The factory itself was obviously not the target of the impacts she was hearing, but the real target was close enough that the force was causing damage to the structure. It seemed that they weren't out of danger yet. They still needed to get to safety. Zaeed staggered into her view among the machinery, and she nodded silently to thank him for his assistance. Then she activated her omni-tool and spoke the words that she'd been longing to hear someone say ever since Salik had killed the first of her friends.

"Salik is dead… We need to evacuate. Now."

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: First, I would like to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, favorite/followed or otherwise given any attention at all to this story. As of today, I have finished writing Chapter 65, which finishes off the main story, and have only two epilogues to go. I am excited to be within reach of finishing this project, and I'm happy that so many people have come along for the ride. You're all fantastic, and I sincerely appreciate your interest.**

**And it has finally happened! A lot of my regular reviewers have been waiting a long time for the moment when Salik got what was coming to him at long last. And I would like to thank BSN's V-rcingetorix for our many discussions about my story and general ME lore to date, one of which inspired Illitha's use of the omni-tool's welder as a weapon. :)**

**As far as the second and third sections of this Chapter go, however, I hope I didn't confuse people too much by covering the same time frame from two different perspectives. It just didn't seem right to break into Illitha's final moments with Rachel to simultaneously cover Julisa's talk with Aida, and I felt it was best served by overlapping the two as I did.**

**Unless something happens to my internet, the next Chapter will definitely go up on Wednesday morning. Until then, I hope everyone has a great weekend, and I look forward to any and all PMs and comments that may be incoming. :)**


	63. Chapter 63: Extraction

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Sixty-Three: Extraction

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**Novaburst Fabrication Plant, Second Level…**

Julisa had seen only the waning moments of the conflict between Illitha and Salik, but for the few seconds she had been a witness as she ran along the walkway toward the pair, she had been impressed. She had seen the thunderous head-butt that stunned the salarian, the crippling strike with an omni-tool's welder, and then the kick and the biotic throw that finished him. When the salarian's body vanished into the vat of molten metal in a flare of flame and smoke, she felt nothing but pride for her engineer. Zaeed had almost reached Illitha, and she hurried to join the pair, pressing her hand to her side. The salarian sniper had stabbed her with an omni-blade, and though her armor's systems applied medigel to stop the bleeding and numb the area, she could feel a faint residual pain. It had been easy to ignore it while dealing with Aida, but now that the medic was restrained and their objective was complete, it was harder to turn her mind elsewhere. She knew she would need treatment before long. As she closed the distance to her engineer and the mercenary, she tuned in to the Alliance frequencies to get a feel for the situation outside, since their focus would now have to shift toward escape.

_"-confirm orbital bombardment in the northeastern quarter of the city. I repeat: We can confirm orbital bombardment in the northeastern quarter of the city. Two strikes in a row. Our forces in that sector were directly in the blast zone. I can see scattered survivors that were on the fringes of the impact zone, but the Reaper forces stopped their retreat after the strikes. They're surging back in. I think Warcry and Spearhead forces are a total loss, sir…"_

Julisa frowned at what she was hearing. They had all felt the tremors from the orbital strikes, and the factory's integrity had suffered because of their proximity to the impact sites. Obviously, however, the Reapers had used small projectiles to wipe out the concentration of Alliance soldiers that had been dispatched to the factory. Anything larger would have flattened the entire neighborhood, including the factory itself. There were dozens of panicked requests for evacuation from survivors of the blast, but they all shared a single detail… The words "Reapers are everywhere" were a part of all of them. She could hear the human captain ordering their aerial units to provide cover for the survivors and commands for evacuation shuttles to be prepped, but all of the remaining Alliance forces were being ordered out of the area instead of into the impact zone for rescue operations.

"The Alliance is in full retreat," she informed Zaeed and Illitha as she reached them. "And Neela evacuated Selura on the shuttle some time ago."

"We heard," Zaeed muttered. "We're gonna have to go out on foot. It'll be a goddamn mess out there."

"I do not care," Illitha murmured softly. The words were so soft, in fact, that Julisa had to strain to hear them. "We go out on foot. And on the way, we rescue any Alliance survivors we can find."

"Illitha, do not let grief cloud your thinking. We need to evacuate, not wade into the Reaper ranks in search of survivors," Julisa frowned at the engineer. She knew what it was like to lose a loved one and the foolish decisions it could lead a person to make. She knew her protests were likely a waste of breath, but she hoped to keep her charge from making the same sorts of mistakes she had.

"Then flee, if that is what you think," Illitha turned her gaze upon her, and she could see cold determination in the girl's eyes. She knew in looking into depths of the engineer's gaze that nothing she said would ever change the girl's mind. She could not recall ever seeing such clarity of purpose in the shy engineer's gaze before. "I am going out there to save whoever I can. You… Either you can help, or you can run. It will not change my plans…"

Illitha stalked off along the walkway without waiting for an answer from either the captain or the mercenary. Julisa's gaze shifted to the human, and she found his eyes lingering upon the engineer's retreating form.

"I don't often agree with her choices," Zaeed muttered, "but this time I'm with her. I'm sure we're gonna have to fight our way through the bastards no matter which direction we go. We might as well pick up some extra firepower on the way."

Julisa nodded slowly. She would have preferred fighting their way north, away from the main bulk of the Reaper troops, and then circling around the city through the wilderness, where they would be less likely to run into any significant Reaper force. With Neela and Selura gone, the blonde human dead, Aida indoctrinated, and the human brothers either dead or evacuated, it seemed to her that the three of them didn't have the strength they would need for rescuing survivors. But it was clear that her companions had other ideas. And while the human mercenary was not her concern, she would not see the engineer rush off to her death out of grief. If Illitha was set upon this course, it was her duty to see that the girl survived it.

"Illitha, wait," Julisa called out, hurrying after the pair. She had to repeat the request twice before the younger asari finally relented and came to a stop, turning to regard her with a weary, resigned expression that it pained her to see on the engineer's face. "We have to get Aida. She is tied up on the third level."

Anger and pain clouded the younger asari's features, and she seemed to be struggling with indecision. Julisa could not imagine what Illitha was feeling at that moment. While she knew the pain of losing friends and loved ones, she had not had to witness a friend killing her bondmate. She imagined it would only have compounded the pain and the anger many times over. She would not have been surprised if Illitha wanted to kill Aida for what she had done. She fully expected her to refuse.

"Go get her," Illitha said softly. "I-I will secure the south lobby and wait for you there."

Julisa's brow swept upward at the girl's response. She had expected an angry refusal, a rant about Rachel's death, or perhaps even a tearful explanation that she could not face her former friend right then. The soft and calm acceptance was the last response she would have predicted. Illitha turned and headed for a winding staircase that led down to the factory floor, and Zaeed limped after her, leaving Julisa to go up and retrieve Aida alone. As the captain started up a ladder to the walkway above, she had to admit to herself that while she had thought she knew her engineer, the girl had grown up considerably over the past weeks. And she was happy to see the changes, even if she felt sorrow over the tragedies and hardships that had provoked them.

All that remained was to see what sort of person the grief and hardship and pain would forge the engineer into. Some asari would be tempered by such tragedies and would emerge stronger for the experience. Others would eventually break under the pressure. She knew that Illitha had it in her to survive whatever adversity Terra Nova could throw at her. The girl just needed to hold onto the determination she had seen in her eyes just moments ago.

* * *

**Emergency Medical Site Alpha, Southern Dotterstown…**

Neela circled the massive structure that was designated as one of the emergency medical sites for the Alliance forces fleeing the city, trying to figure out where to land. The structure looked like it had been a warehouse or small factory of some kind, and the streets around it were pockmarked with craters and cracked concrete. The buildings throughout the area were shattered and collapsed, and smoke still rose from some of the piles of rubble. It looked as though one of the true Reapers had stomped through the area days or even weeks ago.

The south side of the building itself was entirely collapsed, leaving only half of the structure more-or-less intact. The intact portions sported breaks in the walls, shattered windows, and the roof had fallen in on the top floor. It looked entirely abandoned. She supposed that might have been the whole point in choosing it, but it still seemed a horrible place for treating injured soldiers. There was no designated landing pad, and she saw no signs of other shuttles in the area.

_"Alliance Pilot," _a voice came in on the shuttle's frequency, _"Circle around to the south side and bring your vehicle level with the second floor over the collapsed section. Close to one-quarter meter. Our personnel will unload the wounded there. Once your injured are clear, break off and clear the area."_

Neela suddenly understood. There were no other shuttles around because the Alliance wanted the building to look abandoned, as she had guessed. Pilots were offloading their wounded at the gaping opening where the rear of the building had collapsed and then leaving. She frowned at the idea, uncomfortable with the thought of leaving Selura in the hands of strangers and flying away. But she still had to return and evacuate the captain, Illitha, and anyone else that was still alive.

_"Pilot, do you copy?"_ the voice prompted.

"I know you're worried about leaving her. But you have to go back for the others," Elliot's voice startled her. The teenager was standing in the cockpit doorway. "Don't worry. I won't leave her side for a second. I promise."

Neela regarded the teenager thoughtfully, and then smiled in gratitude. The boy had suffered his own losses, and the grief was clearly etched upon his young features, but she saw resolve in his eyes. She got the feeling he was just eager to serve some purpose at the moment.

"Acknowledged," Neela finally answered the voice on the radio, bringing the shuttle around to the designated offloading point. As she descended into position, she could see a group of men standing at the edge of the shattered floor, waiting to board the shuttle and retrieve Selura. She had no choice but to trust that the doctors would save Selura and keep her safe until she returned with the others.

She brought the shuttle down to the exact position she had been instructed to maintain, and closed to within centimeters of the edge of the shattered floor. Elliot moved back into the passenger area, opening the shuttle door and standing aside while the medics moved in to check on Selura. From some of the muttered comments Neela could hear, it was clear that the medics had expected to find more than a single wounded asari, but they were quick to bring a stretcher aboard, transfer her over, and carry her out of the vehicle.

"She'll be okay," Elliot assured her before he stepped off after the medics.

_She'd better be,_ Neela thought grimly, suppressing the wave of uncertainty that rose up inside of her. Her instincts told her to stay by Selura's side. But she couldn't abandon the others. She activated the remote trigger to close the shuttle's hatch and sped away from the building, aware that every moment she spent hovering there was another moment that the Reapers could take notice of her. She banked and headed north, opening the Alliance channels to listen to the status updates. None of the news was good, but it was important that she be kept aware of potential dangers on the route toward the factory. She had seen the alert about an atmospheric entry and both saw the flashes and heard the thunderous impacts from the orbital strikes, so she was not surprised to hear a great number of transmissions about the destruction resulting from the bombardment of the city.

_"This is Illitha T'Zari to any survivors in the vicinity of Novaburst Fabrication,"_ the voice of Neela's friend caught her attention. _"W-We are mounting a rescue team to sweep through the area south of us. You need to… Y-You should find a secure place to bunker down and hold out until we get to you. Set your omni-tools to emit a one-millisecond locator pulse at ten-minute intervals so we can find your position. A-And get your wounded ready to travel."_

Neela smiled softly at the transmission. Given what she had seen in the brief period since their group was reunited, Illitha consistently worked to save whoever she could, regardless of the personal cost. She was not surprised to hear that the engineer was organizing an effort to save anyone they were able to reach as they fled. The only problem was that the shuttle was only designed to hold ten people at most. They could fit perhaps fifteen if some stood, but if their rescue effort gathered too large a group or there were too many wounded who would need to be stretched out on the floor space, they would require an additional shuttle for the evacuation.

"Illitha, this is Neela," she addressed her friend on the asari's private channel. "I'm on my way north to evacuate you all now. But if the group gets too large, I won't be able to take everyone…"

_"I understand," _Illitha's response was immediate. _"When you arrive, you can take the wounded and anyone unwilling to fight. The rest of us… w-we will get out on foot."_

Neela shook her head. She had guessed that an answer like that would be coming. She might have said more, but her attention was drawn by the sensor readout, which showed that two craft were moving to flank the shuttle. When she saw the silhouette of her guests, she felt her heart skip a beat. The readout showed them both to be oculus drones, but their visual representations were green, which most systems reserved for friendly craft. It took a moment for the initial surge of panic to pass, but once it did, the fact that neither drone had taken action against her was intensely puzzling. She was at a loss as to what she should do as they flew in formation beside her. For some reason, as had been the case when she lifted off from the factory roof, they failed to take any interest in shooting her down. But she couldn't lead them to her friends on the ground. She banked and headed east, trying to figure out how to shake them without turning herself into a target. Fortunately, circumstance saved her. At that moment she spotted a pair of Alliance fighters some distance ahead, and it seemed the drones did as well, because they suddenly sped off in pursuit.

"Keelah," Neela breathed, trying to slow the racing of her heart. _They were treating me as an allied vessel… That means... the Reaper device wired into the shuttle's systems… it is a Reaper IFF! This shuttle is essentially a Reaper shuttle!_ Her gaze shifted to the copilot's chair, where the Cain launcher was resting. _I wonder what the capabilities of that thing truly are…_

"Zaeed? This is Neela," she tried to raise the mercenary.

_"Go for Massani,"_ the gruff voice of the human answered her.

"What can this Cain launcher do?" Neela asked.

_"I already told you: Don't use the goddamn thing!"_ Zaeed barked. _"We can't waste that firepower."_

"What kind of firepower?" Neela persisted, trying to ignore the tone of the mercenary's voice.

_"It's guaranteed to incinerate everything within a good fifty meters of the impact point. The blast is a beautiful sight. Shepard loved that goddamn thing."_

"Could it take down a Reaper? A real one, I mean."

_"Not sure. Maybe. Depending on whether the damned thing's barriers were down or not… Why?"_

"Because there's a Reaper IFF wired into this shuttle," Neela explained, already grinning at the idea that had formed in her head. "The drones completely ignore me. I had two of them flying in formation with me just a few minutes ago. We might be able to fly right up to a Reaper and fire this thing into its face!"

_"You're fucking kidding me,"_ Zaeed chuckled. _"That's a sight I can't miss. It'll make the entire mess of the last couple weeks worthwhile. Keep that launcher safe, and don't do anything to draw attention until you pick us up."_

"Acknowledged."

_"Captain Shirakawa, this is Illitha T'Zari,"_ the engineer's broadcast immediately followed her acknowledgement. _"W-We have a unique opportunity to take one of the big Reapers down. How… Do… I-Is there any artillery left?"_

Neela already knew what her friend was thinking, and she nodded as she listened.

_"Armor Beta still has a semi-intact force. But everything at the F.O.B. is lost,"_ Shirakawa answered. _"What is your plan, T'Zari?"_

_"We have a shuttle with stealth technology, seized from the indoctrinated salarians," _Illitha informed him. _"And we have a Cain. W-We fire on the Reaper from _extremely_ close. But we need some artillery to soften it up first."_

_"If we can take one of them down, you'll have that assistance. I'll divert Armor Beta to the F.O.B. now. They will be in position to commence the assault in eighteen minutes. When they are five minutes out, I'll divert our air forces to join the assault. The Reaper there is still demolishing our prefabs and barricades. I don't think it will leave before we can hit it."_

_"Understood," _Illitha responded. _"W-We are starting rescue operations near the bombardment site. We will pick up as many survivors as possible in the next fifteen minutes and then get into position for the assault."_

_"Solid copy," Shirakawa acknowledged the transmission. "Good luck."_

Neela grinned, resisting the urge to cackle gleefully at the thought of the assault to come. With the Alliance artillery committed to the assault to soften the Reaper up, she was hopeful that they might actually be able to reduce the Reaper numbers by one. It was an exciting prospect. After all that the Reapers had done, it would provide a tremendous boost to the morale of everyone on the planet to see one of the huge machines taken down.

* * *

**Novaburst Fabrication, South Lobby…**

Illitha paced near the door to the lot outside, trying to keep her thoughts focused solely upon the Reapers and the task ahead. Any time her thoughts wandered to Rachel or Aida, there was a sharp pain in her chest, like a knife embedded in her heart. She had thought the pain was unbearable when Prathus had been killed, but the misery and grief she'd felt then was a pale shadow of the agony lurking in her heart now. She reached into the pocket on her belt and pulled Rachel's necklace from within, blinking back the tears that flooded her eyes as she regarded the dog tag that dangled from it. She crossed the room and set the chain down on the countertop of the lobby's reception desk, and she activated her omni-tool to quickly weld the broken clasp together. She could feel the eyes of the mercenary upon her as she worked, but she ignored him. After giving the chain time to cool, she slipped it over her head, letting the dog tag settle against the chest plate of her armor.

_I will return it to your sisters when I visit them to pay my respects,_ she silently vowed to the blonde. Her hand came up to cover her eyes, and she struggled to hold herself together. She felt drained. Empty. It was difficult just to focus on the task ahead.

The pneumatic hiss of a door opening drew her attention, and she glanced up to see Captain Nisaria and Aida walk into the room. The younger asari's hands were bound behind her back, and her head was bowed. She looked miserable and more than a little lost, and she was also clearly in a great deal of pain. Illitha knew that one of the medic's arms was broken, and it was probably agonizing to have them bound, but there was little other choice. They could not trust her.

Illitha could only look at the other asari for a moment. The mixture of anger and grief that filled her at the mere sight of her best friend – or perhaps _former_ best friend was a more appropriate description – was simply too much. She couldn't even imagine sitting down next to Aida again and watching vids together the way they used to do. At the moment, she didn't want to be anywhere near the girl. Her gaze shifted to the captain, lingering on the puncture in the side of her armor, where purple blood was visible upon the kinetic padding. She shook her head. This mission had cost them far too much for the gains.

"Lith…" Aida murmured the word.

"We need to get moving," Illitha suggested before Aida could say another word. _I do not want to hear any hollow apologies or excuses. You killed her, and… even if it was not your idea… I do not think I can ever forgive you for that…_

She stalked out through the doors into the haze and fading light of the setting sun, blinking in the gloom. The dust and debris kicked up by the orbital strikes still shrouded the area, filling the air with clouds of fine, drifting ash. She moved slowly as she exited the building, warily scanning her surroundings for signs of Reaper forces, but with the lingering clouds acting much like a fog, it was hard to be sure there weren't Reapers lurking around every corner. Her hand went to her hip, reflexively trying to retrieve her Carnifex from the maglock there, but the pistol was gone. She had thrown it at Salik when the thermal clip had reached capacity and then never bothered to retrieve it. She sighed and activated her omni-tool, since it was her only weapon at the moment, and focused upon her biotics, reinforcing her barrier to the best of her ability.

Zaeed moved near to her, and when Illitha glanced back, she saw the captain pushing Aida along at the rear. Illitha frowned and tried to suppress her doubts about bringing her former friend along. She hoped that it was just the hurt coloring her thoughts, but she half-expected Aida to start screaming for the Reapers to help her as soon as they spotted one. She still couldn't believe her friend had been indoctrinated. It was such a cruel twist of fate. She'd spent so long warning others about indoctrinated enemies, chasing down indoctrinated salarians, and trying to keep her friends safe, only to have one of her friends fall victim to the very thing that she had been warning everyone against.

She had originally told Neela that she would stay with the ground forces they rescued if there were too many for the shuttle, but after the possibility of taking down one of the Reapers came to light, she actually wanted to be on the shuttle for the assault. She would draw an intense satisfaction from being there to see the Cain launcher fired directly into a Reaper's giant red eye by something it thought was a friend. If ever there was a moment that embodied the very definition of poetic justice… that would be it.

"Which way are we headed?" Zaeed demanded as they reached the gate in the perimeter wall around the factory.

The question jarred Illitha out of her thoughts of revenge, and she activated her omni-tool, patiently waiting for a locator pulse to appear on her screen, as she had asked the survivors to arrange. Several minutes ticked by before the first one appeared, but it was not far from their current position. And then a second one appeared a moment later, in a set of buildings just a block south. The sounds of gunfire echoed throughout the entire area, some more distant than others, giving a clear indication that there would be enemy forces nearby.

"This way," she gestured, moving out into the street without hesitation. They had very little time to reach the survivors before Neela would be bringing the shuttle in to pick them up, and she wanted to save as many as she could. The urge to activate her tech armor for extra protection as they traveled was also strong, but the glowing panels would only draw attention if an enemy spotted her moving through the haze, so she was forced to resist.

She led the way into the crumbling buildings on the opposite side of the street, and it wasn't long before they encountered their first Reapers since leaving the factory. A pair of cannibals was moving through an adjacent room; Illitha got a glimpse of them as they passed a hole in the wall. She immediately raised her omni-tool and fired and incineration burst, watching as the orange trail streaked through the hole and curved out of her view. When there was a flash a moment later and a squeal from the cannibal, she nodded in satisfaction, darting toward the nearest door to press the assault. As she moved, her hand slipped to her side, and she retrieved Rachel's omni-tool from her belt, quickly activating the blonde's incineration program. If she had to be without a weapon, she could at least double her incineration arsenal by using two omni-tools…

There were more Reapers in the next room than she had anticipated. The smoldering remains of one cannibal were lying on the ground as she had expected, but instead of just one other, there were two more hungrily tearing their fallen friend apart and devouring it. A group of husks were also present, and the creatures growled and dashed toward her as soon as they spotted her. Illitha activated her tech armor and then raised both omni-tools, locking in on the two closest husks and showering them in flame. The sharp crack of Zaeed's rifle sounded over her shoulder as the mercenary joined in the assault. While there were more Reapers in the room than she'd first realized, it didn't take long for their group to deal with them, especially once the captain joined the assault. As the last of the creatures fell, Illitha found herself grinning.

The realization that she was enjoying hurting the Reaper ground troops struck her like a punch in the gut. The sudden wave of self-loathing that followed the realization brought her to a dead stop, and a cold feeling filled the pit of her stomach. She hated the Reapers for what they had done, true, but she didn't want to become a person who enjoyed hurting enemies… even enemies as loathsome as the Reapers. She closed her eyes and bowed her head, feeling a resurgence of pain and grief overwhelm her. She knew what she was feeling was natural. The Reapers had deprived her of someone she cared about, and it was predictable that she would want to hurt them in return. But she would not let herself fall so low as to revel in their suffering.

_When I fire that launcher at the Reaper, it will be to honor Rachel's request… not to take vengeance for her death. Petty revenge is an insult to her memory. She wanted me to protect her people, not hurt the Reapers…_

"Illitha?" the captain stepped close to her. Illitha realized she had been just standing there for far too long.

"I am fine," she said softly. "J-Just sorting out my feelings…"

"There's time for that shit later," Zaeed muttered. "In case you've forgotten, there are survivors to save…"

"I know," Illitha raised her head, forcing her pain and grief to the back of her mind. Going forward, she would be concentrating on protecting the survivors. Everything else could be dealt with later. "Let us go. The signal was close to here. Just through the next building, I think."

With both omni-tools ready, she resumed the lead. Zaeed quickly fell into step behind her, limping along as he moved. The sound of his uneven footfalls was oddly comforting to the engineer. It was as if Prathus was with her in spirit. She hoped so. She missed the turian's counsel and support. She hoped that wherever he was, she could continue to make him proud. It was yet another reason to carefully scrutinize her motivations. There were still people relying upon her, and she had many expectations of people – both living and dead – to live up to.

* * *

**Dotterstown Ruins, West of the Bombardment Site…**

"Cover fire!" Zaeed roared, rising from behind a shattered chunk of rubble and picking a target, putting a bullet cleanly through a cannibal's head, just beneath the armor plating that protected its cranium. Around him, a dozen other rifles immediately joined the assault, filling the air with thunderous reverberations. In the peripherals of his attention, Zaeed was aware of the slender asari engineer dashing out amidst the hail of gunfire, running to a pile of rubble out in the middle of the street, where their next group of survivors had bunkered down. The mercenary continued to pick the closest target to the asari's path, squeezing the trigger as soon as each new shot was lined up.

He'd had his issues with Illitha's choices during much of their time working together, but over the course of the day, she had been steadily earning his respect. And since Salik's death, she had been like an entirely different person. The core of her personality was the same, but it was as if she had broken out of her shell of indecision and uncertainty, because she was behaving like a woman possessed. In the past quarter hour, he had seen her making quick decisions, throwing herself into the thick of things without the least bit of doubt. But she was not behaving in a suicidal fashion either. The risks she was taking all seemed to be calculated… chosen specifically to allow her to save the people they had come to save. Two groups of survivors had already joined their ranks, and even as he watched, the asari engineer dashed up the pile of rubble in the street without slowing in the slightest, and once she reached the cover at its pinnacle, a pale blue dome spread out over the men and women there, granting them added protection from the Reaper troops.

Zaeed nodded in satisfaction. "She's there," he muttered, turning to the men on his right. "You, you and you, with me. We circle to the right and take out those bastards hiding in that crater over there," he pointed to a massive section of torn-up concrete, where a number of marauders and cannibals were bunkered down.

"We will deal with the left flank," Captain Nisaria gestured, tightening her grip upon the arm of their captive asari and dragging her along as she set off, with most of their remaining group in tow.

Only a few shooters and half a dozen wounded remained behind, waiting for the chance to move up in safety. Zaeed regarded the men that would be staying behind for a moment, but he knew there was no need to give them instructions. The same two men had been the guards for the wounded when they rescued the last group.

Zaeed's mobility was suffering as the conflict dragged on, but he did his best to keep pressing forward, leading the three men he had chosen over the rubble-filled streets and toward their targets. The four of them quickly dispatched the few Reaper stragglers they came across, and it was only moments before they were closing in on the larger force bunkered down in the crater. They took position behind their entrenched enemies, setting up along a shattered slab of concrete. Zaeed held up three fingers, silently lowering them one at a time as a countdown to the assault.

The flash of rifle discharges and the thunder of the gunshots filled the air on his last count, and the Reaper forces in the crater below them were taken completely by surprise when the first shots hit. Half a dozen fell before they could even respond. The remaining forces – mostly marauders, because of the protection of their shields – returned fire once they were able to shift focus, but they never stood a chance. The last of them fell within moments.

"Clear!" Zaeed called out, and three other voices echoed the call. The mercenary waved the others forward, while he remained in position, warily scanning the streets around them.

The orbital strike had been executed with pinpoint precision. The area to the east of them had been entirely flattened by the strike, and little more than smoking rubble and two very large craters remained. They had been skirting the impact zone, picking up the survivors on the outskirts, but Zaeed knew that the _real_ bulk of the Reaper forces was concentrated further to the south, and that the resistance would get much heavier if they pressed on. Unfortunately for the remaining survivors in the area, Zaeed saw an Alliance shuttle hover into view overhead, and he knew their pickup had arrived.

_"I am in position," _Neela's voice broadcast over the speaker in his helmet. _"Ready to begin extraction."_

_"Bring the shuttle down in the shell of the building on our west flank,"_ Illitha's voice answered the pilot. _"W-We will load the wounded aboard from there."_

Zaeed nodded once, his eyes shifting to the semi-intact buildings to the west. The force of the orbital bombardment had caused significant damage even to buildings this far away from the center of the impact. The structures to which the asari had referred were little more than crumbling and half-collapsed outer shells… everything inside of them had fallen inward to form huge piles of rubble on the interiors. The mercenary whistled to get the attention of his team and gestured to the buildings, and then left his cover behind, leading the way to the designated landing zone. Once they reached the building, they took positions in the remains of doors and windows, covering the other groups while they approached.

Within moments, the shuttle was in position, hovering over the rubble behind him, and the various groups of soldiers, both uninjured and wounded, were hurriedly moving inside. When the last man passed, Zaeed left his position, falling back to the shuttle. It would be a tight fit, but they hadn't picked up anyone that was critically injured, so he was sure they could get everyone aboard. He watched as the men climbed aboard the shuttle, but he was already eagerly anticipating the assault to come on the Reaper.

When only he and the asari engineer remained outside, he slapped her arm, urging her to get aboard. However, her attention was focused upon her omni-tool. His gaze shifted downward, and from his vantage, he could see the small flashes of pings sent by other survivors. He immediately knew what she was thinking.

"You're staying," he commented. It wasn't a question.

Illitha raised her head, and he could see in her eyes just how much she wanted to go. He could tell that she wanted to be present when the Reaper fell. But she couldn't force herself to abandon the other survivors that were still waiting for help in the area. He was suddenly reminded of Shepard. While the Spectre had occasionally been willing to make sacrifices to see an objective completed, she had also been driven to go out of her way to help when she could. Zaeed didn't share that altruistic streak, but it was something he recognized and could respect.

"Get aboard," Illitha urged. "I… You know what the Cain can do. Promise me that you will bring the Reaper down."

"You've got my word," Zaeed assured her.

"Then go. It… Y-You all need to be in position in less than two minutes. This opportunity cannot be lost."

"T'Zari is staying behind to rescue the others in the area," Zaeed announced. "Any volunteers to help?" When there was no immediate response, his eyes narrowed. "We don't have all goddamn day. Speak up!"

He saw the asari commando start to step forward, but Illitha was quick to wave her off. "No, Captain," he heard her say. "You have to keep an eye on… on…" the engineer trailed off. She swallowed before continuing. "You are wounded. Get to a medic. And make sure everyone else is safe."

"I will not leave you here," Julisa insisted. "We will not argue about this."

"Captain," Illitha frowned at the older asari. "You cannot… Y-You have greater responsibilities than just my welfare. The rest of the crew needs you. And you must keep an eye on her," she nodded toward her indoctrinated crewmate, who was seated on the shuttle's bench, staring off into space. "This is my decision."

"You cannot throw your life away out of grief," Zaeed could barely hear the commando's words, they were so softly spoken.

"I… Th-This is not about grief," Illitha murmured. "I made a promise to Rachel… to help her people. I-I cannot abandon survivors here just because I want to see the Reapers pay firsthand. You have a duty to the rest of the crew. You cannot stay for just one of us and abandon all of the others…"

Zaeed frowned, turning his gaze upon the soldiers packed into the shuttle while the two asari continued to debate the matter. He could feel time ticking away, and he knew they couldn't afford to wait. "Well?" he prompted. "She's trying to save _your_ fellow soldiers. Anyone got the balls to stay and help?" He knew that the surviving soldiers had all nearly been incinerated by the bombardment, and on one hand he couldn't really blame them for not stepping up and volunteering to stay behind, but it still infuriated him. He had been watching the asari run out into hails of Reaper gunfire to save their asses for the past fifteen minutes, and not one of them was willing to stay and help her now.

"Go," Illitha told him, slapping him on the back. "I expect you to keep your promise."

"And I expect you to keep yours," the asari captain interjected. Zaeed had clearly missed the promise the engineer had made while he was addressing the soldiers, but he could guess what it was. A promise to survive, no doubt…

"I will," Illitha said softly. "Now go. There is no more time to waste."

Zaeed regarded the engineer in silence for a moment, and then slowly extended a hand. Illitha looked down at his outstretched hand, and then the asari quickly took it. He tightened his grip and gave her hand a firm shake, and then hopped up into the shuttle.

"Everyone is aboard, Neela," Illitha said softly. "Get to the F.O.B.. There is a Reaper waiting."

_"Acknowledged,"_ he heard the quarian's voice broadcast over the intercom to the passenger area. Zaeed doubted she was even aware that Illitha was staying behind.

As the shuttle rose into the air and he watched the asari engineer turn and walk out into the street, he looked around at the men in the shuttle, eyeing them coldly. He couldn't help sneering at the whole lot of them. While they had been efficient and courageous until the shuttle arrived, he could barely stomach being near them now.

"Cowards," he growled the word, loudly enough for all of them to hear him. Then he stepped into the cockpit to retrieve the Cain. As he was stepping inside, a voice on their old prearranged squad channel caught his attention.

_"Miss T'Zari, this is Corporal Rivera. The F.O.B. is a total loss, and our ground forces are retreating to make way for the artillery advance. Me, Olimar and Tandis are headed into the city. Did we hear correctly that you're in the bombardment zone on rescue duty? We'll meet you up there ASAP."_

Zaeed nodded once when he heard the asari respond in the affirmative. He wished the whole group the best of luck. But now there was another matter that demanded his attention. It was about time to see the destruction of a Reaper firsthand…

* * *

**Edge of the Impact Zone, Dotterstown Ruins…**

Private First-Class Ryan Copeland ducked as another grenade sailed past his head, and could hear one of his companions scramble to grab the device and hurl it out of the depression they were using as a bunker before it detonated. He gazed through the scope of his rifle, placing the crosshairs directly upon the eye of the cannibal responsible for hurling the grenade. He waited for a fraction of a second, adjusting his aim when the VI corrected for the distance, and then took a deep breath and held it, squeezing the trigger. He saw the violent jerk of the creature's upper body, and watched as it tumbled from its perch. He grunted in satisfaction. A quick jerk of the bolt on his rifle ejected the thermal clip, and he snapped a new one into the slot, waiting until he heard the click of the bolt automatically closing.

Roars and screeches sounded from the haze all around them, the sounds of gunfire were almost constant, and the enemy was closing in on all sides. They had set their backs against a collapsed building so that the Reapers couldn't come up behind them, and were perched in a depression surrounded by rubble at the base of the fallen structure, desperately trying to hold out for an evacuation shuttle. They had started with ten men and an equal number of wounded, but the Reaper forces were so numerous that they had even been forced to get the wounded fighting. Only four of them were left standing… everyone else was dead. He tried to both control his fear and block out the dull ache that permeated his side where a Reaper bullet had breached his armor. The former was more difficult. There were a _lot_ of enemies out there.

He swept his rifle from right to left, gazing through the scope as it traveled across the hoard of creatures scattered throughout the rubble in front of them, looking for the most dangerous target he could find. He finally sighted a brute stalking through the Reaper ranks, and he lined up his shot carefully, firing when he had its head firmly in his sights. On his right and left, his fellow marines were firing at anything that moved with their assault rifles, while their fourth had taken on the sole duty of quickly locating and throwing away any grenades that were lobbed into their cover. They couldn't afford to be forced out into the open. There had to be hundreds of Reapers out there, and without cover, they would be dead in seconds.

"Shit shit shit!" the man on his left swore. "We have to make a run for it, Copeland! There's no way a shuttle is gonna come down in this shit. Waiting here is just gonna get us killed!"

"Keep cool, Marx," Ryan warned, squeezing off a second shot at the brute. Outwardly, he put on a show of being calm and collected, though in truth he was anything but. He secretly thought his friend was right. "How many thermals you got left?"

"Two. When they're gone, we're dead!"

Ryan frowned and adjusted his aim, trying to find a good, vulnerable spot on the brute. The creature had shielded its head after his first shot, and it still hadn't gone down after the second. He finally set the crosshairs on a spot near the center of its chest, right above the armor plating there, and squeezed the trigger. He had the satisfaction of watching the creature stagger and pitch over, falling atop a husk that was dashing past. He grinned and yanked the bolt to eject his thermal clip, snapped another one into place, and then checked the holder at his side.

_Four left… Just five shots remaining…_

"We have to go!" Marx screamed.

"If we step out into that shit, we're dead!" Ryan shouted at him. "Look at them out there! They'll cut us to pieces!"

He saw the fear on his fellow marine's face, but he also saw the underlying knowledge that said his friend knew what their fate would be if they ran. He knew they would die. He just wanted to die while making an _attempt_ at living, rather than sitting in their little hole and waiting to be overrun. He glanced to his right, at the other marine, and saw tears running down the man's cheeks while he sprayed an onrushing group of husks with rifle fire.

_Maybe he's right. Maybe running is the best option,_ he finally thought. _We'll be killed, but at least we'd be trying to get out instead of just waiting here…_

"Alright," he nodded. "We run for it. Hit all the shit closest to us. Put as many down as you can with one clip. Then we'll pull out. Maybe we can make it."

Ryan was just taking aim at a Marauder near the front of the lines when a streak of light sailed into the front ranks of the Reapers and suddenly burst into a swirling vortex, hoisting several cannibals out of their cover and trapping them within the field.

"Are you seeing this shit?" Marx demanded.

"Yeah," Ryan muttered. He'd never seen anything like it. Even as he watched, another glowing object streaked into the center of the vortex. There was a brilliant explosion, and Reaper bodies sailed in all directions. The few Reapers that had been standing near the vortex were flattened by the blast.

"What the hell is going on?" the third marine demanded.

_"Alliance forces,"_ a female voice blared over the earpiece in his helmet. _"I-I am going to set up a path for you to follow. Run along the line of singularities and keep the fields between yourselves and the Reapers. The gravitational pull should throw off the path of any shots fired at you... R-Run as fast as you can. I will try to keep them off-balance."_

"Thank Christ," Ryan bowed his head and gathered his gear.

His attention was drawn to their left as a line of swirling vortexes appeared one after another, giving them a path to follow as they withdrew. And through the haze, he could just barely make out a lone figure at the end of the line, wreathed in the glow of tech armor. Even as he watched, he saw her hurling glowing balls of light into the midst of the Reaper forces, and he heard the thunderous echo of detonations similar to the first one they'd witnessed.

"Go!" he shouted, and all four of them scrambled out of the hole, running along the path behind the eerie miniature black holes. They all made sure to give the fields a wide berth. Ryan had seen the way the vortex had picked up several Reapers at once, and he wanted to avoid being snared by one of the phenomena. Hisses and snaps sounded all around him as the Reapers fired upon them, and more than one bullet actually struck his shield, but he had to believe that the vortexes were offering protection as their mysterious savior had suggested they might. Because there were far fewer impacts than the number of shots he could hear being fired. Still, the few shots that did find him were taking their toll, and by the time he was nearing the end of the path, a warning alarm told him his shield was on the verge of collapse.

He dashed up the incline of the pile of rubble where their savior was perched, and he saw that she broke off her attack at the last minute. He caught a glimpse of blue skin as she placed herself in front of them and raised her arms, and a dome formed over the rubble around them while they climbed. He didn't have time to marvel over either the presence of the asari or the amazing abilities she was displaying. He could hear crackling sounds as the barrier deflected shots that would otherwise have been striking them directly, and he was quick to scramble up the pile of debris and over the top so that their rescuer could stop protecting them and withdraw. Once he was over the rise, he collapsed onto a crumbling block of concrete and closed his eyes, trying to catch his breath and give his pulse a chance to slow.

A hand grabbed the collar of his armor and tugged, urging him to rise. "You cannot rest now," the asari admonished. "The Reapers are already swarming this way. W-We must withdraw. There is another group of survivors in a building to the south. We must reach them and lend a hand."

"You have to be kidding," Marx grumbled. "No fucking way! We almost got killed back there. You expect us to turn around and run into another group of Reapers now? With these ones right on our ass?"

Ryan pushed himself up, studying their savior for the first time, and he was surprised by what he saw. The asari was small and slender. She seemed entirely too petite to be running around a warzone saving people. She looked weary and disheartened, and even as Marx continued to rant about the stupidity of going back into danger, he saw a look of resigned disappointment settle over her features.

"Do as you wish then," the asari shrugged, snatching the rifle from Marx's hands. "But I need this."

"Hey, hold on," Marx growled, grabbing the asari by the arm and spinning her around. "You can't just take my-"

Ryan considered Marx to be a friend, and he certainly understood why his friend didn't want to rush right back into danger, but at that moment, his gratitude was far greater than the wish to support his squad mate. He roughly shoved the other marine away from the asari.

"Back off," he growled.

"But she's taking my rifle! What if we run into Reapers on-"

"If?" Ryan repeated. "_If?_ She _will_ run into Reapers. So let her have the damned rifle!" He grabbed the pistol that was his backup sidearm and tossed it to his friend. "There. If you run into trouble, use that."

"Wait," Marx stared at him. "If _I_ run into trouble? What about you?"

"We were dead back there, and you know it," Ryan muttered, glancing at the other marines before returning his gaze to his friend. "Running wasn't gonna save us. _She _saved us. I'm going with her. If she's gonna save more of us, I'm gonna help."

"Copeland…" Marx shook his head. "You'll get yourself killed."

"Maybe," Ryan nodded. "But if I do, it'll be so that two… or five… or ten more of us survive. Get going before-"

A glowing blue orb streaked past his head, startling him and interrupting the conversation. He saw the ball of light curve upward at the last second and slam into the face of a husk that was just climbing over the rise, sending the creature spiraling end over end out of sight. More husks dashed into sight after the first, and Ryan and his fellow marines all acted out of instinct, turning and firing in unison. The husks ran headlong into their waiting firing line and one after another fell to their combined fire.

"Argue elsewhere," the asari told them, turning and starting off over the rubble at a brisk pace. She obviously didn't intend to wait for them.

"Make up your own minds," Ryan told his fellows. "I'm going with her," he added, turning and hurrying after the retreating asari, struggling to catch up with her. As he drew within reach, he slapped her on the shoulder of her armor. "Thanks," he said simply.

"N-No need to thank me," she said softly. He could barely hear her over the distant echoes of gunfire. "I am here to help."

"I… I really hate to ask for more since you already saved my ass," Ryan sighed. "But do you have any extra thermal clips? I'm down to two now." He had used up a few more on the husks, and his Mantis rifle overheated a thermal clip with every shot he fired, making them a precious commodity.

The asari never paused in her stride, but she reached into the belt compartment designed for holding thermal clips and held a handful out for him to take. It would only give him four more shots, but anything he could get would help. He took them and slipped them into his ammo compartment, muttering another "thank you". A quick glance behind himself showed him that all three of his fellow marines were following. He was glad they'd come to their senses. With the asari to lead them, maybe they would be able not only to survive and escape the city, but to bring others with them.

* * *

**F.O.B. Delta-1…**

Zaeed crouched in front of the shuttle hatch, wincing at the twinge he felt in his knee, and activated the magnetic systems in his boots, readying the Cain for use. His eyes were upon the screen that provided an exterior view, and he could see on that monitor that the Reaper was already under attack. Explosions against its carapace or in the air around it were almost constant, and the Thanix missiles were rocking the massive machine. He saw no signs of a shimmer that suggested the Reaper had a shield active, but he could see the flashes of the Reaper equivalent of GARDIAN lasers taking out many of the missiles before they struck. The beams emitted from the Reaper's central eye came at regular intervals, showing that the Reaper was still fighting back. The Alliance's artillery was doing visible damage to the Reaper's outer shell, but it would have taken a lucky strike against a vulnerable spot for the missiles to fully disable the thing. Zaeed was guessing that the central eye was the best possible striking point.

They were only waiting for the right moment to strike. While the Cain packed an impressive punch, they didn't want to underestimate the Reaper's toughness and waste the opportunity they had. It was important that they hold off until the last possible second, so that they could be sure that their attack would put the Reaper down.

_"Assault team, this is Captain Shirakawa,"_ the transmission was broadcast over the shuttle's internal speakers. _"Our recon team reports that another Reaper just lifted off from the city and headed this way. You need to strike now or withdraw. There'll be a second Reaper inbound within minutes."_

The Reaper was entirely ignoring their shuttle as they circled, and Zaeed was already smirking in anticipation of the surprise the gigantic synthetic bastard had coming. As he watched the screen, he saw a massive explosion from one of the Reaper's legs as a Thanix missile struck just at the joint, and he saw the towering machine stagger. They had all heard the warning, and the Reaper's visible impairment was the best sign they could hope for that it was time to strike.

"It's now or never," he called out.

"Neela, bring us around," Captain Nisaria urged. The former commando took position at the shuttle hatch, ready to open it when they were in front of the Reaper.

Zaeed raised the Cain into firing position and braced himself.

_"We are coming around to the front now, Captain,"_ the quarian informed them.

The asari commando triggered the shuttle door, and the barrier shifted outward and to the side, admitting a blast of sweltering heat and the stench of smoke. The front of the massive Reaper filled the entirety of Zaeed's view, and he watched as the plating at the front of the Reaper parted and shifted outward, revealing that huge glowing eye. It fired a beam at something on the ground.

"Incoming," the mercenary growled as he pulled the trigger and held it, waiting for the weapon to build to full power and fire.

The discharge of the Cain rocked him, and the moment the shot was off, the asari captain shouted to her pilot, prompting the quarian to gun the engines to full power and get them out of the area. Zaeed's eyes turned to the screen, and he watched as the image faded to white when the shot struck home, overloaded by the flash of the detonation. The deafening rumble of the impact filled the air, drowning out even the sound of the shuttle's engines for a moment. As it faded, they could all hear the groan of twisting metal, and the quarian brought the shuttle around so that they could all see the results of their attack through the hatch.

The Reaper's legs were twisting under its weight as it tilted precariously to the side, with smoke pouring from a massive breach in its central hull. Even as they watched, the alloy of the legs snapped under the stress, and the Reaper pitched over in the remains of the camp, striking the ground with a tremendous rumble. A rising cloud of dust and smoke obscured the view of the fallen machine.

A deafening cheer ran through the men packed into the shuttle, and Zaeed clenched his hand into a fist, pounding it against the floor in celebration. The asari closed the shuttle hatch, and the mercenary's eyes turned once again to the screen. As the dust began to settle, he could see smoke rising from the remains of the Reaper, and their enemy showed no sign of movement. It seemed he now had one enemy Reaper to add to his kill count for the war.

"Neela… Take us to the emergency medical shelter," Captain Nisaria ordered. "It is time to drop off the wounded, pick up any stable patients they wish to offload, and get to the rendezvous with the Alliance."

"It's time to take our Cerberus shuttle back and go claim our ship," Zaeed muttered.

His eyes met those of the asari, and she nodded once. "I could not agree more. We have done enough. Once we rescue my engineer, it will be time to get off world."

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: Thank you again to all of you who are reading, reviewing, or have favorited/followed this story. It has actually been a full year now that I've been working on it, and I'm happy to have had so many readers along for the ride. Given the fact that this story doesn't follow Shepard and the crew of the Normandy, I never expected to build the kind of following I have, and I appreciate it more than I can ever put into words.**

**Just a small note about this Chapter. I never understood why the Reapers didn't use some sort of GARDIAN laser system when being bombarded with artillery in the games. It was mentioned in the codex (I think) that they use them in space, so why not defend themselves on the ground the same way? Hopefully me adding that little detail wasn't too far out of left field. But the destruction of the Reaper was another one of those moments I've had in my head for a long time... I really wanted to take indoctrination and sort of turn it around in a technological form on the Reapers. Thus the Reaper IFF in the shuttle, and a nice Cain launcher that Neela has been lugging around for a while... :)**

**The first of the Epilogues has been finished (and came out a bit longer than my average Chapter), and I have only one more to write, and then I will officially be finished writing the story. I still haven't decided whether I am just going to put up all remaining Chapters at once when that happens or if I'll just accelerate my release schedule, but for THIS week, the next Chapter, barring disasters, will go up Monday morning. I hope everyone has a great Mother's Day weekend.**


	64. Chapter 64: Gathering

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Sixty-Four: Gathering

.

**Emergency Medical Site Alpha, Southern Dotterstown…**

Julisa frowned to herself as Neela brought their shuttle around and the humans around her prepared to disembark. Their assault against the Reaper at F.O.B. Delta-1 had been a much-needed success, and recon teams sent in to confirm that the giant machine was down reported no traces of active power sources or signal transmissions. Just to be safe, the Alliance had immediately withdrawn their scouts from the base to obviate the risk of indoctrination, leaving VI-controlled drones to watch the area. It had been an inspiring sight to see the Reaper topple and fall, and for a span of a few moments, the former commando had celebrated along with the others.

After the initial moments of elation faded, however, other concerns were quick to press upon her. She had not been happy with Illitha's decision to remain in the city, and was still battling the guilt she felt for leaving a member of her crew in a dangerous zone without backup. The only thing that had prompted her to finally give in to Illitha's insistence had been the younger asari's arguments that there were more members of her crew that needed her elsewhere. Regardless of her commitment to seeing Illitha protected, Neela and Aida also had to be looked after, and she didn't dare leave her indoctrinated medic unsupervised… especially since there hadn't yet been time to fill Neela in on everything that had happened. The pilot remained blissfully unaware of the dark turn things had taken.

"We're in position," the quarian called from the cockpit.

Zaeed triggered the exterior hatch, and one by one, the men stepped from the shuttle and onto the shattered floor of the half-collapsed building the Alliance was using as an emergency medical shelter. There were also several stretchers waiting, and these would be loaded once the shuttle was clear. Stabilized patients were being airlifted to safer zones south of the city. Julisa's attention was drawn to one of the stretchers, where she caught a glimpse of a blue face, mostly hidden behind a filtration mask. She rose from her seat on the bench and gestured to get Zaeed's attention.

"Watch her," the commando warned with a nod toward Aida.

Zaeed nodded, and Julisa stepped into the cockpit. While she had only a passing familiarity with the human mercenary, she recognized professionalism when she saw it, and she knew he would keep a close eye upon the medic, if only because Aida presented a possible threat.

"Captain," Neela greeted her with a nod when she entered the cockpit and sat down in the copilot's seat. "Aren't you going to get off the shuttle for a minute?"

"You want me to check on Selura," Julisa guessed. She had anticipated as much, which was the reason she had joined Neela to begin with.

"Well, you're injured, so I thought…" Neela began, but quickly gave up the pretense. "I… I really need to know she is all right. Elliot stayed with her, but he hasn't contacted me. He's… probably grieving."

The captain understood Neela's hesitance to take the initiative and call the teenager. She hadn't been aware that the boy's brother had died, but if so, he might be struggling with that grief and need time to think. She brought up the control display on the holographic interface in front of her, preparing to take over the duty of flying the shuttle, glad that at least Neela's mind would be put at ease… at least as far as the fate of her girlfriend was concerned. "She is stable," she informed her pilot. "You can check on her yourself in a moment when they load her aboard."

"She is with the patients we're picking up?" Neela turned to stare at her, and a trace of a smile touched the quarian's lips. But there was also worry in her expression.

Julisa nodded and activated the transfer protocols for the controls, and it took the quarian barely a breath to relinquish control of the shuttle and rise from her seat. However, before the captain could let her go, she knew she had to pass along the less uplifting news.

"Neela, stay away from Aida," she warned. "She is indoctrinated."

"What?" the quarian froze in place, staring at her as if she had lost her mind.

"She killed Illitha's human friend… and would have killed Illitha as well if I had not intervened. No matter what she says, she is to remain in restraints and you are to remain out of her reach. Am I clear?"

"She's in restraints?" Neela frowned. "But… what about her arm?"

"There was no other choice. She poses a danger, whether she means to or not."

"I don't understand," the quarian's shoulders drooped a little. "How could she be indoctrinated? I mean… when did they…?"

"We can find out later, once we are clear of this planet. For now, just keep your distance."

"We're leaving then?"

"I want to meet with the Alliance commander and see how soon they expect to have their QEC device working. I would like to get some idea as to the situation we would be fleeing into. But yes… we are leaving. We all have loved ones elsewhere and we may not get another chance to escape."

Neela nodded, and it was clear from the look in her eyes that she was unhappy with the recent turn of events. However, Julisa could hear men climbing aboard the shuttle, and the soft clanks of stretchers being settled on the decks. The noise drew the pilot's attention, and her focus seemed to immediately turn to checking on her girlfriend. She stepped into the passenger compartment without another word. Left alone in the cockpit, the former commando activated the radio, listening for updates on Illitha's position or whereabouts. She did not have to wait long.

_"This is Illitha," _the engineer's voice was among the first that the captain heard. _"We… I am requesting another medical evac shuttle at the following nav-point. We have the perimeter secured and seven wounded awaiting pickup."_

The captain could clearly hear a non-stop barrage of gunfire and explosions in the background, and she tried to envision the horde of Reapers that her engineer might be facing. Her hands clenched, and she had to fight the urge to turn the shuttle northward immediately to go and assist her crew member. The former commando was injured, and the anesthetic effects of the medigel were beginning to wear off, but she had a duty to her crew. That responsibility was far more pressing than her pain.

_"Copy that, rescue team,"_ Shirakawa's deep voice answered the transmission. _"We'll divert a shuttle and Trident Wing Beta to your location immediately. Mark a nav-point line to denote your location, paint the hostile zone and bunker down. The tridents will make an attack run to provide a little relief. Can you provide a sitrep?"_

_"We have a force of eighteen healthy soldiers thus far, including the members of my group that came north to join us," _Illitha reported. _"T-The Reaper resistance has been extremely heavy and supplies are running low. I… I think… It seems we might make th-the south edge of the city within the next couple of hours if the Reaper forces do not get much heavier. There are distress pulses from at least ten more groups nearby."_

_"Understood," _Shirakawa was quick to respond. _"We'll load the evac shuttle with as many crates of thermal clips and grenades as we can spare. They'll be airborne within five minutes."_

The only response from Illitha's end for several minutes was garbled shouts and gunfire, and every now and then, Julisa could hear the distinctive double-explosion of biotic detonations. Ordinarily she loved that sound… the sharp crack when a biotic field collapsed followed by the concussive boom of the energy exploding outward… but at present, she could only wait and worry for her engineer.

_"W-We need it here faster than that,"_ Illitha's voice returned after a moment.

_"We can't speed up the shuttle departure. But we'll scramble the tridents out there for an air strike to give you some breathing room. ETA: 180 seconds."_

Julisa couldn't keep silent any longer. "Illitha, we can bring our shuttle north and evacuate you all. We could be there within a few minutes."

_"No, Captain,"_ the engineer was quick to respond. _"I… There are a large number of distress pulses in the area. There could be twenty or thirty men out here waiting for assistance… m-maybe more. I am getting them out. All of them."_

Julisa ground her teeth in frustration. All of her instincts were screaming at her to have Neela resume her position at the controls and drop her off at the engineer's location so that she could help. An asari commando would have been a tremendous boon to the beleaguered rescue team, even if she was injured.

_"I will be fine, Captain,"_ Illitha spoke again, as if anticipating her train of thought. _"You cannot… I… You must get everyone to the Alliance operations base. We will join you all there in a few hours."_

Julisa firmly suppressed her doubts. Her engineer had proven to be capable and committed on more than one occasion in the past days, and the mere fact that she'd left their shuttle alone and now had a force of eighteen combat-ready soldiers and seven wounded spoke volumes. Clearly, she was getting the job done. She supposed it was time to let go and allow the engineer to do what she felt she had to do.

"See that you rejoin us on time," she finally said. "We will get the Cerberus shuttle prepped and ready for departure."

_"We are leaving?"_ Illitha asked.

"We have done enough here. We helped to destroy a Reaper, and we have fought to help the Alliance get what they needed to give them a fighting chance. We have all earned the chance to find our families and help to keep them safe."

_"This is Trident Wing Beta Lead,"_ a voice interrupted the conversation. _"We're inbound. Nav-line received. Strike zone established. Commencing our run now."_

_"I have to go, Captain," _Illitha informed her. _"We will see you at the base."_

"We're all loaded, Captain," Neela called from the rear.

Julisa nodded to herself and turned her attention to the controls. The new Alliance base awaited them. She was eager to begin preparing for the strike on the Cerberus frigate. She knew that Zaeed was impatiently waiting for the same opportunity. Within a week, she could potentially be on Thessia with her daughter. She had no idea how that meeting would go, but whether Eleira was willing to talk or only wanted to slap her in the face, she would drag the girl to a safe place. If it killed her, she would ensure that her daughter survived the Reapers.

* * *

**Approaching Rallying Point Two…**

Zaeed snorted when their destination came into view on the shuttle's exterior display, shaking his head slightly. It seemed that the Reapers had driven the Alliance out of anything that resembled proper shelter. The new Alliance base of operations was nothing more than a collection of vehicles and men milling around in a winding canyon, where their presence would be hidden from anything that didn't pass directly overhead. The mercenary stepped closer to the display to get a better look at the area below as they descended into its midst, trying to spot the Cerberus shuttle among the vehicles. That shuttle was theirs, and they needed it if they were going to seize the frigate that was orbiting the neighboring planet. He just hoped the asari engineer had found the time to decrypt the information on the Cerberus commander's omni-tool. They would need the authorization codes and approach procedures if they had any hope of getting aboard the ship.

"Zaeed," the asari captain called from the cockpit.

Having seen no sign of the shuttles, Zaeed stepped away from the screen and into the doorway of the cockpit. "What?"

"When we land, can you perform a quick task for me?"

"Depends," the mercenary muttered. "What is it?"

"Take charge of Aida? See her delivered into Alliance custody and inform them that she needs a medic? I need to see Selura and Neela to the infirmary and get my wounds treated before I seek out Captain Shirakawa."

"I need to talk to him too," Zaeed pointed out. "And I need to hunt down our shuttle."

"Then you cannot deal with Aida?"

"I'll get her where she needs to be," Zaeed made his decision. "And then I'll meet you at Shirakawa's command center."

The asari nodded, and Zaeed returned to the passenger compartment, carefully stepping around the stretchers that held the injured men and women they were transporting. The indoctrinated asari doctor had barely moved during the entirety of their shuttle ride. She had mostly been staring off into space, and her face was streaked with tears. The mercenary wasn't sure how much indoctrination changed the inner workings of a person's mind, but it was clear to him that the asari was trying to come to grips with what she had done. He wondered if she could still hear or feel the Reapers prodding her to do things.

"Get up," he growled the words, grabbing her arm and assisting her to her feet.

Aida winced when his sudden tug caused the bindings to wrench her broken wrist, but Zaeed didn't particularly care if he was causing her pain. "Where are we?" she asked.

Zaeed studied the preoccupied expression that clouded her features, and he wasn't entirely sure he should answer. Shepard had spoken of indoctrination once or twice during their time preparing for the assault on the Collector base, but she hadn't given a great deal of detail… likely because she didn't know much about it herself. Zaeed had no way of knowing if the Reapers could somehow receive information from their indoctrinated agents without the benefit of electronic communication. He didn't intend to inadvertently give them any information.

"You're about to go into Alliance custody," was all he told her.

"Where is Lith?"

Zaeed shook his head and ignored the question. He had no interest in answering her. Now that they were descending into the Alliance camp, he felt like his revenge upon the Illusive Man was almost within his grasp, and he was eager to get off of Terra Nova and back to the task that really interested him. All he needed was the information from the Cerberus omni, the assistance of the surviving asari, and perhaps a few volunteers willing to leave Terra Nova. He wasn't sure they would be able to pilot a frigate with just the handful of people they had in their group. Drafting a few more would definitely be necessary.

The moment the shuttle touched down, Zaeed triggered the hatch and shoved Aida toward the ramp as it descended. His gaze roamed over the crowds of soldiers and civilians in the area, and he tried to figure out where to go with his prisoner. The Alliance didn't even have the benefit of prefabs in their new location, so he doubted he would find an actual brig. His attention was drawn by an approaching group of men.

"Medical evac shuttle?" One of the soldiers asked as the group drew near.

"Yeah," Zaeed gestured over his shoulder. "Got half a dozen wounded on stretchers in there."

"Alright guys, let's get them offloaded!" the soldier called to the others, and he and the rest of the men started to hurry past. Zaeed brought him up short by stepping into his path.

"Where are you putting prisoners?" he demanded, nodding toward Aida.

The young man glanced at the asari, studying her quietly, and then he finally turned and gestured in the direction from which he had come. "Head that way. You'll find a circle of transport trucks. They're handling prisoners by locking them up in the cargo compartments of the vehicles."

Zaeed nodded and headed off in the direction the young man had indicated, keeping a firm grasp upon the asari's arm as they walked. He was expecting her to try running at the first opportunity. However, she never made any attempt to escape. It took them several minutes to find the ring of vehicles that the soldier had pointed him to, but eventually it came into view… a group of military transports and cargo trucks parked in a ring. There were a number of armed guards in the area, and no sign of civilians nearby. Zaeed marched Aida toward the vehicles, and one of the sentries was quick to step into his path.

"This is a restricted area," the guard informed him.

"And this is a prisoner," Zaeed pushed Aida forward. "She's indoctrinated. Turned on her fellow asari and tried to kill one of them."

He noticed that Aida bowed her head at his announcement, and saw her shoulders begin to shudder with sobs, but he ignored her reaction. The guard studied the pair of them for the moment, and then waved them forward. Several nearby sentries moved up to flank them as they entered the ring of vehicles. Zaeed allowed one of the humans to take hold of his prisoner, following the group into the area. One of the guards opened the back of a truck, revealing a number of prisoners locked up in makeshift cages inside. Zaeed snorted at the sight. It looked like someone had taken salvaged pieces of fence and welded them into the interior of the cargo truck. Several of the sentries worked together to remove Aida's bindings and to divest her of her armor and weapons.

"She needs a medic," Zaeed pointed out. "Broke her wrist while we were in the city."

One of the guards climbed up into the vehicle and opened one of the cages, while another called for a medic on the radio. All of the sentries appeared to be on edge, and Zaeed couldn't blame them. With asari prisoners, biotics were always a potential danger. They couldn't disarm the naturally-biotic prisoners of their abilities. He noted that one of the men was keeping his weapon constantly trained upon the girl's head.

Zaeed started to turn away, getting the sense that the soldiers had things well in hand, but as he was preparing to leave, he caught sight of the other prisoners in the vehicle. One of them was Captain Tarrislav, who was glaring at him. The other was a familiar face. He recalled the man being one of McSween's mates in Mivian Heights.

"Harper," he muttered the name when he finally remembered it.

"You know him?" one of the guards asked.

"Met him in Mivian Heights," Zaeed nodded. "What did he do?"

"They're all indoctrinated," the young man pointed out. "Corporal Harper was assigned to the crew responsible for building the housing for a communications device. But instead he constructed a scrambler that cut communications and a pulse beacon that drew the Reapers to the F.O.B.. His superior caught him just as he was activating it. Unfortunately it was too late by then."

Zaeed's expression hardened at the thought. Reaper ground forces were dangerous enough, but if he had learned one thing on Terra Nova, it was that indoctrinated spies were the biggest threat the Reapers brought to the war. He shook his head and turned to leave. It was time to find his shuttle. And then meet with Shirakawa.

* * *

**Medical Area, Rallying Point Two…**

Neela anxiously followed the men that were carrying Selura's stretcher, wincing with every step she took. While she was running a fever again as a result of the wound she had suffered fighting the drone at the shuttle, and her ankle was throbbing after all of the time she spent walking on it, the entirety of her attention was focused upon her girlfriend. She was eager to talk to a doctor and find out exactly what the scientist's prognosis was.

The medical area was a cube-shaped depression bored into the canyon wall, and Neela was instinctively horrified by the sight of it. The excavation looked like a recent construction, given the pile of neat stone cubes that were stacked right outside of the area, but the chamber was open to the surrounding terrain, and there were patient beds lined up in rows throughout the area. For the quarian, whose health and well-being required sterile environments, the thought of doctors treating wounded patients in what was essentially just a man-made cave was impossible to digest.

The stretcher-bearers deposited Selura onto a makeshift table and walked away without a word, leaving Neela to stand beside her girlfriend's 'bed' and wait for a doctor to come by. While she waited, Neela leaned over the scientist, studying her worriedly. She could see the rise and fall of the asari's chest, so she knew she was alive, but she wished she knew more about asari physiology. Just out of curiosity, she pressed a finger down into the space just behind Selura's collarbone, wondering if the asari body might have a major artery there the way quarians did. It was a common place for quarian doctors to feel for a pulse in their patients when performing open-suit examinations; Neela had seen her mother do it many times. In Selura's case, however, she felt nothing.

"Checking for a pulse?" a weary male voice startled her.

Neela withdrew her hand quickly and whirled to face her visitor, finding a young human watching her. He was dressed all in white, though the overcoat he wore was stained at the sleeves with reddish-brown blotches that she assumed were dried human blood. She swallowed nervously and nodded.

"Here," the human gestured, stepping around to stand by Selura's head. He gently worked his hand beneath her, pressing his fingers into the folds at the back of the scientist's neck. "You can feel an asari's pulse by working your fingers into the ridges at the very base of her neck. Try it," he urged.

The doctor moved out of the way, activating his omni-tool and running some scans while Neela took his place, carefully working her hand into position and tentatively probing the folds in the back of her girlfriend's neck, Eventually she found the right spot, and could feel the soft pulse of the asari's heartbeat beneath her fingertips. She smiled at the sensation, and marveled at the warmth she could feel through the thin material of her gloves.

"That's also an erogenous zone," the doctor commented distractedly while he worked.

Neela hurriedly withdrew her hand, blushing fiercely at the observation. While it would be a useful bit of information sometime in the future, when the two of them were safe and free to properly pursue their relationship, at the moment she simply felt awkward and embarrassed. To know that she had been fondling some sort of pleasure-center on her girlfriend's body in front of a stranger… She looked away, clasping her hands behind her back and trying to ignore the sudden rush of warmth that was threatening to stifle her within her suit.

"Well, the surgeons had quite a bit of work on their hands from the look of it. Your friend's abdomen is full of repaired perforations. It looks like almost every major organ was hit," the doctor commented.

"Will she… live?" Neela asked, her embarrassment fleeing at the news. She had known that Selura was terribly injured, but she hadn't been aware of just how bad it was. She was grateful for the automated medigel dispensers in the Alliance armor. With wounds as severe as the ones the human was describing, the asari would have bled out within minutes without an immediate application of the bioplasm.

"I would guess she will make a full recovery. She is stable and her vitals are strong," the doctor commented. "She's already got a healthy dose of regenerative stims in her system, and a sedative for the pain. I can't detect any signs of complications from the repairs at this point, but we'll keep an eye on her. She'll be out for a while. You should get some food into your system and find somewhere to relax."

"I'll stay here with her," Neela said softly, reaching out to gently stroke her girlfriend's forehead.

"I'm sorry, but you can't stay here," the doctor informed her. "I can understand why you would want to stay close to a good friend in this condition, but space here is limited and we only allow brief visits."

"You can't be serious," Neela raised her head, staring at the doctor in shock. "I can't just leave her here alone…"

"I'm sorry," the young human sighed. "You don't have a choice."

Neela glared at the young man, but not because she was angry with him specifically; he had been kind and professional. But she was frustrated, and it helped to have _someone_ to glare at. The doctor started to look uncomfortable under her icy gaze, and she saw him glance toward a nearby sentry.

"I'm really sorry," the doctor repeated. "You really should go get something to eat and rest. If you give me your ID Cipher, I promise I will contact you immediately if there is any change in her condition, good or bad."

Neela didn't want to leave. Her eyes drifted to the lovely features of her girlfriend, and the idea of turning and walking away was like a knife in her heart. But she knew she had no choice. As much as she wanted to cling to Selura's hand until the human guards physically dragged her away, such a display would do no good in the long run. She sighed and activated her omni-tool, sending the information to the doctor.

"We'll take good care of her," the young man assured her.

"Do you know where the Cerberus shuttle would be?" she asked. If she had nothing better to do than to eat and relax, it would help her to first figure out where her stores of dextro-based food had gone.

"All of the air vehicles are either making evacuation runs to the city, or are being maintained and refueled around the bend to the south. You could try checking there."

Neela nodded, lingering for just a moment longer, taking hold of one of Selura's hands and squeezing it gently. More than anything at that moment, she wished that she had the ability to place a soft kiss upon the girl's cheek before she left. Unfortunately, she was denied that privilege by circumstance. She sighed and turned to leave.

As she left the medical area behind, she saw the captain being escorted in by a medic, apparently to have her own wounds looked at. Hope filled her that what the captain had said was true. If they truly intended to leave, it would be a relief to see Selura taken far away from the Reapers and the danger they represented. The only thing Neela couldn't figure out was what would become of them once they were away from this planet. She and Selura had never really discussed their plans for the future. She wondered if Selura could ever be truly happy living on the Migrant Fleet… or if her own people would ever consent to it. The idea of abandoning her dreams and going to live with Selura on an asari colony was equally problematic. She had only ever wanted to be a pilot in the Migrant Fleet. As much as she loved the asari, she wasn't sure she could give up on that dream and move into an apartment somewhere, working a mundane job to help pay the bills.

When Selura awoke, it seemed they needed to have a serious discussion. With the possibility of escape looming, they needed to figure out what lay ahead in their lives…

* * *

**Southeastern Dotterstown…**

Illitha's hands shook as she steadied herself against a crumbling wall, trying to ignore the constant ringing sound that plagued her hearing, left behind by the near-constant discharge of rifles around her. The engineer was teetering on the verge of exhaustion, but the past hours had been productive ones, and she would have gladly suffered the exertion a thousand times over for the gains she had achieved. Her eyes swept left and right along the line, where twenty men were bunkered down at windows and behind crumbling columns, firing at the advancing tide of Reaper troops. Directly beside her, Ryan Copeland was carefully picking his shots, focused entirely on putting down the largest threats in the advancing lines of the enemy. On her opposite flank, Corporal Rivera was spraying the field ahead with rifle fire. Her eyes went to the others that had joined her from her old command… Tandis, Olimar and Rowan. A surge of gratitude filled her in spite of the weariness and concern she felt. It was good to know that some of her previous work on the planet still meant something. She only wished that Rachel was still there to see them now.

Illitha leaned out of cover and surveyed the Reaper advance with a mixture of awe and disquiet… but there was no fear. There were hundreds of them out there, she realized, though the darkness of the Terra Nova night made it impossible to see much more than a tide of moving shadow advancing through the broken streets and the crumbling shells of buildings.

Her efforts could not have gone better to that point. She and the first small team of men she had rescued had in turn rescued more, and then they had rendezvoused with Corporal Rivera, Privates Olimar and Tandis, Engineer Rowan and a few others she hadn't recognized, and as a group they had continued to gather survivors. They had lost one or two men, but their successes far outweighed the losses. The twenty beside her were only a tiny fraction of the forces she had gathered in her rescue operation. Alliance shuttles had picked up dozens of wounded over the past hours from extraction areas she arranged, and there were dozens more healthy men lurking nearby, waiting… Their current position was a mere kilometer from the southern border of the city. She hoped that in another hour, they might be clear of the area and could finally get to a safe zone.

_"They're making their move," _a voice over the radio announced. Illitha didn't know the man's name, but recognized the voice; she had assigned him to find high ground and act as a lookout. _"Husks are leading the charge. Brutes and cannibals on their heels."_

Illitha nodded in satisfaction and stood away from the wall, trying to ignore the trembling in her knees. She waved her hand in the prearranged signal to break off, and the soldiers closest to her stopped firing and passed the signal along. Within moments, the entire line of men was fleeing for their lives, looking disorganized and panicked in their retreat. Bullets began to strike Illitha in the back within moments, and she could see the shimmers around the others as they experienced the same assault. She risked a quick glance behind her, and could see that the Reapers had taken the bait. They were in a full sprint after them, clearly ready to press their perceived advantage.

As she ran, the asari's eyes turned to the crumbling line of buildings ahead, and rose to the second, third, and fourth floors, where she could just barely make out shadowy forms hidden in the darkness, crouched at the windows and near holes in the walls. She smiled and dug down deep, increasing the speed of her dash. This was a lesson taken directly from what she'd heard on the radio during the Alliance offensive. Use a diversionary team to make a lot of noise and draw attention while another team gets into position…

The Reaper ground troops were dangerous and relentless, but not overly intelligent. As she had expected, they saw only fleeing enemies, and were determined not to let them escape. Illitha and her people ran directly for the building where the rest of her forces waited, and when she reached the shattered doors, she stopped and turned, putting up a barrier to protect the rest of the men as they dashed inside. She felt the field fluctuate wildly as enemy fire hit it; she didn't have much left in her.

"Open fire!" she heard a voice shout from above.

All at once, the deafening peal of rifle fire filled the air, and the advancing Reaper lines were met with a wave of bullets. She watched as dozens of husks and cannibals fell within seconds, and the rest of the lines faltered. Her twenty companions had been a perfect diversion. The remainder of her force – close to forty strong – was on the upper floors of the building, and now had the Reapers out in the open. Caught by the ambush, the creatures were toppling over in droves. Flares sailed out into the midst of the Reaper troops, illuminating the scene for the benefit of those without night vision.

Illitha tried to focus her energy and form a singularity, but the orb flickered and faded from her hand before she could fully manifest it. She simply didn't have the energy left. She instead activated both her omni-tool and Rachel's, and started launching incineration bursts into the Reaper ranks to assist in the assault. Her diversionary group of twenty were already finding ground-floor windows and doorways and joining the attack.

_"We've got cannibals and marauders on the east flank,"_ the lookout announced. _"You need to get someone over there…"_

"Copeland," Illitha broke off her attack and stepped inside to focus on giving orders instead. "Pick ten men and shift to the east side of the building. Top floor positions, p-pull back to the ground level and secure the rear flank. We cannot linger here."

_"Solid copy,"_ a voice answered her. _"Displacing now."_

"S-Second and third-floor lines… stand by for my signal to fall back. Rivera," she turned to the nearby corporal, "take charge of the men at the rear for now."

Illitha stepped into the doorway, taking one last look at the forces outside. Reaper corpses littered the rubble-filled streets, and the rest of the enemy ranks had started to spread out and bunker down wherever they could find cover. Brutes continued to press forward, but the creatures were the focus of a great deal of fire, and none of them were managing to get even halfway across the lane before they were brought down.

_"This is Trident Wing Beta Lead,"_ a voice announced. _"We're incoming hot. Put up a nav-line to clear us for our attack run."_

Illitha smiled gratefully at the voice. Over the past few hours, the Trident fighters had repeatedly sped through the area to perform air strikes on the Reaper troops. By now, the asari knew the procedure well. She brought up her omni-tool's map of the terrain and quickly surrounded their building with green reference tags, and then painted the Reaper forces with a sweep of her finger across the display.

_"Reference received. Coming right and commencing our run."_

Illitha had watched the entirety of the first such run out of curiosity and fascination, and had been amazed by the whitish streaks of the mass accelerator fire as it carved trails across the landscape, obliterating the enemy lines. However, after the first one, she hadn't been drawn to witness it again. Instead, she now turned away from the street and staggered toward the west end of the building, to plot their escape.

"Upper level forces," she had to shout to be heard over the thunderous sound of the impacts as the tridents strafed the streets outside with fire, "fall back now! W-We are moving out in ninety seconds!"

She scanned the dark stretch of shattered cityscape in front of her, picking out a building from which the snipers in their group could cover the rest of them while they pulled out. As she was studying the layout of the area, her fingers danced across the keys of her omni-tool, setting up the transmission that would tell the rest of her people what she was planning. She was looking forward to rejoining her friends.

Though she wasn't so sure about the part where they planned to leave Terra Nova…

* * *

**CIC, Rallying Point Two…**

Julisa followed a guard through a line of sentries and past a number of parked tanks, glancing up at the racks of massive missiles atop the vehicles. For the past several hours, she had spent time wandering around the Alliance camp, trying to ignore the frantic activity and confusion that surrounded her. She had received treatment for her wounds, checked in on Aida, visited Neela and spoken with the pilot a bit, and met with Zaeed near the landing field. The Mercenary reported that their shuttle had been used by the Alliance for rescue operations, but had taken some fire in a recent run, and was being repaired on the landing field. Neela was now aboard the shuttle, and it was the pilot's job to see that the Alliance didn't further use their transport once the repairs were complete.

The former commando had been trying for hours to get a moment of Captain Shirakawa's time, and had finally been summoned to a meeting with the human commander just minutes before. She was eager to get an official update on the situation from someone with the knowledge to answer her questions.

The Alliance command center was set up in open space, and much of the machinery that had been present in the previous CIC at F.O.B. Delta-1 was conspicuously absent from her surroundings as she was led into the area. However, there was a large platform at the center of the area, and Shirakawa was watching as a number of engineers worked to put the finishing touches on the device. Julisa thought it looked like a holo-projection grid, and her sharp eyes were quickly able to spot the separations in the platform that hinted that it was designed to be quickly disassembled and moved when necessary.

"Sir," the sentry that had been her escort stepped up to Shirakawa's side and saluted. "I have brought the asari commando as you requested. Private Lochlan is escorting the mercenary in as we speak."

"Thank you private," Shirakawa returned a brief salute, and then turned to face Julisa. He nodded a greeting.

"Thank you for seeing me," Julisa bowed her head in return.

"I apologize for the delay in our meeting. It was an unforgiveable discourtesy. We owe you too much to deny such requests. But things have been a little hectic," the human commander sighed. "You and your companions saved my life. You are responsible for accomplishing the primary objective of our operation. You eliminated two dangerous indoctrinated agents. And your subordinate has orchestrated a rescue operation that has saved the lives of almost a hundred soldiers. We owe you a great deal."

"You have word of my engineer?" Julisa asked. She had heard nothing from Illitha for over an hour. Prior to that, she had been monitoring communications frequently to get updates.

"We were contacted just a few minutes ago," Shirakawa nodded. "They are inbound and will be arriving at any moment. I've given instructions that your asari companion should be escorted to us immediately upon arrival."

"What about the QEC?" Julisa asked. "When will it be operational? I would like to get some idea of the situation elsewhere in the galaxy."

"My engineers are putting the final touches on it as we speak," the human gestured toward the projection platform. "Since your group was so instrumental in obtaining the components for this hardware, I thought you should be present when we contact Alliance command."

"Did I hear that right?" the gravelly voice of the human mercenary interrupted the conversation. Julisa turned to greet Zaeed as he strode into the area. "We're about to get some news?"

"We are," Shirakawa nodded. "Thank you for joining us. And for your contributions to the war."

"Save your thanks," the mercenary muttered. "I didn't do any of it for you. I had my own reasons."

"Regardless, your assistance is appreciated," Shirakawa continued, though his tone was perhaps a little colder when he spoke the words.

"We're ready, sir," one of the men working around the projection platform announced.

Shirakawa stepped up onto the platform, taking a place in front of one of the scanner ports. He gestured for Julisa and Zaeed to join him, and the captain was only too happy to step up onto the platform to the human's left. If she was to be included in the conversation, she could address issues that were important to her.

"This is Captain Shirakawa. I need to be routed to Alliance command," the Japanese soldier announced. "This is a priority transmission."

"Stand by," a voice answered. "We're routing your signal now."

After a few moments, the air in front of them flickered and coalesced into the glowing image of a human in a dress uniform. The man's face was heavily scarred, and his posture rigid.

"Hackett here," the man introduced himself.

"Captain Shirakawa," the Japanese man introduced himself, executing a crisp salute. "Commander of the forces on Terra Nova. It's a relief to see a superior officer, Admiral."

"You've managed to establish a line of communication," Hackett commented. "Good. Who are your companions?"

"This is Captain Nisaria, an asari commando," Shirakawa introduced the captain. "And this is Zaeed Massani. A mercenary."

"Massani," Hackett turned his gaze upon the mercenary. "You were part of Shepard's crew up until the Alpha Relay explosion."

"I was," Zaeed nodded.

"These two, and the mercenaries under their command, were vital in obtaining the components we needed to get a QEC system working and establish contact," Shirakawa explained. "I thought they should learn about the situation."

"First, give me a sitrep regarding Terra Nova," Hackett directed. "Our last report was from Admiral Rassan of the Sixth Fleet when they were forced to retreat from the system."

"Sir, the situation here has been difficult. The initial attack destroyed the Alliance base in Scott. The Admiral in charge there was killed and the majority of the city's munitions and vehicles were lost. We managed to hold Dotterstown for considerably longer, but both settlements have fallen to the Reapers. Mivian Heights, Black Sand City and Drattisburg are all lost as well. Our command structure is shattered. Most high-ranking officers are either confirmed casualties or MIA."

Julisa listened as the captain gave his report, and couldn't help frowning. Given the fact that just a handful of Reapers were present on Terra Nova, the situation sounded far too dire. She found herself wondering just how bad things were on Palavan and Earth, where the Reaper presence was far greater. She hoped that the Reapers hadn't yet landed on Thessia.

"Understood, Captain," Hackett nodded. "You've done well in holding out this long."

"Thank you, sir," Shirakawa nodded. "The good news is that with the help of these two and their subordinates, we were able to orchestrate a strike on one of the Reapers and destroy it. There are still at least three on the planet's surface and one or more in orbit. But it's a start. If we could get reinforcements-"

"I'm afraid that's out of the question, Captain," Hackett shook his head. "The matter was discussed at great length. But any attempt to retake the planet could prompt the Reapers to send a larger force to hold it. It was decided that our best option was not to draw extra attention to Terra Nova, or to risk ships on an assault that might only end in additional losses. The fleets are needed elsewhere."

"But sir… If we liberated Terra Nova…"

"We can't spare the ships to try to retake the planet, Captain," Hackett's tone became a little more authoritative as he emphasized the point. "I can't give you details at this time, except to say that we have a plan in place. The fleets are being held in reserve until we are prepared to deploy for that plan."

"Then we're on our own, sir?" Shirakawa was stone-faced, but there were no traces of recriminations or disappointment in his tone.

"We may be able to deploy some small Special Ops teams to the planet to assist with major objectives. We've been using similar teams all over the galaxy with great success."

"Any help would be welcome, Admiral," Shirakawa nodded. "Until then, we'll hold the line."

"Admiral," Julisa spoke up. "Can you provide any information about the situation elsewhere? We have been without news since my ship was destroyed in orbit."

"Reaper forces have hit planets all over the galaxy. Earth and Palavan have seen the bulk of the fighting thus far, but we've got confirmed reports of Reapers on almost every planet and colony from Eden Prime to Tuchanka."

"What about Thessia?" Julisa asked.

"Thessia has not been hit yet, but the Reapers have started striking outlying asari colonies. It's only a matter of time."

The captain closed her eyes and nodded once. If Thessia hadn't yet been invaded, then there was still time to reach her daughter and keep the girl safe. But they needed to leave immediately.

"What about Cerberus?" Zaeed spoke up. "They had several units here, working independently from the Alliance and the Reapers. They're up to something."

"They've already made a major move," Hackett informed them. "Cerberus briefly seized control of the Citadel with the help of Councilor Udina, and attempted to assassinate the Council. Commander Shepard just helped to retake the station and repel the assault a few days ago. Even prior to that, Cerberus forces have been clashing with Alliance groups all over the galaxy."

Julisa glanced over at Zaeed, and she could see the edge of steel in his gaze. Still, her thoughts were only for her crew and for her family on Thessia.

"Keep fighting there, Captain," Hackett continued. "We'll get our Special Ops groups to you as soon as we can manage. You just need to hold the planet for as long as you can. When our big offensive begins, we can wipe the Reapers from the galaxy. It will work. The decision to hold our fleets in reserve was not made lightly."

"I understand, Admiral," Shirakawa saluted his superior. "We won't fail."

"Excellent. Hackett out," the Admiral's image wavered and vanished.

Julisa remained silent as the two humans turned and stepped off of the platform. The knowledge that there was some sort of plan to defeat the Reapers was encouraging, but she doubted it was much comfort to the men trapped on Terra Nova without hope of reinforcements beyond a few small special ops groups.

_Unfortunately, we cannot stay to assist,_ she thought to herself as she watched the human captain activate his omni-tool and start working on the interface. _We have other matters to attend to._

"Not exactly the sort of support I was hoping for," Shirakawa muttered, almost as if speaking to himself.

"If they're holding the fleets for a major offensive, it's not a big goddamn surprise that they can't just fly over here and bail you out," Zaeed pointed out. Julisa could see his eyes lingering on the QEC as he spoke.

"I am aware," Shirakawa seemed to focus, and his posture straightened. "If we must be abandoned so that the galaxy as a whole can win the war, it is an acceptable loss. This is why I didn't argue the decision. Now my concern must be the safety of my men and organizing a new counter-offensive against the Reapers. I would-"

"Sir," a voice interrupted the captain. Julisa turned to see that one of the sentries had stepped past the vehicles that serves as a boundary for the CIC, and was saluting.

"Report, Private."

"Miss T'Zari has arrived," the young soldier informed them.

"Escort her in," Shirakawa gestured, and Julisa could see a hint of a smile upon the soldier's lips. As the sentry withdrew, the Alliance leader nodded. "Now we can discuss ideas for the next offensive…"

"We will not be staying, Captain," Julisa told him. She didn't want the human commander to get too excited by the return of her engineer. She was not going to allow the humans to draw them further into the fighting while they had a chance to escape.

"What? You can't simply leave."

Julisa glanced over when she saw Illitha limping into the area, and she frowned at the sight. The side of the engineer's face was covered in dried blood, and the way she was moving made it clear that she was injured elsewhere as well. Even from her current distance, she could see the weariness and pain in the engineer's expression. _She should be lying down in the infirmary_, she caught herself thinking.

"We can, and we will." Julisa's tone was cool. "We are not part of the Alliance, nor even citizens of the colony. We have our own families and responsibilities to return to, and we are going to seize the chance now, before it is gone. My engineer has saved dozens of your men already-"

"One hundred and four, if you include the wounded," Illitha pointed out as she approached. "I-I was told you wished to see me, Captain?" her eyes were upon Shirakawa.

Shirakawa was studying the young engineer intently, and a small frown marred his features as he did so. Julisa thought she saw his gaze lingering upon the dog tag that hung around the engineer's neck. However, the man wasn't speaking. Julisa wanted to see Illitha treated and taken somewhere to rest, so she decided to hurry things along.

"I apologize, Captain. But you yourself said that you understood that sometimes priorities had to be shifted elsewhere. My crew and I cannot stay."

"Captain… W-We need to talk," Illitha said softly, but Julisa ignored her for the moment.

"This planet cannot afford to lose you all," Shirakawa's words were clipped. He was clearly not happy with the news. "However, I cannot, in honor, refuse permission for your departure. You have done more than enough to earn it."

"Then that's settled," Zaeed muttered, turning his attention to Illitha. "Have you had time to hack through the security on that Cerberus omni-tool? We'll need the data."

"Of course," Illitha's voice was filled with sarcasm that reminded Julisa forcefully of Selura. "The Reapers were kind enough to break off their attacks at fifteen-minute intervals so I could work on it…"

Zaeed's eyes narrowed dangerously, and Julisa was quick to put things back on track. "We will deal with the data soon. Illitha needs a medic and some rest."

"Indeed," Shirakawa stepped closer to the young engineer, extending a hand. "Your contribution to this war will not be forgotten," he vowed. "We may have lost a significant portion of our forces to the Reaper bombardment, but you managed to save more than we could ever have hoped for."

Illitha reached into a pocket on her belt and removed a small canvas pouch, which she deposited into the captain's outstretched hand instead of shaking it. Julisa could hear a faint clink as the contents of the pouch shifted position. Shirakawa blinked, turning the pouch over in his hand.

"Dog tags," Illitha said softly. "I-I have been waiting to pass them along to someone in command. I do not care if my contribution is forgotten. J-Just see to it that _theirs_ is not."

The younger asari suddenly looked as if she was on the verge of tears, and Julisa stepped closer to her, slipping an arm around her. She needed to get her engineer to the infirmary, and hoped to offer both support and comfort.

"A-After I have seen a medic and eaten, could I speak with you again Captain?" Illitha's gaze lingered upon Shirakawa.

"Of course," the Japanese soldier nodded. "Find me when you are ready. Where are the soldiers you brought in with you? I would like to get them organized and assigned to units."

"They… I-I would just as soon retain command of them," Illitha said softly.

"What?" Julisa and Shirakawa spoke the word in unison.

"Captain," Illitha's gaze now turned to Julisa. "I-I am staying on Terra Nova."

* * *

**CIC, Rallying Point Two…**

Zaeed watched with some amount of amusement as the two asari and Captain Shirakawa moved from the area. The former was arguing with her engineer over her decision to stay, while the latter was escorting them to the infirmary, apparently eager to ensure that the engineer was not talked out of her decision to linger and assist with the war effort. Zaeed remained rooted firmly in place, shaking his head over the opportunity that had presented itself thanks to Illitha's decision. The "CIC", if the open area around him could be called that, was left unattended, save for the sentries lurking outside the area. His attention turned to the holoprojection platform, and he quickly stepped up onto it. He didn't intend to waste the chance to get in touch with contacts off-world.

He loaded a bundle of contact information to the system and initiated it, waiting impatiently for whoever was on the other end of the QEC to receive his request and route the signal through another system. After a short wait, he finally received confirmation that he was being connected, and glanced behind him to be sure no one was entering. He hoped to be able to complete the transmission before anyone realized he was using the QEC without authorization.

"Esseria speaking," the image of an asari in an immaculate gown shimmered into view, and when she saw who she was talking to, her brows rose. "Massani. Something I can help you with?"

"Still looking to hurt Cerberus," Zaeed got straight to the point. "Has anything new come up?"

"Yes, actually," the asari smiled at him. "I tried to contact you a few days ago. But I believe the contract is still open."

"I've been stuck on Terra Nova. Give me the details."

"Cerberus struck the Citadel a few days ago. It has been all over the news feeds. Have you heard about it?"

"I just found out."

"Well, a turian group has received a tip about the involvement of a volus diplomat on Cerberus's payroll… They're paying to have the little bastard eliminated. There's a small merc group out of Omega preparing for an incursion onto the Citadel to get it done. And the job pays well. You interested?"

"Omega? I thought you said Cerberus took Omega the last time we spoke."

"They did. Aria is still prepping groups to take it back. But several of the station's merc groups escaped and set up operations centers in the nearby systems. So… are you interested in going after the volus?"

"Cerberus working with a volus," Zaeed snorted. "The Illusive Man will take help from anyone these days…"

"I'll be taking my ten percent off the top as usual if you're in. Equal shares between mercs otherwise. The payout would be-"

"I'm in," Zaeed cut her off. "If the little bastard knows anything about the Illusive Man's location, I might be able to squeeze some information out of him. I expect to be off this planet within a day or two. Where can I meet the rest of the group?"

"I organized a rendezvous point yesterday. You can meet them on Bekenstein in four days."

"I'll be there." Zaeed nodded. "Gotta go."

"I will inform them that you are coming. Good to see you again, Massani," Esseria bowed formally. "Keep in touch."

Zaeed deactivated the console without another word. He was eager to leave Terra Nova behind and get back to the business of interfering in the Illusive Man's plans. Now he just had to go find the two asari and make sure that Illitha's decision to stay wasn't going to rob him of the support of the rest of them when it came time to seize the Cerberus frigate. Or… if they were all going to stay, he would need to draft some Alliance deserters to help him take the ship… Either way, he would be getting off of Terra Nova soon.

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: Thank you once again to everyone who has read, reviewed, PMed, or added this story to a favorites or follows list. All of your interest and support has been an amazing treat, and I continue to be grateful that I've held your attention for so long!**

**I don't have a whole lot to say about the contents of this Chapter, other than that it was nice to finally tie the events of the story into the timeline of the game. I've covered so many events in the narrative in just the space of a handful of weeks of story time, and I was looking forward to dropping in this last little tie-in to set up the events that lead Shepard to meet Zaeed on the citadel. Plus, it was nice to get Hackett into the story, even if only for a few moments. I always liked him, and I really wanted to give the man a cameo appearance in my story.**

**I haven't quite finished writing the final Epilogue of the story yet... they're running a bit over my usual Chapter length. However, I expect to finish it today or tomorrow. And so, since I have all but the last few sections of the story written, I've decided to accelerate my normal release schedule slightly. I tend to get most of my visitors to new Chapters either on the day of release, or one of the two days following. So I will release the remaining Chapters every third day from here on. Which means Chapter 65 will go up Thursday morning, the first Epilogue will go up Sunday, and the last part of the story next Wednesday.**

**I hope everyone had a good Mother's Day weekend. And thank you again for joining me through this story. It's crazy to think that it's almost done. I just hope I have managed to entertain you all throughout the tale. :)**


	65. Chapter 65: Exodus

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Chapter Sixty-Five: Exodus

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**Medical Area, Rallying Point Two…**

"It is out of the question. I will not leave you on this planet while the rest of us escape!"

Illitha frowned as a pair of medics helped her out of her armor, her eyes upon her captain, who was pacing back and forth, clearly frustrated by the turn of events. She understood that the elder asari was concerned for her well-being, but she had been trying to make it clear that her decision had been made and that was the end of it for several minutes. Zaeed and Shirakawa were standing just beyond the privacy screen that surrounded the examination area, listening to the exchange, and Neela was communicating with them via the captain's omni-tool. Illitha wasn't actually sure where the pilot was at the moment.

"Captain, I-"

"You are not thinking clearly," the former commando cut her off. "You have let your grief over that girl's death cloud your thinking since it occurred! I will not allow you to-"

"Will you stop ranting and listen to me?" Illitha shouted at the elder asari, bringing her captain to a halt in her tracks. Once she finally had the other asari's full attention, however, she found herself struggling to organize her thoughts.

"Hop up here," one of the medics instructed, and the two young men helped her up onto the waiting examination table. As she took her place upon the surface, she glanced down at the medigel-covered fabric that was plastered to her side and to her thigh. It seemed she was going to be down for a couple days while she recovered. Again.

"Illitha," Neela's voice broadcast over the audio emulators in the captain's omni-tool, "Why would you want to stay here? What about your family?"

"My father is fighting with his people somewhere, and m-my mother and sister went to Illium, but I do not know where… They… I-I am not sure I could even find any of them. And I can do some good here. I already have! There is a whole group of men here that I am responsible for saving… I-I would like to continue working with the Alliance."

The captain's gaze had not wavered from her face since the moment she had shouted at her, and she now saw the elder asari's expression had changed to one of mixed understanding and suspicion. After a moment, Julisa spoke just a single word. "And…?" She prompted.

Illitha bowed her head. Of course there was more to her reasons for staying, and the captain had apparently figured it out.

"It was what Rachel wanted me to do," she said softly. The swift sting of tears filled her eyes at the thought of the blonde's dying words, and she blinked them back, determined not to start sobbing in front of the medics as they worked. If she was going to stay and fight with the Alliance, she couldn't have people telling stories of her bawling like an infant.

"Then we should stay with you," Neela's response was immediate. "You're all like family to me. If you're staying, we should all stay…"

"You've got to be kidding," the gravelly voice of the mercenary interrupted from beyond the privacy screen. "There's a goddamn ship just _waiting_ for us up there."

"What?" Shirakawa was obviously surprised by the news. "No one told me about-"

"We're not gonna lose our chance to get to it now," Zaeed continued, ignoring the Alliance commander. "This might be your only chance to get off of the planet."

"Zaeed is right," Illitha was quick to agree. "Y-You all have to leave now, while you can."

"Illitha, we can stay and help-" Neela renewed her protest.

"Neela, stop and think about it," Illitha urged. "You have enough food to last for a couple of months maybe, but… What if… T-This war could last a year. Ten years… Goddess only knows. Y-You cannot survive on this planet forever. T-This is your chance to get back to your people!"

Only silence from the comm channel answered her argument, so Illitha turned her attention to her captain. "And you were planning to split up the crew originally anyway, before we got stuck here. Everyone wanted to… to find their families. And the Reapers must be everywhere by now…"

"They are," the captain nodded slowly.

"Wait," Shirakawa interrupted. "I want to know about this ship…"

"It's _my_ goddamn ship," Zaeed was quick to lie about it. "It's been waiting in orbit of the neighboring planet for my signal. So don't even fucking _think_ about the Alliance making use of it… I'd sooner blow the goddamn thing up. And as for the rest of you, this is your only chance to get off this rock… One way or the other, that ship will be gone in the very near future…"

"This is the only chance you both have to get back to your families," Illitha prodded her crewmates. "Y-You have to take it. What difference does it make whether I end up trying to survive a Reaper invasion here or on Illium? E-Either way, you will both be elsewhere, and I will do what I can on my own."

"What about your family?" Neela asked. "Don't you want to get back to them and see that they're kept safe?"

Illitha closed her eyes, fighting back the sudden surge of guilt that she felt over the idea of staying on Terra Nova instead of trying to get back to them. But despite the dysfunction of her relationship with her father, she was confident in one thing in regards to the krogan…

"M-My father would not have left our family without being certain they were headed to safety," she explained. "I… If I join my mother and sister, it would only be so the three of us could hide somewhere and wait things out. B-But here, I could do something useful. I-I can make a difference. Besides… it was what Rachel wanted of me… You both must be able to understand that…"

Illitha stared at the captain, trying to ignore the medics while they worked, cutting open the fabric of her pants and shirt so that they could see the wounds she had suffered. The elder asari was still clearly unhappy with the prospect of leaving her on Terra Nova, but they both knew that she was right. Once their crew was split up and back with their families, it wouldn't make much difference which planet she was on… she would no longer be the captain's responsibility.

"What about my omni-tool data?" Zaeed prompted.

"D-Do you mind if I let the medics deal with my wounds first?" Illitha sighed. "I find it difficult to concentrate while I am bleeding."

"Whatever," Zaeed muttered. "I'll be at the shuttle."

"Captain?" Illitha prompted the elder asari. She needed to know that her former employer was going to accept what amounted to her resignation.

"If this is your decision, I have no authority to stop you," the captain finally said. "Your contract with me has always been one that either of us could terminate at any time. And the ship that you agreed to serve on no longer even exists…"

"W-Will you take Aida when you leave?" Illitha could not help frowning as she said her former friend's name. The wound was still far too fresh. But deep down, she still cared what became of her. "If… If anyone can fix what the Reapers did to her, it is the immersive therapists among our people…"

The asari bonding ability – the capability for sharing thoughts and memories between individuals – afforded their people a much different approach for the treatment of psychological problems than other races could manage. Illitha had to believe that if there was a cure for indoctrination, it would be found among her people. Whether she could ever forgive Aida or not was open to question. But whether she was able to speak to the girl in the future or not, she hoped that the Reaper influence over her former friend could be removed.

"When I first signed you on with my crew, I could see potential in you. It has always been there, lurking under the indecision and shyness," the captain said softly. "It makes me proud to see that you have discovered it yourself. Keep your wits about you. Survive," the elder asari urged.

"I will, Captain," Illitha promised.

"I am not your captain any longer," the former commando offered a brief smile. "Call me Julisa from now on."

Illitha's brows rose and she had to smile at the captain's words. While she would always view the other asari as her senior and mentor, it meant a lot to her that she could address her former employer as a friend.

"Thank you, Julisa," she said softly.

"Perhaps when the war is over, I will organize a crew reunion," Julisa's tone was light… more mirthful, in fact, than Illitha had ever heard it. "I trust you would be willing to attend?"

"Of course, Capt—uh, Julisa," Illitha smiled, blushing a bit over the stumble. "Make sure everyone else gets safely off the planet."

"You need not worry on that point," the captain's confident, calm expression and tone returned. "Nothing will prevent that now."

"This might sting a bit," the voice of one of the medics drew Illitha's attention away from the captain, and the man jabbed a needle into her thigh an instant later, making her wince.

"Take care of yourself Illitha," Neela's voice reached her just as the captain was starting to walk away. "Keelah se'lai!"

"Keelah se'lai, Neela," Illitha wasn't even sure she was using the quarian term in the proper context, but she knew the pilot would understand the sentiment behind it.

She wished all of her crewmates the very best. And she hoped that when next she met Neela, she and Selura might be bondmates, or would at the very least have found a safe environment where they could build on their relationship. It would thrill her to see something so beautiful as love blossom out of the whole, horrible mess that Terra Nova had been to date.

She watched the captain walk away, and then she lay back, letting the medics do their work. The injection she had been given had numbed her leg completely, and the two men were now working efficiently to extract the fragments of the reaper bullets from her leg and her side. She closed her eyes and did her best to suppress the natural embarrassment that filled her at having those sections of her body exposed to the view of strangers. While the medics had only cut away enough fabric to do their work, she'd always been self-conscious about that sort of thing.

"May I enter now?" Shirakawa requested. "There are things we should discuss. Beginning with your honorary rank in the Alliance. If you are to command Alliance troops, you must be recognized as having the authority to do so," the human captain pointed out.

Illitha had to resist the urge to frown. Was she actually about to be saddled with yet another title she hadn't earned? It seemed wrong somehow to claim an Alliance rank any higher than Private Second-Class… that of a new recruit. But she knew that such a rank was not sufficient for command. Higher ranks were something Rachel and others like her had worked to attain legitimately, and she was sure it took time and effort. She couldn't view accepting such accolades as anything but an insult to the people that had earned them, or were working to earn them. She shook her head as the captain entered the room.

"J-Just call me Agent T'Zari if you must give me a title," she said softly, thinking of a minor character in one of the Blasto movies. "I will not insult the Alliance soldiers that have worked hard to attain such ranks by accepting an honorary rank in your military."

Illitha's eyes were still closed, so she never saw the looks of surprise and respect that blossomed on the faces of the captain and the two medics in the area. Nor did she ever consider that others in the room might overhear her words. Her thoughts were only centered upon the good Alliance soldiers she had met over the course of the war. She had no wish to do _anything_ that might be viewed as an insult to their memories.

Everyone was silent for long moments while she lay there. Then the silence was broken by a very audible growl from her stomach. She felt herself blushing at the sound, and opened her eyes to find the medics smiling at her in amusement.

"Uh… b-biotics tend to tire a person out very rapidly… and… I-I was using them a lot in the city," she explained. "C-Could I perhaps get something to eat?"

"I'll have something brought in as soon as you are moved to a recovery bed," Shirakawa promised. "In the meantime, I will seek out the men you rescued and find out how many are willing to be placed under your command on an ongoing basis. I will speak to you again once I have organized the men under your command and handled any transfers. Until then, rest yourself… Agent."

Illitha nodded, closing her eyes and trying to relax. Unfortunately, as she had expected, the moment she had nothing else to occupy her thoughts, grief quickly loomed up to engulf her. She brought an arm up and let her forearm rest across her eyes, hoping to conceal any tears from the medics while they worked. And she did her best not to break down and start sobbing. She found herself feeling thankful at that moment that she still had to crack the encryption on Zaeed's Cerberus omni-tool. It would give her a much-needed distraction after she'd had something to eat.

_Goddess, Rachel,_ she thought miserably, _I miss you so much..._

* * *

**Prisoner Lockdown, Rallying Point Two…**

Aida sat silently in the small, makeshift cage that had been built into the back of one of the humans' trucks, trying to ignore the muttering from the cell across the way. Her mind was still reeling from the accusation that she was indoctrinated. Though she herself had recognized in those moments when she was pointing a pistol at Illitha's head that something was very wrong with her to even consider shooting her best friend, she kept telling herself that the idea that she was indoctrinated was ludicrous. The things she had done, she felt she had done for her own reasons. It wasn't as though there was a thundering, inhuman voice in her head that was ordering her to carry out tasks. She was sure she had been acting of her own volition. Even threatening Illitha's life had been to keep Illitha's stubbornness from getting the captain killed…

She was only thankful that she hadn't pulled the trigger. As it turned out, the captain did not reciprocate her feelings, and so if she had executed Illitha, it would have been for nothing. She cursed herself for ever thinking that an asari as amazing as Captain Nisaria would ever have been interested in her in such a way. She'd wondered from time to time if the captain ever had a bondmate, but she couldn't recall ever considering the idea that the commando might have children. She closed her eyes and put her head in her hand. _How old would the captain's daughter be…? _She mused. _Goddess. I must have seemed such a fool to pursue her affections… especially if she knew how I felt all along. Her daughter could be my age… or perhaps even older. I doubt it seemed a very appealing option to date someone younger than her own offspring…_

"We have to get out of here," Harper whispered. "You've got those biotic powers. Can't you like… tear these cages apart or something? They're not that strong…"

"What is the point?" Aida muttered miserably. She had already failed. Her best friend couldn't even look at her without glaring, and the captain didn't love her. They'd all gone straight back to the Alliance instead of fleeing the planet. All her hopes had been dashed in a single day.

"We can't just sit here," Harper persisted, grabbing the mesh of the cage and shaking it. "We have to get out!"

Aida shook her head. She'd failed. She had no wish to run off into the Terra Nova wilderness to escape custody. She didn't care what the Alliance did with her. Nothing could be worse than the misery she was feeling. In one way or another, she'd lost everyone she cared about. Prathus was dead, and her misguided actions had driven everyone else away from her.

"Leave her out of this," she heard Tarrislav hiss. "The asari are all indoctrinated anyway. We're better off without her. She'll only get us killed…"

Aida's head snapped up at the human captain's words, and anger coursed through her. After everything Tarrislav had done, he was accusing _her_ of being indoctrinated? She couldn't believe the nerve of the human!

"Aida is a good ally. With her help, we can get out of here and get back into the city," Harper defended her.

Aida wasn't really listening. She stared at the older human, who was glaring back at her, and she tried to control her anger over his accusations. Everything he had done had led her and her friends to the disaster that had just befallen them. If he hadn't exiled Illitha from Mivian Heights, she never would have been traveling with Rachel. Had the two of them not been together for so long, the human girl's influence would never have poisoned her friend. It wouldn't have come to a head in the factory and left her friendship with Illitha irreparably damaged. And furthermore, it had been Tarrislav's fault that Aida herself had been knocked out and imprisoned by the Reapers…

"I wouldn't travel with her or her traitorous friends even if the alternative was execution," Tarrislav growled. "And if you'd put your trust in her, you're an idiot…"

Aida surged to her feet, infuriated beyond measure at the tone of the human's voice and the implication that _she_ was the one that could not be trusted. She channeled the full force of her biotics into her foot and hit the door of her cage with a kick that shattered the lock. She had crossed the aisle between the cages and was reaching through the cage with her uninjured arm to grab Tarrislav before the other human could get out of her reach. She yanked him forward, slamming his face into the mesh of his cage before he could recover enough to respond.

"After all you've done, how _dare_ you talk about _me_ in that fashion? You are responsible for _everything_ that has happened to my friends!"

"Get your hands off of me," the human spat, yanking free of her grasp. "Your friends are traitors. They deserved everything they got. You _all_ do."

Aida's rage bubbled over at the human's words. She focused once more upon her biotics, and an orb formed in her hand, which was still inside of Tarrislav's cage. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the orb streaking into the human's chest, suspending him weightlessly in his pen. He looked panicked at first, and then he laughed mockingly.

"Is this supposed to hurt? Pathetic."

"No," Aida's tone was icy, and as she spoke, another biotic orb formed in her hand. The mass effect field created by a biotic pull was capable of being destabilized by a conflicting biotic effect, just like many other biotic powers. "_That_ was not supposed to hurt. But _this_ will…"

Aida knew she was far too close to ground zero to do what she was about to do. But her misery and anger were unbearable at that moment. She simply didn't care. A quick motion sent the orb streaking toward Tarrislav, and there was a brilliant flash and a thunderous explosion as the two conflicting mass effect fields met and collapsed. In the enclosed confines of the transport truck, the force and the sound of the explosion were both devastating. Aida was hurled backward by the detonation, and her head struck the frame of her cage. After that, everything became fuzzy. She was only vaguely aware of the door of the truck being opened, and Harper rushing out of the shattered remains of his cage, which had been adjacent to Tarrislav's. She heard shouts and the peal of gunfire, but she couldn't focus enough to see what was going on.

By the time her head started to clear, one of the humans had already forced her over onto her stomach and placed her in restraints, and he was sitting upon her upper back, keeping her from moving. She stared out through the open door of the transport truck, and she could see medics attending to an injured guard. Another guard was lying motionless in a pool of blood, and Harper's crumpled form rested next to the wheel of a nearby truck, his clothes soaked with crimson and a rifle by his hand.

"What the hell happened?" a voice demanded. An unfamiliar man in an Alliance uniform stepped into view, glaring into the interior of the truck.

"The asari tried to break them out. She shredded all three cages," the man sitting atop her reported. "Tarrislav was killed in the blast. That guy Harper rushed us when we opened the door. Grabbed Possek's rifle and killed him with it. We shot him as he was making a run for it."

"Get a medic over here," the officer demanded. "You can't just leave a biotic in a cage. We'll put her in a chemically-induced coma until we figure out what to do with her."

Aida closed her eyes, pressing her cheek against the cold metal of the floor. _Good_, she thought wearily. _A nice, soothing, dreamless sleep… Anything to avoid this misery…_

She never struggled when the medics arrived to administer the injection that would put her out. She hadn't intended to hurt her friends, but she had done exactly that. The Reapers had nothing to do with it. The decisions had been hers and hers alone, and she was eager to be in a state where she could no longer dwell upon them. After the sting of the needle piercing her skin, she knew consciousness would flee quickly. She welcomed the darkness.

* * *

**CIC, Rallying Point Two…**

Julisa waited patiently with the sentries, watching Shirakawa and a group of his men, who were engaged in a heated discussion around the human captain's active omni-tool. The men were too far away for her to hear the content of the discussion, but experience told her their first concern would be finding a more permanent and defensible position. Another long Terra Nova night had ended, and as the sun had risen over the course of the day, Julisa had watched as the shadows cast by the canyon walls slowly dwindled. In another five or six hours, the sun would be shining directly down upon all of them, and there were no ready sources of fresh water at hand to keep the people on the base hydrated. It seemed a natural assumption that they would be looking for a better place to set up a base of operations. She couldn't say for sure, however, because she had announced her intention to leave the planet, and had since been kept out of secured areas of the base.

For the past twelve hours, she had been finding ways to keep herself busy while they all waited for Illitha to do her work and retrieve the data they needed from the Cerberus omni. She had been in the mess hall trying to choke down the bland, tasteless MRE that was one of her two rations for the day when she heard tales about an attempted jailbreak by the indoctrinated prisoners. Indoctrinated or not, Aida was still a member of her crew, so she had rushed to see her, only to learn upon her arrival that her employee had been drugged to keep her unconscious.

The former commando was entirely uncertain that the Alliance would ever let her take Aida from their custody now. As she understood it, the younger asari's biotics had touched off an escape attempt that resulted in the deaths of two prisoners and one sentry. In most cultures, including her own, this would have been more than enough cause to deny extradition of a prisoner. She hoped to convince Shirakawa that the best thing to do with Aida was to get her off world and thus ensure she could do no more damage to his forces. One way or the other, she had a feeling this would be a short conversation.

The gathering of officers drifted apart, and as Shirakawa turned, he spotted her near the tanks that flanked the area. She saw his expression harden, and he raised a hand, waving her forward.

"I already know why you're here," he announced as she approached. "And the answer is 'no'. You cannot take your fellow asari with you when you leave. She is responsible for the deaths of three Alliance soldiers. Even if two were prisoners, they were not yet stripped of their ranks."

"I understand your anger, Captain," Julisa assured him. "But keeping my medic comatose in your custody is impractical. Without a proper holding cell with barrier reinforcement, her biotics give her a chance to break any enclosure you place her in. And you cannot simply keep her unconscious, fed by IVs, for the remainder of the war. It would require more care and attention than you can afford to give. She would need continued IV nutrients, cleansing, and constant supervision."

"And so the option you propose is releasing her?" Shirakawa shook his head. "No. If necessary, she will be executed for her crimes before I ever let her go. You and your companions informed us that she is indoctrinated. She is an enemy agent and a security risk."

"Captain, please…" Julisa sighed. She had envisioned the conversation going very much like this, but she had to make one final attempt. "You are aware of my people's ability to connect our consciousness to that of others?" She waited for him to nod. She assumed it was common knowledge to all species, and she continued when he signaled that he was indeed aware of it. "I agree with something Illitha said to me. If anyone can cure a victim of indoctrination, our immersive therapists have the best chance. She is not an enemy agent. She is an enemy _slave_. And if we can help her slip those bonds, we have to try."

Shirakawa's expression was unreadable, but she got the sense that he was mulling over her words. She hoped to convince him with just a little more of a push.

"I am not arguing for her release. I give you my word that I will personally take her to Illium. There is an asari facility there that handles violent individuals with extreme mental instability. She will be confined and treated. And your forces are much better off if she is no longer on the planet to pose any sort of security risk."

"I will be filing a report regarding the incident she caused," Shirakawa finally informed her. "It will be included in my next upload to Alliance command. I doubt anyone will fight to extradite your friend while we are busy fighting the Reapers, but when this war is won, your friend will be held accountable for her crimes."

Julisa's brows rose. She hadn't actually expected Shirakawa to give in to her arguments. If the positions were reversed, she knew that she _never_ would have released a human responsible for three asari deaths. She bowed her head in thanks. "I will see her delivered into the custody of my people as I promised. When the time comes for her extradition, I doubt my people will oppose it. And perhaps by then we will have developed a way to confirm indoctrination so it can be taken into account during her sentencing." As she spoke, she thought with regret of the datapad they had failed to reclaim from Salik. Already, that data would have been useful. But perhaps her people could study Aida's mind and develop a similar means of detecting indoctrination…

"When you depart, she will be transferred into your care," Shirakawa assured her, though he still didn't look at all happy about the fact. "However, she will remain in her comatose state until she is safely aboard your shuttle. What becomes of her after that is a matter for you to handle."

Julisa nodded and turned, quickly striding from the area. She was pleased with the outcome of the conversation, but she had to hope that Illitha finished her work quickly. There was still a chance the human could change his mind. They needed to depart before it happened.

* * *

**Cerberus Shuttle Alpha, Rallying Point Two…**

Zaeed glanced around at the group that had gathered near the Cerberus shuttle, shaking his head slightly. Once he'd started discreetly asking around, he found no shortage of men and women, whether civilian or Alliance, who had some level of training for work on a ship, and who were willing to abandon Terra Nova for the chance to get aboard a frigate bound for safer places. After the better part of a day, he'd managed to catch the interest of enough trained personnel to serve as a crew for their trip off world. The last twenty minutes had been spent explaining the situation and the fight that awaited them, and he was satisfied to see that enough people remained to make it possible to get the ship moving, as long as they didn't lose too many in the fighting. The last word from Illitha before he bedded down for the night was that she was making progress on getting them the information they needed.

"Remember. Get your things together and leave the camp quietly over the course of the day," he reminded the assembled recruits. "The Alliance isn't gonna like us poaching their people for use as a crew. It'll be better for all of us if they never find out."

"A lot of us have been thinking of going AWOL for a while now," one of the Alliance soldiers muttered. "The only thing stopping us was that there was nowhere to go…"

"Well, don't muck it up now," Zaeed urged. "If your superiors catch wind of this, we'll be grounded. Gather at the designated rendezvous, and when we are ready to leave, we'll pick you up there."

The gathered soldiers and civilians nodded and drifted away from the shuttle, each heading their separate ways. As they departed, Zaeed tried to keep from sneering. A group of deserters looking for a way out of the fighting wasn't exactly his idea of reliable backup in taking a Cerberus vessel, but they couldn't afford to be picky. He just had to hope that between the fact that surprise would be on their side, and the knowledge that only one more fight remained between Terra Nova and the freedom to go anywhere in the galaxy, he would be able to count on the group to follow orders and do what was necessary.

"So that's our crew?" the quarian asked.

Zaeed wasn't sure how long she had been standing behind him, but he nodded in response to the question. "Inspiring, isn't it? Even with the whole goddamn galaxy facing destruction, there are always people willing to abandon everything and run for safety…"

"Oh yes. Charming," Neela muttered sarcastically.

"You got a better idea? Maybe you and your captain can crew the entire frigate on your own?"

Zaeed watched as the quarian shook her head in disgust and turned away, going back to work on prepping the shuttle. In truth, Zaeed shared her apparent opinion. If they hadn't needed the help, he would have been the first to scorn their recruits as cowards and see to it that their plans to dessert were uncovered before they got out. He wasn't overly fond of cowardice. Unfortunately, necessity dictated otherwise.

The Alliance engineers had completed their repairs on the vehicle, and both the quarian and Zaeed had been keeping watch over it ever since, so that the Alliance didn't get any bright ideas about commandeering it for their own use. The veteran mercenary didn't want to seem paranoid, but he'd been able to tell that Shirakawa hadn't been happy about their plan to leave, or about the fact that they'd hidden knowledge about a ship from him. He wouldn't have been surprised if the Alliance captain was looking for a way to keep them grounded without being too heavy-handed about it.

He was just about to set off in search of the asari captain when he spotted Illitha staggering across the airfield toward the shuttle. He was amused to note that a fair number of personnel in the area were saluting the asari as she passed, or simply gazing at her with some degree of admiration. And yet the engineer seemed oblivious to it all. She held a datapad in one hand and an omni-tool in the other.

"You cracked the encryption," he said as she approached.

"I did," Illitha nodded. "E-Everything you hoped for is here. Approach procedures and clearance codes, which vary by the hour. It is all stored on the omni-tool's drive. A-And I managed to prepare this," she waved the datapad.

"What is it?" Zaeed asked. Beyond the codes and access procedures, he figured the only thing they would need was a little luck.

"I-It is a virus that can be uploaded as an attachment to the clearance code transmission," Illitha explained. "I got the idea from… uh, well… it will rewrite some of the ship VI's functions, and will temporarily shut down a chunk of the security and control features aboard the ship."

"Good thinking," Zaeed had to admit.

"I-I figured it would be beneficial if Cerberus was unable to seal off sections of the ship… O-Or detonate their engines to p-prevent you from taking the vessel."

"So you're really staying," Zaeed muttered, studying the young asari's face.

"I have to," she said simply.

"I misjudged you when we first met. My first impression said you were just a soft, scared kid. I don't often underestimate people. But in your case, I did," he said simply.

Illitha smiled faintly, but he could see the melancholy lurking behind that smile. He wasn't the most perceptive person when it came to emotions. He had been a mercenary for most of his life. But he still understood what it was like to lose friends. He silently wished her luck in the rest of the war. Whether she survived or died for what she believed was right, he respected her for the decision to stay and fight for something.

"Make sure you get that ship," Illitha finally urged him. "M-My friends are like family. I want to be able to trust that they are all safe and on their way back to their loved ones."

"No worries there," Zaeed snorted. "I'm looking forward to blackening the Illusive Man's eye a few more times before I kill him. I'm not gonna let the crew of one goddamn frigate rob me of the chance."

"T-Then I guess I should say goodbye to everyone."

Zaeed nodded and stood aside to let her climb into the shuttle so that she could speak with the quarian, while he set off in search of the man in charge of supplies. The Alliance forces were running short on thermal clips and explosives by all reports, but he hoped they could spare some. He was confident that the Cerberus armory would hold plenty once they were able to seize the ship, but they needed to avoid running out of ammo until the frigate was under their control. He was itching to get moving. Unfortunately, he needed to give their new recruits time to get out of the camp and reach the rendezvous point.

_Still. Now it's just a matter of time…_

* * *

**Cerberus Shuttle Alpha, Cerberus Shuttle Bay, High Terra Nova Orbit…**

Neela crouched in the doorway of the shuttle with a submachine gun in hand, trying to ignore the nausea and fever she was experiencing and concentrate on her surroundings. She was going to live… her exposure to the environment of Terra Nova due to the injury inflicted by the drone guarding Salik's shuttle had resulted in mild sickness, but her condition was already improving. And now they were aboard the Cerberus frigate, fighting to seize control of the vessel. The tremendous surge of relief she had felt as they left the atmosphere behind and were once again in orbit of the planet had been incredible. For the longest time, she'd been viewing Terra Nova as a black hole of sorts; it had drawn them in and would never let them go. Their escape was exhilarating.

"Warning, criminal scum," the nearby VI terminal drew her attention, "this one detects gunfire in the vicinity of deck two. The lawless terrorist underestimates this one's accuracy with mass accelerator fire. Perhaps it should consider disarming itself before it provokes this one's anger… Does the terrorist feel fortunate? Does it?"

Neela shook her head, resisting the urge to giggle at the VI's rewritten image and dialogue. Illitha might have been grieving, but she'd still had it in her to pass along a little joke to Cerberus. Her virus had rewritten parts of the ship's VI, supplanting the Cerberus matrix with the image and voice of Blasto, the hanar Spectre from a popular series of vids.

Neela turned away from the shuttle's hatch, quickly checking on her patients. Both Selura and Aida were unconscious and lying in stretchers aboard the shuttle. Their protection was the reason she had volunteered to guard the transport: She wouldn't leave one of their human recruits in charge of two people she cared about. Both asari were stable and motionless, and she smiled to herself, her gaze lingering more upon her girlfriend than Aida. She still wasn't sure what to think about Aida's indoctrination. It seemed so unreal. But at least the captain had been able to convince Shirakawa to hand her over so she could be taken to an asari facility.

"Warning, criminal scum," the VI spoke once again. "Unauthorized entry to this one's domicile is an error in judgment. This one will terminate the intruders with extreme prejudice at maintenance hatch D-24."

"Keelah, Illitha," Neela shook her head, moving to the shuttle's hatch and quickly setting an access code for entry. "Blasto was an amusing choice, but if it wasn't speaking in movie quotes, I'd have a better idea whether we were in danger or not…"

Hesitantly, she limped her way out of the shuttle, waiting until the hatch closed behind her. Her eyes swept over the surrounding area, looking for any sign of a hatch or crawlspace from which Cerberus might emerge. If the ship was going to be lost, it made sense that the surviving Cerberus security forces would try to seize the shuttle and escape. She found herself wishing that they'd left a few more people with her.

Her eye was drawn upward to movement behind a bank of windows that overlooked the shuttle bay. In the corridor beyond those windows, a hatch in the ceiling had opened, and figures were now dropping out of the opening and landing in the hallway. She quickly took cover at the corner of the shuttle, hoping that they wouldn't spot her. She counted three figures in total. Two Cerberus troopers and one figure in dark armor with a collapsed automated turret slung across his back.

"Warning, criminal scum," the Blasto VI startled her when it spoke. "The terrorist pest seeks to detonate the station's reactor core. This one shall see it in a fiery mythological realm before this one allows that to happen."

_Keelah. They're going to override the ship's engines manually?_

Neela left her hiding spot behind, activating her omni-tool even as she hobbled across the shuttle bay to the elevator. She wasn't in any condition for fighting three Cerberus soldiers on her own, and she knew that if the captain hadn't already guessed from the VI announcements, she would want to know what Cerberus was up to.

"Captain. There are three Cerberus soldiers on the level above the shuttle bay. They're headed for engineering. They might be trying to disable the engines!"

_"Understood, Neela,"_ the captain answered the transmission. _"We heard the VI and guessed as much. I will be down there as soon as I can. Get up there and stall them until I arrive. But no heroics. Just keep their heads down."_

"Acknowledged."

Neela scanned the list of destinations on the elevator console, selecting the engineering level. _After all we've done to get off of that planet, I'm not about to let these bosh'tets blow us up or disable us in orbit…_ She activated her omni-tool and initialized the incineration program, waiting impatiently for the elevator to complete its ascent. Given the fact that she had no idea where the elevator would deposit her, however, she stepped to the side of the doors, preparing for the possibility that she would be met with gunfire.

It turned out to be a wise choice. The second the doors opened, a rapid-fire stream of bullets peppered the interior of the elevator car. If she hadn't stepped out of view, she would have taken the full brunt of that incoming fire. Neela recognized the sound of the Cerberus turret when she heard it, and she frowned. The Cerberus engineer had clearly realized that someone might be drawn down to investigate. The elevator door started to close, but Neela quickly hit the button to delay its closing. She was sure the captain was trying to come down, but she needed to get out and delay Cerberus in the meantime. She quickly brought up the ship's layout on the elevator console, checking to see if there was a convenient hiding place nearby. Unfortunately, she found nothing close enough to hobble to between bursts of the turret's fire.

_Why can't Illitha be here for this sort of thing?_ Neela wondered sadly as she activated her omni-tool and set to work on hacking the turret's VI. Most quarians had some level of training in overriding automated processes… after all, the geth were a persistent threat for her people… but she was far less used to it than she should have been. Despite being a little out of practice, however, she was able to quickly get into the VI's processes and shift its targeting programming so that it would only target synthetics. Still, she felt her heart race as she hesitantly stepped out into its sights, half-afraid that she would have missed some sort of trigger and that it would fire when it spotted her. The barrel quickly swiveled in her direction, making her heart skip a beat, but it refrained from firing. Instead, it made her nervous by tracking her as she edged out of the elevator and down the corridor toward the door to engineering. When she hit the trigger on the door and darted inside, she felt a brief surge of relief.

Unfortunately, her relief was short-lived.

"Hostile forces!" a distorted voice shouted, and Neela immediately came under fire.

Acting on instinct, she dove behind the nearest piece of machinery, wincing at the pressure the sudden leap placed on her ankle, and she crouched there, waiting for a break in the deafening peal of gunfire that filled the air. The moment there was a pause in the assault, she leaned out and targeted the nearest of the Cerberus troopers with her omni-tool, launching an incineration drone to engulf the soldier in flame. Before she withdrew to cover once again, she caught a glimpse of the Cerberus engineer standing at the engine control console.

She knew that there was no time to waste while she waited for another break in the fire. She had to rely on her shields and make the man vacate his position. She leaned out and took aim at the engineer, wincing reflexively as bullets struck her shield, but firing on the man without wavering. Her shots hit the shield that protected him, and he ignored her attempts to get him to stop. She was forced to withdraw to safety when her shield collapsed; she hadn't been able to get his to do the same.

_Keelah. I have to stop him!_ She thought frantically. _There isn't time to wait for my shield to recharge. I hope Selura's armor-work is up to this…_

Without giving herself a chance to second-guess her decision, she quickly left her cover behind. Several shots immediately struck the armor plating that covered her chest, and she targeted the Cerberus trooper with her omni-tool, hitting him with an incineration burst. The man started flailing around and dropped to the ground, so she turned her gun upon the Cerberus engineer, firing at his back as she half-hopped and half-ran toward him. Unfortunately, his shield was still active, and he seemed perfectly willing to trust the tech to protect him while he finished his work. Her shield was down, so her instincts told her that there was only one way to stop him without getting herself killed in the process. She closed the distance and tackled him into the console from behind, opting to physically disrupt his work.

Now that she had his attention, she found herself struggling. She wasn't much of a hand-to-hand fighter. Her people taught some basic self-defense to every quarian before they left for pilgrimage, but the Cerberus engineer was unnaturally strong and much better-trained. He reached over his shoulder while she clung to his back, seizing the back of her helmet, and he dragged her over his head in one quick move, hurling her onto the console he had been working on. She had barely enough time to hit the surface and settle before she saw him raising a pistol to aim it at her. She scrambled to turn over and grabbed his wrist, fighting to keep the weapon pointed away from her.

The engineer struck her repeatedly, but to her vast relief, Selura's interlocking armor "scales" that covered the flexible portions of her suit were protecting her from the worst of the impacts, and she was able to get a hand on one of the engineer's fingers, bending it backward until he cried out in pain and the pistol fell from his grasp. His arms wrapped around her waist and he hoisted her off of the ground, pitching over backward and slamming her headfirst into the floor. Even with her helmet to protect her, she was momentarily dazed by the impact.

The engineer bent to retrieve his pistol, and Neela was about to scramble for cover when a streak of bluish purple slammed into the man, sending him sliding across the deck like a ragdoll, his chest plate shattered. Neela stared at her captain's back in relief.

"Neela, are you alright?"

"Fine, Captain," she assured the asari, struggling to her feet. She turned her attention to the console, trying to determine what the engineer had been doing. She knew that one lone Cerberus engineer stood no chance against the former commando, so she felt no need to worry further about him. She could hear the grunts and thumps as the two fought, and after a moment, a sickening crack that made her wince, followed by the agonized screams of a male voice. The hum of the Prothean particle beam followed soon after.

"What was he up to?" Captain Nisaria asked.

Neela scanned the display and smiled. "It looks like he was trying to undo the alterations to the VI and wire it into the navigation and engines. I think he was setting the ship up to fly to a Cerberus facility with us aboard."

"Did he get as far as uploading the coordinates?"

"Uh…" Neela paused and scanned through the lines of code for any mention of locations or a grid reference. Finally she smiled and nodded. "Yes Captain. It's located on Noveria."

"Good. We will send the coordinates to the Alliance as soon as we have a chance. Perhaps they can send in a team to seize the facility."

_"This is Zaeed. Is everything secure down there?"_ the mercenary's broadcast interrupted any further conversation.

"We are secure," the captain answered.

_"Good work. We've got control of the bridge. I have teams doing a compartment-by-compartment sweep of the whole vessel now, looking for stragglers. Send the quarian up to get us underway."_

"Copy that," Julisa nodded.

"So… That's it? We can go home?" Neela smiled. She had come close to death more times in the past weeks than she cared to admit, and the idea that they were now free to flee Terra Nova was a tremendous relief. She only wished that Illitha was going with them. It felt wrong to leave her friend on the planet below.

"We are going home. Get up to the bridge. Our first stop will be the Citadel. From there, everyone can charter shuttles to get wherever they need to go. And I am sure the Alliance will be interested in this vessel and whatever secrets they can recover from it. I will see Selura and Aida safely transferred to the med bay."

"There is a lockout code on the shuttle's door," Neela told her. "The password is 'Prathus'," she added, her voice softening slightly.

The captain didn't respond. There was really nothing to say. Neela limped from the room, heading for the elevator. It was long past time they were underway. Now her thoughts turned toward the future, and she was eager to get to a system with intact FTL comm buoys. She needed to contact her parents and find out if the war with the Geth had yet commenced. Assuming the Migrant Fleet was still intact, she was sure it would make them happy to know she was alive. And she might also need to speak to the captain of the _Ganaza_ to request permission to bring a guest aboard…

* * *

**CIC, Rallying Point Two, Terra Nova…**

Illitha stood quietly off to the side in the CIC of the temporary Alliance base, leaning up against the massive wheel of one of the tanks that surrounded the area. She was doing her best to keep her weight off of her leg. While it was healing rapidly, she knew she shouldn't have been walking around on it for another day at least. But she had new responsibilities to attend to. She had been elevated to a position of command, and almost all of the men and women she'd saved on her way out of Dotterstown had chosen to remain in her unit. Several of her men had even been promoted for their assistance during her impromptu rescue operation. Her group now included Service Chief Rivera, recently promoted from Corporal, and Corporals Tandis and Copeland, both promoted from Private First-Class.

She looked around at the collection of officers gathered in the area, studying the weary faces of the men, many of whom sported signs of recent injury. She still had trouble distinguishing the rank insignias on the Alliance uniforms, but it seemed to her that everyone with a rank of second-lieutenant or higher had been gathered for the meeting.

A ping from her omni-tool drew her attention, and she activated the interface to scan the text-based update. The words were few, but their content made her smile. _"Cerberus frigate under our control. Departing the system now. Stay safe. Julisa."_

She knew that the captain couldn't risk sending a voice transmission while they were still in the system, for fear the Reapers might trace it and destroy yet another of their ships in orbit. She was just glad the former commando had been willing to send some sort of update. She closed her eyes, picturing Neela in the pilot's seat and the captain standing behind her as they sped toward the edge of the system. She felt a great deal of the weight lift from her shoulders in response to that mental image. Her friends were safe. Or at least as safe as they could be in a galaxy at war. Now she could truly focus on keeping her promise to Rachel.

"Everyone is here," Shirakawa announced, motioning for everyone to come closer. A makeshift table had been constructed for the meeting, and as Illitha staggered forward and slumped into a seat, someone handed her a datapad. "These datapads contain all of the information our recon flights have been able to gather about enemy positions and troop movements. But our first order of business has to be securing a more defensible position. We have rejected the Prothean ruin as a possibility," he quickly added, his eyes upon Illitha, "While an underground bunker is defensible, there would be no escape if the Reapers hit us. I am open to other suggestions."

"I do not have any knowledge of the planet, but… I… I have a suggestion on another matter if I could have a moment?"

"What's on your mind, Agent T'Zari?" Shirakawa prompted, and all eyes turned toward the engineer.

Swallowing her discomfort at being the center of attention, Illitha focused on the matter at hand. "O-Our assault on the Reaper showed that their central eye is a weak point. But in the past, your missiles have had limited success in dealing significant damage to the big Reapers, correct?"

"True. You have an idea on this point?"

"Yes, sir," Illitha nodded, quickly activating her omni-tool and uploading a nav-point to the various datapads. "In the remains of F.O.B. Alpha-5, there is a shattered prototype asari fighter. I… The propulsion ring was intact when last I saw it, and was designed for maneuverability unlike anything else in existence. I-I want to take my team out to salvage it and the control components from the cockpit. If we could incorporate the maneuverability afforded by that propulsion ring into one of your warheads, we might be able to assault one of the Reapers with a missile whose trajectory they cannot so easily predict."

Illitha saw a good number of the men at the table start nodding as she spoke, and had to contain the urge to smile. It was an encouraging feeling to have been accepted not only by the men under her command, but to see respect and willingness to listen in the eyes of the officers around her. She only hoped she could continue to come up with good ideas in the coming months. She might have been a bit biased, but she thought her first suggestion was an excellent start…

She listened to the men discussing her plan and the possibility of salvaging additional materials to construct a fighter-sized warhead to cause the maximum amount of destruction possible with the benefit of the propulsion ring's maneuverability. As they talked, her hand rose to the dog tag that hung around her neck. A mixture of sadness and pride filled her. She hoped that whatever happened to humans after death, Rachel would somehow be aware that she was doing her best to keep her promise. There was a long war ahead. And she was determined to see it through to the end.

.

* * *

.

**Author's Note: So here we are! The last Chapter of the story itself, as the surviving crew (most of them, anyway) have managed to survive and escape Terra Nova, which was the main focus of the story... their struggle to survive. Of course, I do have to point out that there are two Epilogues incoming, because there are still elements of the story that need to be tied up and resolved. I'm just thrilled to have gotten this far with all of you, and I hope that everyone is fairly satisfied with the ending thus far.**

**And of course, thank you all for reading, reviewing, and adding my story to your favorite and/or follow lists. All of the attention the story has received has been overwhelming, and I truly hope it's been an enjoyable read for everyone that has stuck with me for this long!**

**As I had mentioned when I put up the last Chapter, the epilogues will be coming a little faster than my old releases, since all of the writing is now done. The only reason I am not uploading it all today is because I didn't want to drop 40,000 words or so on my readers all at once. Well, that and because I have things to do this morning and no more time for editing today. :) Epilogue one will go up on Sunday morning.**


	66. Epilogue 1: Victory

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Epilogue One: Victory

.

**The **_**Ganaza**_**, Sol System, Eight Months Later…**

Neela gripped the arms of her chair tightly as another blast rocked the ship, trying to dispel the rising tide of panic she felt as the Reaper fighters pulverized their shields. The final battle of the war was underway, and everyone knew what was at stake. The combined forces of the galaxy had come together to deliver their secret weapon to the Citadel in orbit of the human home world, and the Reapers were present in force to stop them. The weapon was in place, and now the collective might of the galaxy fought to protect it while they waited for it to activate.

Neela tried to concentrate on the navigational display in front of her, but she wished that she were in the pilot's seat, and she found it difficult to focus on the task at hand at the moment. She and Selura had reached her birth ship just in time for the assault on Rannoch, but because the _Ganaza_ already had a full bridge crew, she had not been able to get a position as pilot. It was difficult for the young pilot to find herself assigned to a position as navigator, when flying the ship was the only thing she'd ever wanted to do. Fortunately, she'd had Selura to talk to when she was feeling down over the past months. Her captain had consented to the asari's presence among his crew, and her parents had welcomed Selura, if a little hesitantly at first. During the months since the liberation of Rannoch, the relationship between her girlfriend and her parents had grown much stronger.

Her attention was drawn back to the display in front of her, and she worked to quickly scan the data as the VI systems updated the positions of surrounding vessels and obstacles, her fingers dancing across the interface to keep up with the rapidly-shifting situation. Impacts were rocking the vessel with increasing regularity, and Neela was starting to fear that her birth ship would become another casualty of the Reapers.

No sooner had the thought formed in her mind than she saw on her display that one of the Reaper ships had altered course and was headed directly toward them. Her eyes shifted to the tactical holographic display at the center of the room, and she saw the warning indicators flare to life, indicating that they were being targeted.

"Brace for impact!" the captain shouted.

The force of the Reaper's blast shook the entire vessel violently, and there was a blinding flash and a deafening crashing noise. Neela reflexively closed her eyes, and heard the warning alarm in her suit's systems as it briefly shifted to internal oxygen stores. When she opened her eyes, fear immediately took her breath away.

The majority of the CIC was gone, leaving only a gaping hole that had been torn through the rear of the vessel. Everyone that had been standing in the area moments before was lost... the captain, the officers, a dozen of her crewmates… all gone. Just a few meters from her seat, the shimmering plane of an emergency airtight barrier separated the forward section of the ship from the shattered rear section of the deck. She scrambled from her chair, amazed that the artificial gravity in the forward section was still working. Around her, her crewmates were staring at the destruction in awe, and she could hear a few of them weeping. Neela waited for the follow-up shot that would destroy the ship and everyone on it, feeling despair wash over her.

A massive, dark silhouette passed overhead, blotting out the sight of the approaching Reaper. Neela stared in awe at the geth cruiser as it passed overhead. There had been a time when most of her nightmares had begun with such a sight. Her birth ship being devastated, and a geth ship closing in on their position. However, unlike the nightmares of her childhood, this geth vessel was shielding them against further assault by the Reaper, drawing its attention and taking punishment on their behalf. Dark shapes rocketed out of the underside of the geth vessel, slamming into the ruined deck outside of the airtight barrier. She watched as towering geth forms rose from the impact sites, stalking across the shattered plating toward them.

"Creators, this vessel had been compromised," the lead geth announced. "We are prepared to evacuate you to a waiting vessel."

Neela was stunned. She had been present for the liberation of Rannoch and the beginning of peace between her people and the geth, but she had still never imagined actually speaking to one. Before she could answer, however, her mother's voice filled her ears.

_"Neela, are you okay? The tactical updates said the hull is compromised up there! Please answer us."_

"I am fine, Mother," Neela quickly assured her. "We are being evacuated now. Get to an escape pod!"

_"We're on our way,"_ her father's voice assured her. _"Get to safety. Don't wait for us."_

Neela was about to promise that she would do so, but at that moment another voice reached her on a separate channel. It was Selura, and she could hear the panic in the asari's tone. _"Neela! Neela, are you alright? Goddess… please answer me!"_

Though she hated to hear the asari sounding so frightened, she still found herself on the verge of smiling over the girl's obvious worries. Perhaps fortunately, she didn't have time to waste, so she was quick to allay her girlfriend's fears. "Selura, get to the escape pod!" she urged. "We're dead in space. One of the geth cruisers is keeping the Reaper busy at the moment, but it won't last long!"

"Correct, Creator," the nearest geth commented. "We estimate the vessel's barriers will fail in twelve point four seconds, after which it will be rendered nonfunctional. All programs aboard are already being downloaded to other vessels in preparation."

_"Thank the Goddess you are okay,"_ she heard Selura sigh in relief, denying her the chance to comment on the geth's statement. Around her, other geth were already wrapping her crewmates up in their arms and then rocketing out into space, guided by onboard thrusters built into their bodies. _"We are evacuating engineering now,"_ Selura continued, _"I will meet you at the evacuation pods on deck one."_

"Creator, we must evacuate immediately," the geth urged, stepping closer to her. Even knowing the massive machine was an ally, Neela couldn't help feeling a little intimidated as it loomed over her.

"No, don't do that," she cautioned her girlfriend, even while she nodded her assent to the geth. The machine wrapped her up in a surprisingly gentle embrace, and small sections of its exterior shell shifted outward to close around her like a makeshift harness. "The rear section of this deck is gone. I'm being evacuated another way. Get to safety. I'll be fine."

There was no further time for discussion. There was a dull boom and a hiss as the geth's boosters ignited, and then absolute silence after they passed beyond the airtight barrier and into space. Neela had to close her eyes as they rocketed out into nothingness. She assumed there was another ship that the geth were headed toward, but despite her love of flying, sailing out into open space with nothing but a geth's embrace to rely on was more terrifying than anything she'd ever done. She felt lightheaded, and feared she might pass out.

_"This is Hackett to all ships," _a transmission jarred her out of her fearful stupor_. "The crucible is firing."_

_"All ships,"_ another voice followed on the heels of the first, _"prepare to withdraw to the rendezvous point."_

Neela braced herself and opened her eyes, only to shriek when she saw the hull of a vessel speeding to meet them. She and her geth rescuer rocketed into a hole in the hull, and there was a dizzying shift when she felt a small measure of gravity once more pulling upon her. She could see nothing at first but the blue lights on the geth gathered in the compartment, but as her visor adjusted to the lack of illumination and engaged its enhancement features, she became aware that they were in a small chamber with a number of docking hubs for geth platforms set into the walls.

"Creators," one of the geth addressed them. "Docking hubs contain mass effect fields to hold unused platforms stationary. Journey through the mass relay commences in seventeen seconds. For your preservation, step into the docking hubs now."

Neela exchanged glances with the others that had been rescued from the bridge and forward command deck, and they all hurriedly stepped into the large depressions in the walls. The compartments were clearly made for figures much larger than any of them, but they had no choice but to comply. As soon as Neela was in place, a field shimmered into existence around her, and she felt herself hoisted into the air and held perfectly still. Even when she tried to move, she couldn't force any part of her body to shift position. It was as if she was encased in an invisible shell. It was frightening. The geth all stood rooted in place, standing still as statues, which only added to her discomfort.

The time that ticked by while they were immobilized, waiting for news of the success or failure of the Alliance's secret weapon were some of the longest Neela had ever experienced. She was beginning to wonder, in fact, if something had gone wrong because of the lack of updates. Then suddenly, a wave of red light washed through the interior of the vessel, and crackling bands of what looked like crimson lightning raced over every surface in sight. The systems in Neela's suit flickered and went offline for an instant when the field engulfed her, but almost immediately returned to functionality.

The geth, however, had an entirely different response to the field. The geth platforms stiffened, twitching spasmodically, and the fields and consoles throughout the room failed, dumping Neela unceremoniously to the floor. The geth themselves finally collapsed, the lights throughout their bodies fading and going dark. Neela and the others picked themselves up, staring fearfully at the inert geth bodies that littered the floor around them.

"What happened?" one of her crewmates asked.

"I have no idea," Neela admitted. She activated her omni-tool and tried to connect to the systems in one of the geth platforms, but her omni could detect no active programs or even intact programming code within the bodies. Only code fragments remained in their memory banks, and the only power in the geth was coming from the link to her omni-tool.

"Are they dead?" one of her fellows wondered aloud.

"I think so," Neela murmured.

It was more than a little eerie, to see the energy disable the geth so completely. It was as if the crimson pulse had erased their programming, and though the geth had been their enemies for as long as Neela could remember, it was sad to see any of them meet such a fate now that they were allies. She wondered how widespread the energy pulse had been, and whether all of the geth would have met the same end. The grim turn her thoughts had taken immediately got her thinking about her family, however, and so she tried to tap into the ship's communications systems. Unfortunately, it seemed that the pulse had destroyed every trace of programming and software in the geth vessel, so she was forced to try broadcasting directly from her omni-tool, bouncing the signal off of any ship or comm buoy in the vicinity.

"Mother? Father? Selura?" she called their names, hoping that her signal would reach them. It was a tremendous relief when the response was almost immediate.

_"Neela! Goddess, are you alright? Where are you?"_

"I…" Neela paused, looking around at the others. With the ship's systems offline, she wasn't sure they were alright… she doubted they could pilot the vessel or even operate the exterior hatches. Her suit was running on its internal oxygen stores because the geth vessel's life-support systems were offline. "Well, I'm not hurt," she said at last. "Are you all safe?"

_"We're fine, Neela,"_ her father's voice answered. _"Where are you?"_

"I'm aboard a geth ship with a few others… but the geth are offline…"

"We're going up to the bridge to see if we can get any control," one of her crewmates informed her. Several of them left the room.

_"What do you mean, 'offline'?"_ Selura questioned.

"I… I think they're dead," Neela confessed. "There are no power readings, no active data feeds… only fragments of code left in their memory banks."

There was a pause as her parents and her girlfriend apparently considered the situation. They were probably as confused and concerned as she was. She had to assume that the Prothean device was responsible for the geths' state, but nothing was certain.

_"At least you are safe,"_ Selura finally said.

Neela smiled at the pronouncement, deciding not to worry them by confessing her concerns. She hoped Selura was right. While the two of them had been able to build their relationship little by little over the past months, it had been hard. Neela's first duty was to her people. Selura had been trying to fit in with the _Ganaza's_ crew, Neela had been plagued with disappointment over her inability to get a position as a pilot, and there had been so much to do, getting noncombatants settled on Rannoch, repairing ships damaged in the war with the geth, and so forth. She was looking forward to having the time to truly concentrate on their relationship.

"Thankfully we all are," she said softly, feeling much happier with the prospect of a future together with Selura no longer in question.

_"Try to get to the _Enssri_ when you can,"_ her mother urged. _"The sooner we are all together, the better I'll feel."_

"I will, Mother," Neela assured her before disengaging the channel.

In the silence following her conversation with the people she cared about most, she felt her worries rush back in to plague her. She supposed she would have to head up to the bridge and find out if there was any way to power up the geth ship's systems. But something in her told her that they'd end up waiting for a rescue team to get to them. If the ship's automation was in the same state as the geth, they were essentially standing in a huge chunk of inanimate metal and nothing more. The mechanics were all intact, but without programs to access and run them…

_Still, on the bright side, if the Reapers are in this state too, then there's nothing to fear. All we have to do is to wait._ With this thought to comfort her, Neela was able to shed some of her apprehension. She hoped she was right. It was well past time that the Reaper threat was laid to rest.

* * *

**The **_**Ganaza**_**, Sol System, Same Timeframe…**

A massive explosion tore through the engineering compartment of the _Ganaza_, knocking Selura and the quarian engineers around her off of their feet. Alarms blared out, and the asari quickly scrambled to get up, grabbing the arm of the nearest engineer and assisting him in standing. As she and the others were rising, her gaze turned to the engines, and she frowned at what she saw. The coolant systems around the starboard thruster assembly had overloaded and exploded, and she could already see the emergency heat sinks around the thruster beginning to glow as the heat built up. Another massive impact rocked the vessel, sending the asari and her quarian co-workers stumbling as they scrambled to the consoles to determine the full extent of the damage.

"Captain Tozah, this is Engineering," one of the quarians called the bridge. "Our starboard thruster assembly must be shut down! The coolant systems are offli-"

A tremendous blast struck the vessel, and everyone in the compartment was once again thrown off of their feet. The main lights went dead, only to be immediately replaced by the pale glow of emergency lighting. Alarms once more blared out throughout the compartment, and Selura crawled to the emergency shutoff, yanking the lever to cut power to the starboard thruster without waiting for approval from the captain. The young scientist was getting an eerie feeling of déjà vu, as she believed the humans called it; she was once again on a ship that Reapers were destroying in space. She wished she had some idea what was going on outside. While everyone on the Flotilla had been aware that they were flying into what would be the last battle of the war, it was hard to concentrate while she had no idea how badly the battle was going. For good or ill, everything was going to be decided soon. Only one thing was clear to the asari: The _Ganaza_ was about to be taken out of the fight.

"All hands," a quarian voice sounded over the intercom, "Kinetic barriers are offline. There are confirmed hull breaches on decks one and two. Evacuation protocols are hereby initiated. All personnel: proceed to escape pods."

Selura didn't recognize the voice, and that was a bad sign. She'd been aboard the _Ganaza_ for months, and she knew that since the quarian ships didn't use VIs, it should have been the captain or the executive officer making such an announcement.

"Neela," Selura activated a channel to her girlfriend. "Neela, are you alright?" A hull breach on deck one might have meant Neela was injured or dead, and the thought chilled her. Neela had been assigned to one of the navigation stations during the battle, as the position of pilot aboard the vessel was already filled. Thus she had been in the forward section of the CIC on deck one. "Goddess… Please answer me!"

_"Selura, get to the escape pod!"_ the welcome sound of her girlfriend's voice issued from the earpiece in her helmet. _"We're dead in space. One of the Geth cruisers is keeping the Reaper busy at the moment, but it won't last long!"_

"Thank the Goddess you are okay," Selura breathed, even as she was bending to lift one of the injured engineers to assist him to the door. The quarians were hurried, but not panicked, a fact that impressed Selura. She had been aboard the _Ganaza_ long enough to know that this was home to the entire crew. "We are evacuating engineering now. I will meet you at the evacuation pods on deck one."

_"No, don't do that. The rear section of this deck is gone. I'm being evacuated another way. Get to safety. I'll be fine."_

Selura frowned, but she wasn't really in a position to argue at the moment. She could only hope that Neela wasn't lying to her to get her to save herself. She tightened her arm around her companion, supporting him while the two of them staggered down the hall toward the waiting bank of escape pods. Already, the other engineers were climbing aboard the evacuation shuttles and hurriedly securing themselves in their seats.

"Selura!" a female voice brought her to a halt just as she was reaching the escape pod's door. She turned and found a quarian male and female moving up the hall toward them, carrying a seemingly-unconscious quarian between them. Quarian enviro-suits were all extremely similar, making quarians hard to differentiate from one another. But she recognized the newcomers because of the embroidering along the hoods that covered their heads, and of course, because of the familiarity of the woman's voice. Neela's parents. She handed her charge off to one of the other engineers and hurried up the corridor to assist them, bending and grabbing the unconscious quarian's feet to ease their burden.

"Neela is being evacuated as we speak," she assured the two of them. "I just spoke to her."

"We know," Neela's father, Dorn, nodded his head. "We spoke to her also."

The three of them hurriedly carried their injured crewmate into the escape pod, and Neela's mother got him carefully settled into a seat, securing his harness and taking the spot next to him. Selura sat down in a vacant seat beside her, while Dorn activated the launch controls, and then quickly got to a spot of his own. The automated systems sealed the doors and started a countdown to launch, and within moments, their escape pod was speeding out into open space. Selura's eyes immediately turned toward the virtual windows, and she shook her head in amazement over the sea of ships waging war throughout the surrounding space. There was a _lot _of debris floating around out there. Far too much. Just thinking about the number of lives lost made her feel sick.

_"This is the _Enssri_ to all _Ganaza_ escape pods," _a transmission broadcast over the pod's speakers._ "We're in position to pick you up. All readings show that your automated approach patterns are locked in. Stand by for docking."_

The only thing any of them could do was wait while the escape pod sped toward the waiting quarian vessel. Selura felt a hand grip her own, and turned to smile at Neela's mother, Rasya, who was responsible for the reassuring gesture. She squeezed back.

_"This is Hackett to all ships. The crucible is firing."_

_"All ships,"_ another voice followed the announcement, _"prepare to withdraw to the rendezvous point."_

Selura's eyes were upon the virtual windows once more, as were those of every quarian in the escape pod with them. She thought she saw a glimmer of crimson from the massive device attached to the citadel, but at that moment, they were swallowed up by one of the _Enssri's_ cargo bays, and she could see nothing else. The landing jarred them all, and they sat and waited for whatever was coming. The _Enssri_ would already be turning for the jump to FTL.

Moments after the jump to FTL, crimson bands of electricity suddenly crackled through the interior of the pod, startling Selura and most of the others present. The scarlet energy washed over them, and Selura saw the HUD in her quarian-made enviro-suit flicker and die out for an instant because of the interference. There were startled gasps from several of the others, all of whom were apparently experiencing similar problems, but their systems quickly returned to life. To her amazement, the strange energy discharge didn't seem to cause them any real harm. Within moments, the haze of red light dissipated and was gone.

Dorn activated the door to the pod, stumbling out into the _Enssri_ cargo bay as if dazed. Selura was likewise unable to sort out her feelings at the moment. Only Rasya's grasp upon her hand gave her any sense of comfort. If the crimson wave of energy had been a discharge from the weapon the galaxy had constructed to defeat the Reapers, it had clearly followed the ships through the Mass Relay. She hoped that it had travelled through the entire relay network, and would have ended the Reaper threat once and for all. The destruction of all Reapers everywhere was the outcome everyone expected, but no one had been able to say with any certainty that the ancient Prothean device would even work, much less _how_ it would destroy the Reapers. She supposed only time would tell.

The other quarians from the escape pod were stumbling toward the few viewports in the cargo bay, and Selura released her hold on Rasya's hand and climbed out of the escape pod to join them. She could hear murmurs and gasps of astonishment, and she wondered what was causing the reactions. When she was close enough to see through one of the viewports, however, it all became clear. Her hand rose to the front of her mask in an instinctive attempt to cover her mouth as she echoed the gasps of the others.

They had a direct view of the nearby Mass Relay from their position, and it was clear that the ancient piece of technology was dead. The lights along its hull were gone, and the rings had ceased moving and broken apart. The glow of the mass accelerator field was likewise absent.

A strange sense of disquiet filled her. _If the Mass Relays are dead, what does it mean for the galaxy? Can they be repaired? Do we even have the technology to repair them? _she wondered. _And what of the Reapers? Are they actually dead? If we cannot go back through the relay to check, it could be months or years before we know for sure…_

_"Mother? Father? Selura?"_ Neela's voice addressed them all over a comm channel.

"Neela! Goddess, are you alright? Where are you?" Selura demanded, stepping away from the viewport.

_"I… Well, I'm not hurt,"_ Neela said softly, but she sounded nervous. _"Are you all safe?"_

"We're fine, Neela," Dorn answered on their behalf. "Where are you?"

_"I'm aboard a geth ship with a few others… but the geth are offline…"_

"What do you mean, 'offline'?" Selura asked.

_"I… I think they're dead. There are no power readings, no active data feeds… only fragments of code left in their memory banks."_

Selura glanced back and forth between Neela's parents, wondering at the portent of those words. _Perhaps we can take this as proof that the Reapers are likewise disabled. Maybe the energy of the device was somehow designed to destroy AI programming and render them nonfunctional…_

It seemed a reasonable speculation. She supposed they would find out for certain in the future. For the present moment, she decided to take comfort in the fact that Neela and Neela's parents were all alive, and she hoped that her mother had also managed to survive the Reapers. When last she'd tried to contact her mother, she hadn't been able to find her. Most of their colony had evacuated when the Reapers sacked Thessia. She bit her lip, her gaze once more drifting to the disabled Mass Relay. _How will I even know she survived? It could be years before we can even contact anything outside the system. With the Relays down, the FTL comm buoy network cannot link to other systems…_

"At least you are safe," she said at last, trying to focus on the positives. Still, the thought of waiting for years to find out if her mother had survived the war was depressing.

_"Thankfully we all are,"_ Neela sounded a little more upbeat with this last statement.

"Try to get to the _Enssri_ when you can," Rasya encouraged her daughter. "The sooner we are all together, the better I'll feel."

_"I will, Mother,"_ Neela promised.

"Here comes the _Enssri's_ captain," Dorn warned them. "We'd best present ourselves and see if there's anything we can do to help."

Selura nodded, turning to see a group of quarians entering the cargo bay on the upper level. For the moment, they were all safe, and Selura started to feel a small sense of relief at last. While there were clearly questions remaining about the future, for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, she had no fear that a Reaper would arrive at any moment and destroy everything she cared about. She smiled brightly as she followed the others to where the ship's captain was standing. Finally, they could enjoy the peace they'd all been fighting for.

* * *

**Ruins of Scott, Capital City of Terra Nova, Same Timeframe…**

"Get down!" Illitha shouted, waving her men out of the way as a pair of brutes hurtled out of a nearby alleyway. Biotic energy flared through her, and she hurled a singularity into their path, immediately following it with a second biotic orb, resulting in a brilliant explosion that sent both beasts reeling. The engineer and the men around her opened fire with their assault rifles in the wake of the blast, quickly shredding the two massive beasts with their combined assault. As the second beast went limp, the ground started shaking and the air filled with a deafening buzz. Everyone quickly shifted position, bunkering down and keeping out of sight, while Illitha peered up at the towering form of the Reaper just blocks from their position. Every time the synthetic behemoth fired its weapon, it shook everything around it so hard that it rattled her teeth.

It was hard for Illitha to tear her gaze away from the Reaper and concentrate on more immediate dangers. The plan she'd set into motion months before was about to come to fruition at long last. Indoctrinated traitors had delayed the construction of their prototype artillery drone, and then their assault had been further delayed as they were pushed out of their bases of operations time and again. Over the course of the past eight months, new and horrifying types of Reapers had joined the fight, and the resistance had been pushed into the harsh desert that encircled the planet's equator. In recent months they'd lost as many men to dehydration and heat stroke as to the Reapers themselves. It had been a long, exhausting war. Illitha couldn't even remember the last time she'd slept for more than a few hours at a stretch, and she agonized over the safety of the men under her command. Every death had been like a knife in her heart… and there had been many. Most days, the asari felt numb.

When word came in that the Alliance was finally starting their big offensive, the Terra Nova resistance had done the same. They had surged north over the course of the past two days, throwing their entire force into a surprise attack and seizing Mivian Heights from entrenched Reaper forces. With the small town as their staging ground, they had then pushed toward the Reaper facility in Scott before the Reapers could strike them in retaliation.

"Time remaining to strike?" she shouted, tearing her eyes away from the towering Reaper and surveying the tide of enemy troops swarming through the rubble ahead. Bullets snapped off of her cover, but she ignored the impacts and concentrated on planning the advance.

"Six minutes, two seconds," Copeland informed her. The pronouncement was followed by the sharp crack of the marine's sniper rifle.

Illitha spotted a group of cannibals, marauders and several ravagers moving into a series of partially-collapsed buildings on the left, and her gaze hardened. The main bulk of the Reaper forces still continued to swarm in from the north, but the enemy repeatedly attempted to flank their position. She opened a channel to her command.

"Alpha and Bravo, get down into those buildings at the bottom of the hill there and dig in. Put some fire on those cannibals and marauders around the fountain in the plaza there. Charlie, shift to the left flank. There is a trio of ravagers and an escort party trying to flank us again. Delta, and Echo, shift to the right flank and keep an eye out for anything circling from that side. Move!"

No sooner had she finished speaking than an ear-piercing shriek echoed over the sounds of gunfire around her. She saw some of the men hesitate and glance around nervously, and she shook her head. "I said move!" she urged them, and then muttered "I will handle this…"

As her men set off on their assigned tasks, she rose and stepped out of the line of fire from the main Reaper force, concentrating instead on spotting the flashes she knew would be visible as the Banshee used biotic leaps to cover the distance as it moved. She finally spotted a flash from the crumbling second story of a nearby building. She scowled and dashed toward a pile of rubble at the rear of the structure, quickly bounding up the wreckage until she could leap and grab hold of the shattered remains of a second-floor window. Once she attained that handhold, she hoisted herself up over the edge and rolled to a crouch, immediately retrieving her rifle and preparing to fire.

There was a flash from a neighboring doorway, and Illitha turned her gaze upon the tall, misshapen caricature of her own people, grimacing in disgust at the sight. Everything the Reapers hurled at them was hideous and frightening, but she'd never understood just how repulsive the Reaper perversions of the other races were until she'd seen the first Banshee. It was as if someone had put an asari on some sort of ancient torture device and stretched her entire body out, adding tech to compensate as flesh tore and bones broke. Her reaction to the first of them had been visceral… and it had been at that moment that she truly understood how the humans must have felt when dealing with husks. She hated the foul former asari creatures for what they represented… a Reaper attack upon her own people… and because she couldn't look upon them without wondering if Aida might have become one had she not been released to act as an indoctrinated spy.

All of these thoughts had been the musings of earlier months, however. At that moment, her only thought was that she must put the creature down before it could do any damage to her or the men under her command. She answered its appearance with an immediate hail of gunfire, the sharp double-cracks of the Valkyrie assault rifle filling the air as she squeezed the trigger with practiced precision. Purplish-gray ichor oozed from the wounds in the creature's flesh where the bullets penetrated, but it seemed unfazed by the fire.

A sweep of the creature's hand sent a biotic orb hurtling toward her, and she swiftly raised her own hand, expanding her barrier to defend against the incoming warp field. She'd fought enough of these creatures in the past months to know their favored forms of attack well. She countered by hurling a biotic orb at the creature in turn, only to have the banshee defend with a shield of its own. However, she had expected as much, and she immediately returned to using her rifle, riddling her enemy's torso and head with bullets while it recovered from the sudden shift in tactics. Tough and dangerous as the banshees were, they were not quick thinkers; they were slow to adjust to changes in the battle.

The creature shrieked, and Illitha quickly dashed into an adjacent room, trying to stay ahead of the banshee's biotic charges while hitting it with incineration bursts whenever she could get a lock on it between jumps. She knew better than to remain rooted in one place and risk that the creature would leap behind her and get its claws upon her; she'd seen too many die that way. The floor shook violently beneath her feet as she dashed through the abandoned rooms, courtesy of the nearby Reaper's main cannon. Unfortunately, just at that moment, she stepped on a weak spot in the floor, and her foot plunged through the surface, burying her to her knee in the hole. She pitched forward at the sudden stop, and felt a sharp pain race through her leg as something was strained or torn. She couldn't be certain of what.

Strong hands seized her from behind and hoisted her into the air, turning her around as she was lifted. Illitha fought down the initial surge of panic she felt and immediately reached for a compartment at her belt, fishing a small rectangular charge from the store of similar devices she kept there. The beast shifted one hand to the top of her helmet, and she heard the ceramic of the protective gear creak as it tightened its grip. She swiftly clicked the trigger on her explosive charge to activate the timer and cause the device to secrete an adhesive, and then slapped it into the banshee's throat. Once it was in place, she channeled everything she had into her biotics and unleashed an omni-directional blast that sent the grotesque horror reeling. It did not drop her, but its apparent plan to twist her head from her body was momentarily forgotten.

Illitha felt no need to shield herself from the coming blast. The charges she carried had been constructed by Engineer Rowan and were intended for use in close quarters. They focused the entire blast through the adhesive side of the charge, making them deadly only to the creature or object to which they were anchored. She still winced when the explosion occurred, but it was more a reaction to the deafening bang, not a symptom of fear.

The blast cleanly decapitated the mutated asari, and it toppled over backward, bringing Illitha crashing down with it. She rolled away from the body as it started to disintegrate into ash, her thoughts already turning toward her men. She limped to the window and gazed down on the group below.

The streaking trails of Ravager fire peppered the crumbling wall the men below were using for cover, and cannibals and husks were swarming over the area while her men fought valiantly to hold back the tide of enemies. Without hesitating, she climbed through the window and leapt into the shell of the building below, a biotic field flaring around her to slow her fall somewhat. It was a skill she'd had ample time to practice over the course of the war, and while she still didn't look exactly graceful while descending and still came down a bit too fast for her liking, she was making progress.

Her barrier came up the moment she landed among her men, and she took position at the middle of their line. The glow of the protective dome was like a beacon to enemy forces, and the shield was immediately struck with multiple bursts of ravager fire. She felt the field fluctuate, but she was just barely able to maintain it.

"Put some fire on those ravagers!" she shouted, and the men around her immediately did as commanded, ignoring all other targets in favor of taking out the living artillery. One of the creatures toppled over before it could recharge for a second volley, but the second one got off one shot… enough to shatter her barrier and flatten her. For a moment she was dazed by the impact.

"Medic!" she heard someone shout.

"I am fine," she waved the marine that was crouched beside her away. "Concentrate on the enemy."

Her gaze turned to her omni-tool as she sat up, and she watched the final seconds of the timer there counting down. She smiled and turned her attention to the towering form of the Reaper capital ship, and she saw a small fighter-like vessel speeding through the air toward it, weaving effortlessly past the oculus drones in the area. She held her breath as it closed the final distance to the Reaper itself, evading several beams meant to destroy it, and slammed into the bank of four eyes at the heart of the Reaper's form. The explosion would likely have blinded her if not for the protection afforded by her visor. Even with the defense, she had to shield her eyes from the flash. When it cleared, however, she watched the massive Reaper stagger, teetering unsteadily, with smoke pouring from its front section.

The Alliance had anticipated this possibility due to the sheer size of the Reaper; they had chosen the largest of the Reapers as their target for the drone strike. A volley of Thanix missiles followed in the wake of their prototype strike drone, further damaging the Reaper while it was disoriented and reeling. The towering construct finally started to topple over, and at first Illitha smiled, drawing an intense satisfaction from seeing one of the massive Reaper vessels beginning to fall. Then she realized that it was toppling in her general direction, and her eyes widened.

"Scatter!" she shouted, manifesting a barrier and dashing toward the Reaper troops in an attempt to clear the area, ignoring the pain in her leg in favor of survival. She was met with a hail of gunfire, and she answered the shots with incineration bursts, but her only focus was on putting distance between the falling Reaper and herself. The Reaper's impact with the ground sent a violent tremor through the earth that sent her stumbling, and she crashed face-first into the concrete. A cloud of dust and grit blanketed the area.

She was quick to rise to her feet, knowing that the Reapers would be doing the same, and that she was now surrounded by them. Gunfire from forces both friendly and hostile rang out through the area, and Illitha turned her attention to self-defense. Husks hurtled toward her from all sides and her barrier was already deflecting impacts.

Illitha was so busy fighting that she never noticed the approaching tide of crimson light that was rapidly engulfing the battlefield. It wasn't until the lurid red glow on the dust in the air became so bright as to distract her that she turned and saw the massive wave of scarlet approaching. She instinctively started to run again, even though she knew there was no way to escape it.

When the energy washed over her, it briefly caused her tech armor and the graphic overlays in her helmet to flicker, but it neither hurt nor hindered her beyond that. All around her, Reaper shock troops staggered and fell, with crimson sparks racing along their synthetic components. She saw the lights in their eyes and mouths dying, and a deathly silence fell over the battlefield. She turned around, instinctively shifting her attention to the other Reapers in the city, and she watched as the lights across their hulls likewise flickered and died, and one-by-one, they toppled to the ground.

_We… We won? The Alliance plan worked?_

She was stunned. She could scarcely remember a time when she had been a carefree engineer, watching vids for entertainment and working on engines for relaxation. It seemed like she had been fighting and struggling to survive for an eternity. In the rare quiet moments over the past months, she found herself wondering frequently if her friends and family would even recognize her when they met again. The indecisive and uncertain girl she had been at the start of the war was long gone. The months of fighting since hadn't given her the luxury of indecision or hesitation.

She didn't even join in when a deafening cheer rang out from the men around her. She simply lowered herself to the ground and bowed her head. There had been a tension throughout her entire body for months. It was present even in her sleep… when she managed to sleep. As she sat there, listening to the cheers of the men around her, she felt that tension slowly ebb. Her hand rose to the dog tag that hung around her neck, gripping the placard tightly.

She smiled.

* * *

**Residential Block 119, Illium, Same Timeframe…**

Aida crept along the remains of a shattered balcony, her eyes lingering upon the asari lined up on the intact balcony below her. Her fellows were firing at Reaper troops on a neighboring building across the way. She scowled at her people, cursing their stupidity. Everyone, everywhere, was making the same mistake. Fighting the Reapers and ensuring the destruction of their own people. She glanced up when a massive shadow fell across her, and saw a Reaper ship streak by, emitting a massive crimson beam that shattered a neighboring building, sending massive chunks of debris tumbling into the chasm below.

The captain had seen her settled in a treatment facility for violent offenders following their escape from Terra Nova, and Aida had been subjected to months of blood tests, brain scans, and endless therapy sessions. But despite all her attempts, she had never been able to convince anyone of the truth. She wasn't insane. She wasn't indoctrinated. She had just realized what everyone else was too delusional to admit. Unfortunately, she had been forced to accept the likelihood that she would never see freedom again.

Then the Reapers had arrived. She had somehow guessed they were coming before they even showed up, and she'd heard from some of the staff at the facility that Illium's initial counterattack had been a success. She had no idea how they'd done it, but Illium's security forces and planetary defenses had destroyed the majority of the Reapers' troop transports, robbing them of the bulk of their ground forces. The asari colony was in a uniquely favorable defensive position from the start, though the staff had still been preparing to evacuate the facility. It had made Aida furious at the time. The colony's early success had merely ensured that the Reapers would respond by utterly destroying everyone on the planet.

It had been a stroke of luck when a Reaper capital ship struck the building a glancing blow, disrupting power to the upper levels. The moment the power went down and the barriers on their individual rooms disengaged, the prisoners in the facility had surged free of their cells. Aida was among them. It was with a great deal of satisfaction that she had wrapped a belt taken from a fallen doctor around the neck of her own therapist, choking the life out of the stubborn and condescending woman.

Since then, the young asari had been doing everything she could to punish the colony's defenders for their stupidity in fighting the Reapers. They'd brought it on themselves, she figured, and so she had been only too happy to disengage anti-aircraft guns, kill stray security personnel, open docking bays for Reaper entry, and otherwise make life difficult for the resistance in Nos Astra. Now, as she looked down on the defenders below her, she once again felt that anger returning. Resistance was useless, and the people fighting only made things worse for those who just wanted to escape and survive. Just like the humans had done for her and her friends on Terra Nova…

She had been able to salvage a great deal of gear from dead defenders over the months spent harassing her own people on Illium, and she smiled as she put some of it to use at that moment. She pulled a pair of lift grenades from a canvas bag at her side, clicking the activation triggers on the biotic explosives and dropping them into the midst of the asari fighting on the level below. With all of the shooting going on, no one ever heard the clink of the grenades dropping on the tile behind them.

The deep thrum of the explosives detonating spurred Aida to action. She saw several of her fellow asari rocket over the side of the rail and into open air, so she ignored them; their fates – if they were not already dead – were sealed. She concentrated on those floating on the fringes under the biotic effect, hitting them with biotic throws to detonate the lift fields that held them aloft, injuring or killing those in cover nearby. At that point, with the element of surprise lost, she was quick to retreat. Hit and run tactics were her way. She didn't want to actively fight her own people. Just killing a handful in each strike and leaving the others to learn their lesson at the Reapers' hands was enough for her.

She turned and sprinted along the crumbling remains of the balcony and around a corner, ducking in through a shattered door there to cut through the building. Once she was alone, she smiled. Not for the first time, she considered trying to find a shuttle and get off world. She had made her point about the futility of fighting the Reapers hundreds of times over. Sooner or later, she needed to find someplace remote to hide, and let the Reapers finish destroying everyone stupid enough to fight them. But as always when she thought about leaving, her anger returned. After all of the scorn and recriminations she'd endured during her months of captivity, she couldn't leave. Not yet. She needed to make a few more people realize that she was right. Just a few more…

She was passing through a corridor when she heard someone whispering. She stopped in her tracks and her hand went to the pistol she carried, quickly raising the weapon. She could never be certain when she would run into a group of Nos Astra's security forces, and she always had to be ready to bluff her way past them. She slowly moved down the hall, drawing nearer to the source of the whispers, until a figure's head peered out from a doorway ahead of her. It was another asari, and the moment she spotted Aida, she gasped and withdrew to safety, apparently by reflex. After a moment, she leaned out again.

"Thank the Goddess," the woman breathed. "At first, I thought…"

"I am no Reaper," Aida muttered. _As if that was not obvious…_

The other asari slowly stepped into the hallway, followed by first one, and then more asari children. Aida's brows rose. There were children ranging from toddlers to young adolescents among them, and they all looked weary, suspicious, and resigned. After months of hiding in the ruins of buildings, Aida couldn't blame them. She lowered her weapon at last, starting to move past the group. She had no interest in hurting frightened people in hiding. They were the smart ones… not provoking the Reapers, but merely trying to hide and live.

"Please," the other asari caught her arm as she was passing. "Are you…? You are with the resistance, right? Can you take us to a camp somewhere? We know where the Reapers are lurking right now. We saw a big group an hour ago… We could trade information for protection…"

Aida turned to stare at the other asari. _Goddess… even the people in hiding are willing to help in the fighting now? How many people will continue to be blind to the truth? She will get all these innocent children killed by taking them to the resistance…_

Aida's response was immediate. She brought her pistol up beneath her fellow asari's chin and pulled the trigger, putting an end to her life and any chance of her bringing the children directly to a camp full of people fighting the Reapers. The children around her shrieked, many of them clinging to one another, and all of them stared at her fearfully. She surveyed their faces, frowning at them.

"Stay away from the resistance," she warned them. "Fighting the Reapers is foolish. And so is helping the people fighting them. If you want to live-"

She trailed off. There was one small child among the group that was gazing at her not with fear, but with an obvious scowl. And the girl's features were so familiar that Aida's heart ached. She thought of her best friend often, and for a moment as she stared at the young girl's face, she thought she might have actually lost her mind. Her gaze softened.

"What is your name?" she asked.

"Esala," the girl continued to scowl. "Why did you kill Miss Senelia? She was nice!"

"She was going to get you all killed by helping the resistance," Aida said simply. "You look very familiar to me, and you have the same name as my best friend's sister. Is your big sister's name Illitha?"

The child's scowl melted away, and her brows rose. "Yes! You know her?"

"I do," Aida smiled, crouching in front of the girl and setting her pistol on the floor. She noted that the other children were quickly leaving now that she wasn't focused upon them, and she sighed inwardly. Just like a bunch of foolish children to abandon one of their peers and save themselves. She just hoped they stayed hidden in the building and avoided the fighting. Within moments, Aida and Esala were alone. "Illitha is my best friend, as I said."

"Is she here?" the child's eyes started to glisten with tears, and she looked around as if she would see the engineer step out of a nearby door at any moment.

"No, child," Aida said softly. "I am sorry. We… We had a fight, and had to separate." Aida did not have to feign her sadness. While she thought Illitha was wrong to have stayed on Terra Nova to fight the Reapers, she still loved her friend dearly. Every day it pained her to think about how she'd hurt her friend by killing Rachel. It was the one death she'd caused that she actually regretted. "Where is your mom?" she asked. She had a feeling she knew the answer, given the fact that the girl was with strangers.

"She… She is…" tears spilled down the young girl's cheeks, and Aida's heart ached. She pulled the child into her embrace, comforting her while she sobbed.

_Goddess… So Lith's mother is dead… Has she not lost enough because of foolish people provoking the Reapers? At least I can see to it that one part of her family remains safe…_

"Come with me, Esala," she said softly. "I will see to it that you are kept away from the resistance and that you stay safe. The two of us can leave this planet together…"

"No!" the girl protested, sniffling. "I have to stay. Father will come here when he finishes beating the Reapers!"

Aida frowned. She understood why the child would want to remain where her family could find her, but if Illitha's father was fighting the Reapers, his fate was already sealed. She took the child's hand. "I know you want to stay, but you cannot. It is not safe here. We will go somewhere else."

"No!" the child shrieked, struggling to pull her hand from Aida's grasp. "I am not going with you!" the girl's eyes strayed to the body of the asari woman Aida had killed, and her scowl returned. "Let go!"

"Stop!" Aida scowled, irritated by the girl's stubbornness. While the child shared Illitha's features, their personalities were almost complete opposites, as near as she could tell. "You are coming with me. I will see you taken somewhere safe!"

"You kill people! It is not safe with you!"

"I only kill the people that deserve it!" Aida growled. "Fighting against the Reapers is foolish!"

"Wrong!" the child protested. "It is brave. My father is fighting them! When I grow up, I will fight them too! Let go!" Esala grabbed one of Aida's fingers with her free hand, struggling to pry her wrist from Aida's grasp.

"No you will _not_," Aida released the child's hand and grabbed her by the shoulders, shaking her roughly. "You are my best friend's sister, and you are coming with me whether you like it or not! I will not see you fighting the Reapers. If your father is stupid enough to fight them-"

"My father is _not _stupid!" Esala cut her off mid-sentence by suddenly slamming her forehead directly into Aida's nose as she crouched in front of the child. The child might not have had much strength, but the impact was still enough to momentarily blind Aida with a flood of tears, and she reflexively released the girl, bringing both hands up to her face in response to the pain. By the time she blinked away the tears and recovered her wits, she found herself facing the working end of her own pistol. The child could barely hold it up with both hands, but she was managing, and both of her index fingers were on the trigger.

Aida raised her hands, hoping to dissuade the girl from pulling the trigger by surrendering. She knew it was only a matter of time until the girl was distracted by something, at which point she could snatch the weapon from her hands and physically drag her to safety if she had to.

The distraction came faster than she expected. The girl's eyes widened, and she started to back away from Aida. However, the girl's gaze was not upon the cook, but upon something behind her. Aida turned to follow her gaze. A wall of crimson was racing through the hallway, and arcs of crimson electricity raced over the surfaces it engulfed. She heard the girl shriek and the sound of her small footsteps as she ran, and Aida was inclined to do the same. By the time she turned and took a few steps, however, the wall of scarlet light engulfed her.

The pressure of the energy's passing staggered her, but there was no pain. The sensation was warm and set her skin tingling, but seemed to cause her no harm. She stumbled to a stop, wondering at the portent of the occurrence. She had just enough time to raise her gaze to Esala's retreating form. Then the agony finally began.

Her head swam, and there was an agonizing throbbing in the back of her skull. She was struck senseless by the sudden sensation – it felt as though a portion of her brain was being torn out of her head – and she was only vaguely aware of her impact with the floor when she collapsed. It was the last coherent thought she had. Afterward, she could only stare in confusion at the blood-soaked face of an asari lying next to her, struggling to make sense of the world around her.

* * *

**Serrice University Ruins, Thessia, Same Timeframe…**

Julisa tried to ignore the stinging pain that assailed her, keeping her left eye closed and using her right to stare along the sight on her Prothean rifle, squeezing the trigger and focusing the beam upon the banshees as they approached in leaps and bounds. Behind her, she could hear bursts of short, rapid-fire pops, and she scowled at the sound. She had never wanted this for her daughter. The girl had stubbornly refused to leave Thessia, citing concern for friends, colleagues, and a host of other things that Julisa had known would make no difference once the Reapers arrived. Despite all of the captain's efforts, her daughter had refused to leave the planet, and had refused to have anything to do with her. The former commando came close to being arrested by Serrice Security for harassment and stalking because of her persistence. Then the invasion had come, and there was no longer any chance of escape.

"Move!" she shouted, turning and giving her daughter a rough shove, prompting the girl and her human companion to leave their perch among the rubble, scrambling out into the open and toward the wreckage of a collapsed building.

Julisa was slower to withdraw, remaining to fire a few more bursts at the banshees, and snaring several cannibals in a singularity as she finally turned and started to retreat after her daughter… or _daughters_ she supposed. Her eyes lingered upon the two as they dashed through the burning, withered remains of a garden, with Eleira shielding her wife with her own body as they ran. Julisa had insisted in the first days of the war on giving her armor to her daughter, and the girl still wore it. The former commando had been making due solely with her barrier.

Julisa focused her energy and charged into the midst of the trio of cannibals that were firing upon her family, slamming into one of them with enough force to shatter its spine. She immediately turned her rifle upon the others, withering them into ash, and scanned their surroundings for signs of further threats to her family. Reapers were everywhere, but none had a direct line of sight to the fleeing girls at the moment.

Her gaze lingered upon the horizon, where dozens of Reaper destroyers were visible among the ruins, decimating what little resistance remained. She had no idea about the condition of Palavan or Earth, but Thessia had been devastated. The Reapers had come in force, and organized resistance had long since been crushed. Her people, as near as she could tell, had been reduced to scattered handfuls of refugees, desperately trying to survive on a world overrun by enemies. The entire planet seemed to be burning. The sky was glowing with orange light despite the fact that it was the middle of the night.

She charged down into the collapsed structure where her daughters had taken refuge, taking cover just inside the door. A quick look around showed her that only the entryway was still standing… A wall of rubble marked the back of their momentary shelter. She could hear Eleira and her young human wife, Kate, speaking together in hushed tones, and the girls were clinging to each other. She had been more than a little upset to learn that her daughter… a girl of just over a hundred years in age… was already bonded to a human. Not only because she was so young, but because her daughter's bonding ceremony was yet another piece of her life that she'd missed. She understood the girl's decision… Humans were an extremely short-lived race, and if they were going to have a life together, there wasn't time to wait until her daughter entered the matron stage of her life. Her thoughts went to Selura and Neela, and she pictured something similar being decided between the two of them.

The former commando's attention turned to their surroundings, even as her hand rose to her face, feeling the torn flesh that marred the side of her head. She'd been forced to get far too close to a banshee just a short while earlier in order to save her daughter's wife, and had suffered a vicious claw attack to do it. It was far from the first injury she'd suffered, and she knew it wouldn't be the last. More than once during the months of struggling to survive on Thessia, she had been forced to place herself in imminent danger to give the girls a chance at escape. She would continue to do so if it was necessary to keep them both alive.

Eleira never looked at her. While they had spoken in little bits over the past months, it was very clear that though her daughter had _said_ she forgave her for the past, she was struggling to actually do so. Their relationship was cold and distant… But Julisa was thankful even for that. Their initial meeting had been filled with shouting, recriminations, and a slap to the commando's face. The months that followed it had been a time of infrequent attempts to speak with her daughter, most of which ended with threats to call security. Only after the Reapers had invaded had the girl reluctantly agreed to go with her. She sighed to herself, wishing for the millionth time that there had been more time to repair the damage she had done in the past. Their deaths were inevitable, and she had always hoped to truly make peace with the girl before her death.

A deafening screech from outside drew her attention away from her thoughts and regrets, and she watched as the pair of banshees she'd been firing at before started closing the distance toward their hiding place, covering the open space in quick biotic jumps. She raised her rifle and opened fire, hoping to halt their advance by eroding their barriers.

"Get out of here!" she urged her daughters. "Now!"

Eleira and Kate scrambled to their feet and hurried out the door past her – there was no intact interior of the building to run through – and Julisa stepped out into the open as the two girls ran off to her left, hoping to keep the banshees' attention completely focused upon her. One of the creatures stopped and hurled a biotic orb toward her, but Julisa's hand rose in response, meeting the incoming orb with a biotic projectile of her own. There was a brilliant flash as the two biotic effects met and canceled each other out.

A terrified scream from the side caught her attention, and she glanced that way, her heart almost stopping at what she saw. A third banshee had intercepted her daughters at the corner of the building, and even as she watched, it was hoisting Eleira into the air. Julisa's response was immediate. Biotic energy flared through her, and she streaked toward the creature in a flash, slamming into its body with such force that it was sent reeling. It dropped the young musician, and Julisa quickly shoved the young asari, getting her well out of the banshee's reach even as she raised her weapon to fire on the creature.

"Run!" she heard Kate yell, and the two girls scrambled away.

The banshee had recovered from the initial impact, and its hands snaked out to grab her, but Julisa was prepared for that reaction. She executed a short, backward dash, carrying her out of the creature's reach, and then resumed firing, listening to the hum of the weapon as it increased, tearing apart the banshee's barrier. She had been using the Prothean weapon for long enough to know the limits of the tech, and she waited until the hum rose to a high enough pitch that she knew it would soon be shutting down to vent heat, releasing the trigger at the last possible moment and giving it time to cool.

The banshee tensed and hunched over, channeling its energy for an omni-directional burst, and Julisa focused in response, charging out of the range of the blast she knew was coming. Like most other Reaper shock troops, banshees were dangerous, but not very smart. Their assaults were predictable and avoidable, especially after months spent fighting them. She skidded to a halt just a few dozen meters behind her fleeing children, turning and resuming fire on the banshee until it finally staggered and fell, crumbling into ashes.

Reapers seemed to be everywhere. The other two banshees were still on their heels, and she could see glimpses of cannibals, marauders and brutes moving along the piles of rubble on her right. Ahead of them, she spotted the tall frame of a third banshee moving along an elevated walkway, and she frowned. Their options for escape were dwindling rapidly. She ran after the girls, intent as always upon keeping them safe.

A streak of crimson sailed into the path ahead of her, striking the ground between Eleira and Kate, flattening both girls. Two more followed upon its heels, but neither one struck their target. Julisa growled, turning in the direction from which the shots had come, and spotted a ravager scuttling along the top of a crumbling building, setting up for a second volley. She set herself and executed a charge, slamming into the bloated body of the creature in the blink of an eye.

The impact barely phased the beast. It reared up and spewed caustic sludge all over her before she could get out of range, burning her face and hands and sending her reeling. She blocked out the pain, firing upon the creature until it toppled over, dissolving into a puddle of steaming acidic gore. Tiny creatures leapt onto her from the surrounding area, and she was quick to bat them away and turn her rifle upon them before they could do any real damage. She turned and glanced down into the ruined street below, and was glad to see her daughters on their feet again, though both girls were now limping. Julisa was once again thankful that her daughter was wearing her armor; she was certain the protective gear had helped to ensure she survived the surprise attack.

A sudden popping sound directly behind her startled the former commando, who had been consumed with thoughts of her daughter's welfare. She whirled at the noise, realizing that her inattention had placed her in danger, only to discover that it was far too late. A banshee had jumped into position while she was distracted, and by the time she saw it and registered that she needed to move, its hand was already flashing toward her.

The creature's talons buried themselves in her abdomen, wrenching an agonized groan out of her, and the monster hoisted her into the air using that hold. She tried to raise her rifle, but the banshee's free hand closed upon the ancient weapon and wrenched it from her grasp. The twisted asari monstrosity drew her closer, gazing at her with what she could only call hunger in its eyes. Her limbs were shaking… she was going into shock… but she refused to die without taking one last enemy with her.

She struggled to focus her biotics, channeling her energy into her foot for one last strike. The rush of energy through her nerves only magnified the pain of her injuries, but the creature was unable to stop her from raising her foot and slamming her boot into its skull with all of her might. She heard the audible crack as its cranium shattered under the force of the blow. The creature's arm went limp, dumping her on the edge of the building's surface. She felt herself slipping over the side, but was unable to catch hold of anything to stop the fall. There were a few seconds of terrifying weightlessness, and then a bone-crushing impact that drove the breath from her body. For an instant, everything seemed to be engulfed in a red haze. Then there was only pain.

_I have failed…_

"Father? Goddess, Father, speak to me…" she heard her daughter's voice, thick with emotion. She struggled to open her eyes. When she did, she found her daughter's beautiful face looming over her, and the girl's cheeks were wet with tears.

"Run…" she croaked. Though she would have given anything for her daughter to stay with her while she died, she would not see her child perish just to ease her final moments.

"No… The Reapers… They are dead," the girl sobbed. "It is over, father… We will find you some help."

_The Reapers are dead?_ Julisa struggled to raise her head and look around, but it was beyond her. However, she heard no shrieks of banshees, no distant horn-calls of Reapers, no gunfire and no explosions. For the first time in months, only silence filled the night. She closed her eyes. She had no idea what had happened, but if the Reapers were truly dead, then she hadn't failed after all. Her daughter would live. And that was all she had ever hoped for.

Her entire body had gone numb, and she was very, very cold. This time, she knew with certainty that she was dying. But in seeing the glistening tears upon her child's face, she knew that her daughter still loved her deep inside. She could die in peace.

"Father, I am sorry," Eleira sobbed.

"You… have nothing to be sorry for," she could barely force the words from her throat. But there was something she had to say before it was over. "I… I was a fool… for leaving you. I sh… should have been there…"

"Father, stop…" Eleira urged. "You do not have to apologize for things long past… Just… Stay with me… Please…"

"It is too late… for that," Julisa gasped. "And… you deserve… the apology… I missed… your whole life… But…" she struggled to speak for a moment, and she felt tears spill from the corners of her eyes. _Please, Goddess…_ she prayed. _Just let me say it…_ "I… I _never_ stopped loving you…"

Relief flooded through her when she finally got those words out. Though she'd had eight months to say them, those months had been filled with arguments, her daughter's cold shoulders and icy looks, and then after Thessia was hit, war and the struggle to survive. This apology and her true feelings were long overdue. She closed her eyes, and was only dimly aware of her daughter's head pressed against her chest, and the sound of both girls weeping. The pain was gone. Sensation faded away. In the last moments, as the world faded from her senses, she could hear her daughter's voice.

"I love you, Father. I never stopped loving you either. Find peace in the embrace of the Goddess…"

* * *

**London, Earth, Same Timeframe…**

Zaeed and his mates waited patiently in the last moments as the crucible prepared to fire. The former mercenary still had contacts throughout the galaxy, and despite the Alliance's efforts to keep their project secret, there were still those who knew about it in advance… Zaeed among them. The big push into London was one that the mercenary had been only too happy to participate in, and he'd brought a few mercenary friends along for the fight. They were helping to hold the Alliance's flank, fighting more or less independently from the main force… just the way they all preferred it.

Zaeed picked his shots carefully, gunning down a few cannibals in succession, and even as he did so, he took in the massive tide of Reaper troops in his peripherals. The numbers were staggering, but he regarded them without fear. The Reapers were the only enemies he had left.

The merc group he had joined after Terra Nova had successfully infiltrated the Citadel and grabbed the volus ambassador, only to have Shepard intervene in the operation. It was only after Shepard's intervention that Zaeed learned the job had been arranged by Cerberus, using a front of turian involvement. The knowledge that he'd almost helped the Illusive Man had been infuriating. Shepard was busy saving the galaxy, and while Zaeed was tempted to join up, he still wanted to pursue his revenge on the Illusive Man. He had even taken part in a few operations with teams the Alliance was calling N7 Special Ops, deploying to hot spots to defend key facilities. Then word came in from his contacts that the Alliance had hit the Illusive Man's headquarters, and that the man himself was on the Citadel and under Reaper control. Zaeed had been only too happy to get a group together and join the final assault.

"Frag out!" one of his fellow mercs called, prompting Zaeed to grab an inferno grenade from his belt. Normally in battle, those words were used as a warning, but his small team had been using it as a prompt instead. As one, the four of them rose from cover, clicking the activation triggers on their respective grenades and hurling them into the ranks of the approaching Reaper troops.

A series of thunderous detonations in succession echoed through the blasted cityscape around them, and the four of them watched dozens of Reapers collapse after being caught in the blast radius of the explosions. Whether they were engulfed in flame, peppered with shrapnel, or rocketed dozens of meters into the air by biotic effects, the results of grenades were always satisfyingly devastating. Only the brutes in the front lines survived the detonations, and these quickly followed their fellows into death, courtesy of a surge of rifle fire from Zaeed and company.

Alliance teams moved up on their left and right, and Zaeed and his fellows did the same, unwilling to weaken the lines of the advance by staying back. Concussive booms echoed back and forth between the crumbling walls as those with the burst emitters used them to flatten stray Reapers during the advance, finishing the creatures off as they passed. Zaeed was just planting his boot upon a fallen marauder's chest and squeezing the trigger to put a bullet through its head when he became aware of the crimson light brightening the sky.

_This must be it,_ he realized.

The massive wave of crimson coming down from the atmosphere was inescapable. That much was immediately obvious. And so the veteran mercenary suppressed the natural desire to crawl beneath something for shelter from the blast, remaining crouched in place and waiting to see what it was that the crucible would do. A few stray shots ricocheted off of his cover, but Zaeed no longer returned fire. He merely kept his eyes upon the Reaper troops, watching with interest.

When the energy wave washed over him, it briefly interfered with the night vision overlay in his visor, but it caused him no pain and seemed to have no lasting effect. The effect on the Reapers, on the other hand was obvious and very, very final. He watched the creatures stagger and pitch over, grunting in satisfaction as the lights in the tech implanted throughout their bodies flickered and died out. In the distance, one of the towering Reapers likewise went dark, pitching over among the ruined buildings around it. Even from his distance, Zaeed could feel the tremor in the earth when the massive machine hit the ground. The cheers from around him were deafening, but Zaeed remained silent, glancing up at the stars above.

"Nice work, Shepard," he muttered.

He had been a mercenary for a long time. He'd seen many dangerous and competent soldiers and mercenaries in his long years. But the woman that had drafted him to fight the collectors was clearly the best the galaxy had ever seen. He hoped she had survived. Unless his instincts were wrong, the galaxy would spend years cleaning up and rebuilding. Maybe decades. And that was the sort of task at which people like him were useless. Shepard would be needed in days to come.

As for him? Zaeed had no idea what would happen next. It was back to business as usual, he supposed. Time to find the next job and the next paycheck.

.

* * *

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**Author's Note: I did warn you all that the epilogues were running a little longer than my average Chapter. I do apologize for that, but I wanted to cover the experiences of the surviving members of the crew at the end of the war. While the situations at the war's end are not universally happy, I really felt that even though I wasn't going to cover the entire war, this collection of scenes was really necessary to bring more closure to the tale. Would it have been okay without them? I think so (some may disagree), but I felt it would be better this way.**

**Of course, I must thank everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, followed, or otherwise given their attention and support to my story. It's been a long project, but one I've had a lot of fun working on. Now only one Epilogue remains to be published, and I will be posting it on Wednesday morning, as long as there are no surprises.**

**I hope everyone has had a great weekend, and that your Sunday and the days that follow are equally good. And I hope to see you all back for the last part on Wednesday. Until then! :)**


	67. Epilogue 2: Fallout

**Mass Effect: Event Horizon**

A Mass Effect Fanfiction

By Drussius

Epilogue Two: Fallout

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**Nearing Unity Space Station, High Earth Orbit, Four Years After War's End…**

Illitha stood upon the access ladder, quietly performing diagnostics on the engine's backup coolant system. The quiet and familiarity of her work in engineering was granting her some measure of peace, a thing that she desperately needed to prepare her for what was to come. As she worked, she listened to the broadcast from the vid monitor installed over the central console, where a dedication ceremony taking place on earth was displayed.

_"The years since the Reaper war have been hard on all of us,"_ the middle-aged man there was saying. _"Billions of good people gave their lives to ensure that the rest of us would see this day. And we all live with the aftermath. Many of the Mass Relays are still down, galaxy-wide communications are still disrupted, and our home worlds and colonies struggle to rebuild…"_

"No kidding," Illitha murmured.

Terra Nova was in ruins, and there had been far too few people left for the work that needed to be done to restore the world to habitability. The men and women on Terra Nova hadn't even been aware that the Mass Relays were gone until the first wave of fleeing refugees had reached the neighboring system and found it impossible to proceed from there. Their return to Terra Nova with news that the Mass Relay was dead had been a devastating revelation for the survivors. Contact was established with Eden Prime in the neighboring system, but that planet had fared even worse than Terra Nova.

There was so much work to do to rebuild. Manufacturing centers needed to be repaired, buildings had to be engineered, ships and space stations built… It was overwhelming. Everyone knew it might very well take decades to fully restore the colony, especially since there was no ready source of workers and materials. People like the young asari engineer had been in high demand. Illitha had been honored with medals and commendations for her efforts during the war and with recognition and pledges of credits for her work in the early days of the reconstruction. While she had wanted to be part of the team sent to work on the Mass Relay, in those first years, she was needed more on the planet she had fought so hard to defend. And she was happy to help the people of Terra Nova rebuild. After so many months spent ensuring they would survive, in many ways she viewed them as _her_ people. And she had been rewarded for all her hard work with a very special request…

The humans had been the second race to get one of the Mass Relays working again, but the first to be able to use them. Teams had been sent out from Earth to the former location of Arcturus station using conventional FTL travel, setting up new comm buoys along the way, and with scientists and engineers working on both ends, they were able to finally repair and reactivate the two relays… and in just over three years. Illitha had been called into Admiral Shirakawa's office around that time, where she was finally asked to be part of the team working on the Relay in the neighboring system, using the procedures gleaned from success on the first two Relays as a road map to reactivation of the third. She had been only too happy to help. As nice as it was to be rebuilding Terra Nova, she hadn't been able to think of any better way to contribute than by getting the Relays up and running again.

The Relay near Eden Prime was activated just weeks ago, and within minutes of its activation, a salarian ship had rocketed into the system. As it turned out, the salarians had been able to reactivate the Relay in their system even before the humans, but without any working relays to connect to, they had remained stranded and cut off from outside contact. The state of much of the rest of the galaxy remained a mystery to those in the newly-reconnected systems. With relays down and FTL communications shattered, only a handful of locations could be reached via QEC. Illitha had heard nothing regarding Thessia or the asari colonies. For all she knew, she was now part of an endangered species.

With the work on the Relay finished and the ability to travel to the Sol system regained, Illitha's part in the reconstruction had come to an end. She had a promise to keep, and she was quick to put her other work aside and travel to Earth.

_"This structure, Concord Tower, has been designed with elements drawn from every species that fought here in the Sol system in the last days of the war," _the broadcast continued._ "It will serve as a symbol of the galactic unity that we found in our shared effort to defeat the Reapers."_

Illitha paused in her work and turned her eyes toward the screen, studying the footage of the new building. She was impressed with what she saw. She spotted elements of the sweeping arches common to asari architecture, the pyramid-like layout where each level was a little smaller than the level below it that dominated salarian buildings, massive stone columns and solid foundations that were a clear nod to the krogan structures on tuchanka, and shining glass exteriors and tapered tops like those favored by the humans.

_"Until reconstruction of the Citadel is complete, this building will serve as the seat of our new galactic council. While only the human and salarian councilors can currently claim their seats, we continue to hope that the turian and asari home worlds will soon be reconnected to the Relay network and our government can be made whole. However, in gratitude to the other races involved in our defense, we have also included embassies for the Krogan, Quarian, Batarian, Hanar, Elcor, and Volus races, and we hope that once the council is reunited, we can discuss giving all of these races a greater voice in galactic government…"_

The applause from the broadcast at this last statement made Illitha smile. After the entire galaxy had come together for the fighting, it seemed only right that the new council should give every major race in council space a seat and the right to participate in deciding the galaxy's fate.

Illitha returned her full attention to her work, completing her diagnostics and closing the access panel to the system after assuring herself that the unit was operating at peak efficiency. She was just climbing down from her perch when the door opened. She watched as her massive krogan crewmate lumbered in, with a ridiculously oversized, cannon-like assault rifle slung over his shoulder. Even for a krogan, he was an extremely large specimen… which meant that he absolutely dwarfed her.

"Captain, we're docking at Unity Station now," the krogan growled.

_Captain T'Zari_. She knew it was more than she had any right to ask for, but every credit she was pledged was used to secure the one thing she wanted: A custom-built ship of her own. This ship had been the reward into which she had parleyed all of her work during and after the war. The government of Terra Nova had been rebuilding their cities, but they had also been hard at work constructing ships for the defense of the colony and for travel to the neighboring system so that Terra Nova and Eden Prime could trade materials and labor when needed. Illitha had at least consulted, if not actually worked on, many of the orbital projects and vessels. Given the fact that she had been instrumental in getting Novaburst Fabrication up and running again and that the factory was making all the alloys for the construction of new ships in the shipyards, there hadn't been much resistance to her request.

The ship was a tribute to her crewmates, whom she hadn't seen or heard from since their escape from Terra Nova. It had a propulsion ring and top and bottom 'fins' like any asari ship, but the forward section was built as a vertical ring in quarian style, which interlocked with the horizontal ring of the drive elements, making the ship look like a linked chain in some ways. The side 'fins' that would have been found on a normal asari vessel had been replaced by wider and more pronounced 'wings' that swept backward in the style of turian cruisers. She had named the ship _Memorandum_, a human word, which she chose because the vessel was meant to honor the sacrifices of the people she had known and loved before and during the war, and those that had _hopefully_ survived it.

Illitha regarded her krogan crew member with a small frown, eyeing the weapon he was carrying. She had only just assembled her crew the previous week, taking interested candidates from both Terra Nova and Eden Prime. She intended to use her ship for salvage, rescue and exploration, and had needed a crew with diverse skills. The krogan was a weaponsmith… and a fierce warrior, by all accounts. But she didn't like the fact that he was _always_ carrying that cannon around on her ship.

"Vorak, how many times do I have to tell you to keep that thing in your quarters?"

"You can say it until you're blue in the face," the krogan's visage split with a wide, toothy grin. "How many times do I have to tell you you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands?"

Illitha laughed in spite of herself. The krogan seemed to find it endlessly amusing to work her skin color into their conversations, even if he had to use human sayings to do it. The fact that the krogan had an almost-obsessive interest in human language and culture helped him to do so. She shook her head and dropped the subject for the time being. If they were docking, there was no time to argue. From the station, she would be taking a shuttle to a refugee camp on Earth. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but now that she was captain of her own ship, she made it a point to always bring a member of her crew with her into unfamiliar places. She'd spent too long fighting as part of a unit to discount the advantage of having someone she could trust close at hand. And while she didn't know the krogan or most of the other members of her crew well enough to fully trust them yet, she was eager to build that trust.

_Sadly, I cannot imagine this crew ever becoming my family the way Neela, Julisa, Prathus and even Selura were._ There was a name she hadn't put on that list, but she still couldn't even think her former best friend's name without growing angry.

"Let us head up to the airlock then," Illitha suggested. She had waited a long time to keep her promise, and she was eager to finally see it done.

Illitha and her companion parted ways briefly at the elevator. The krogan preferred the lift, while Illitha always used the stairs while moving around her ship. She'd had a heavy hand in the design of the vessel, and every deck was connected to the others with stairways in addition to elevators, to make it easier to get from deck to deck in event of an emergency like a loss of power. She preferred to use the stairs, however, simply for the added exercise. She'd grown accustomed to physical exertion during the war. She ran the stairs from deck to deck throughout her ship twice daily as part of her continued training regimen.

She rejoined the krogan at the main deck just as the sound of the magnetic docking clamps attaching to the hull echoed through the ship. The two of them headed to the airlock, where the entire crew was gathering. Her ship was a little larger than the _Sileya_ had been. As a result, the crew was a bit larger as well, numbering nine, excluding herself. She scanned the faces of her crew in silence. Most of them were humans, two were salarian, and then of course there was the krogan. She smiled briefly at Elliot, now almost twenty years old, who had eagerly signed up as part of her crew.

"See the vessel locked down properly, and then you all have twelve hours of shore leave," she informed them. "Anyone not back on the ship by 17:00 Galactic Standard is going to need to find another way back."

"Aye aye, Captain," she heard a few of the crew say, while most simply nodded.

She was the first to step into the airlock, and as she did so, she couldn't help shaking her head over the shift her life had undergone between the start and the end of the Reaper war. She had always been timid and indecisive, content to be ignored and overlooked, happier when she was alone. Now she was in a position of command, providing direction to others, and felt better with trusted allies close at hand. The only reason she worked alone in engineering was because she loved the work, not because she preferred solitude as she had in the past.

The crew drifted apart just past the security desk at the docking bay, and Illitha and Vorak set off in search of a shuttle to the planet's surface. The docking ring of the newly-constructed space station orbiting the planet, she soon found, featured a breathtaking view of surrounding space, including a clear sight line to the swarm of ships working to reconstruct the Citadel. She was staring out of the window while she walked, not really watching where she was going, when her companion's voice startled her out of her curiosity about the repair efforts underway in space.

"Out of the way, whelps," Vorak growled, and Illitha returned her attention to the path ahead, where a group of krogan was headed toward them. Her massive crewmate shoved several aside roughly, receiving a few shoves in return. However, it was one near the end of the line that brought her to a halt in her tracks.

"Lay a hand on me," the krogan she had spotted growled at Vorak. "I'll feed it to you ten seconds later…"

"Father?"

The word passed her lips as a barely-audible murmur. He was the very last person she would ever have expected to meet on a space station orbiting Earth. As his eyes turned in her direction, she saw a very familiar look of resigned disappointment settle across his features. In years past, that look had always sent a wave of self-loathing through her and instantly made her feel miserable and alone. Now as she regarded him, she felt only irritation in response to that look.

"You survived," he commented.

"So did you," was the only thing she could think of to say.

"As if that was ever in doubt," her father snorted.

"This is your father?" Vorak sounded amused, speaking in the human dialect of English without a translator. Illitha could tell another play on words was coming because of his shift in language. "Azure bodyguard, you could have told me you had krogan in you…"

Illitha had to smile at pun, but she didn't comment on the statement. She merely fixed her gaze upon him and nodded to the side. The krogan took the hint, nodding once in return and moving a short distance away. Her father's companions likewise gave them some space, joining Vorak in conversation nearby.

"A bodyguard?" her father asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "What do _you_ need a bodyguard for?"

"He was not being serious," Illitha muttered. "He is a member of my crew."

"Your crew?"

"I have a ship," Illitha nodded. "The _Memorandum_."

"Can't picture you in command of a ship," he muttered.

"Things change," she said softly. "The Alliance awarded me a medal for my efforts during the war."

Her father snorted. "Humans hand out medals for everything, including getting injured. As if _that's_ something to be proud of… Forgive me if I'm not impressed that-"

Rage filled Illitha as her father scorned the humans, and she cut him off in a style she knew he would understand. She channeled biotics through her body and slammed her forehead into his chest with augmented power, sending the large krogan reeling. She heard raucous laughter from nearby, but she ignored it, stalking directly up to her father and seizing one of the ridges in the plate upon his head, yanking him to within inches of her nose. Her head was already throbbing from employing such a tactic, but she did her best to ignore it. She could see shock and amazement in his expression, but at the moment, her anger kept it from truly sinking in.

"_Never_ disparage the humans in my presence, or I will take out a lifetime of resentment on your hide," she warned. "I saw the men and women on Terra Nova fight with a ferocity any krogan or turian would have envied, and too many good people died under my command. If you spit on their memory…" she left the rest of the threat unsaid, but the cold fury in her eyes spoke volumes.

Her father shoved her away roughly, but she was quick to recover and step right back up to him, staring him down angrily. Deep down inside, the resentment she had nurtured for years was boiling up, begging to be unleashed upon the source of it all. She didn't even realize it, but she was glowing brightly, her biotics flaring in response to her anger. It took long moments for her to recognize that despite the roughness of the shove, there was no anger in the old krogan's eyes. Instead, she saw a hint of grudging respect there. And that realization almost floored her.

"People died… under _your_ command," her father muttered.

"Too many," she swallowed, feeling her anger fading in the wake of the shift in the way he was regarding her.

"Things do change," he finally said. "You've certainly managed to build some muscle in that tiny little body," he added, poking one of her arms with a thick finger. Indeed, the months and years of exercise had given her a definition she'd never imagined obtaining in her physique. "It's good to see these changes in you."

Illitha swallowed, irritated that he was once again expressing his disappointment in the person she was. While she too viewed the changes she had undergone as good ones, she didn't dislike the person she had been. However, she had to put that irritation aside. With the tone of the conversation becoming less confrontational, Illitha's thoughts turned to a subject that had been on her mind almost constantly for the last several years.

"Have you heard anything about mother and Esala?"

The old krogan frowned and bowed his head. It was the only answer she needed. She didn't see grief in his expression, but instead the same sort of worry she had been feeling for far too long. Her father hadn't heard anything either.

"According to all I hear, Illium weathered the war better than most places," her father finally said. "I have to believe they're both fine. Your mother is strong. She would have kept the little one safe."

"I hope so. Not knowing has been…" she struggled for words, but they were simply inadequate to express the gnawing uncertainty that plagued her without end. She finally gave up on expressing the depths of the nagging worry and simply said, "…hard."

"Yeah," he grunted.

"I guess I should go," Illitha sighed. "I have a promise to keep."

"Well, I'm glad you survived," he muttered.

Illitha smiled a little at the admission. Apparently, all it had taken was a Reaper war, months of struggling to survive, and being honored among the heroes of Terra Nova to earn her father's respect. Her eyes fell to the massive shotgun that dangled from the belt on his armor, and on impulse, she reached out and snatched the weapon from him.

"What the-?" his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"For my trophy wall," she smiled at him. "A symbol of having _finally_ crushed your disdain for me."

He regarded her in silence for long moments, and then suddenly he laughed… a short, sharp bark of amusement. "Ha! Not disdain. _Never_ disdain," he told her. "Just regret that you weren't living up to your potential. Seems like you finally found it in yourself."

Illitha could only stare at the old krogan's back as he turned and walked away. She started to wonder, following those last words, if she had truly misjudged his opinion of her all those years. She thought back over the countless years of insults, disparagement, muttered comments and disappointment in his expression. She found herself wondering if it had all been the krogan form of encouragement. If the treatment she had endured had been not because she wasn't what he wanted out of a daughter, but because he saw more in her and was frustrated that she wasn't living up to her potential. It cast a whole new light on their relationship throughout her life. If he had been trying to encourage her and had simply gone about it the wrong way… perhaps a lot of her self-doubt had been for nothing…

"That was epic," Vorak chuckled as he rejoined her. "Watching you smash your head into him like that… Never laughed at anything so hard in my life… Nearly laughed myself blue."

"Glad you approve," she said softly. The use of yet another reference to her skin tone hadn't escaped her.

"So you're part krogan," he commented as they both resumed their journey toward the shuttle docks. "I knew there was something I liked about you…"

* * *

**Nos Astra North Hospital, Illium…**

Esala clutched a ceramic container tightly in her small arms as she weaved her way through the people in the hallway of the hospital, cheerfully smiling at anyone who happened to glance her way. Months of hiding in crumbling buildings without power and hiding from Reapers with other frightened children were memories of the distant past for the young asari now, and she was just glad she had been able to slip out of the orphanage yet again to come and visit her friend. She barely had to look at the holographic markers on the walls to find her way to the psychiatric ward, and before long she was standing on her toes at the window where the receptionist waited, smiling at the asari.

"Good morning, Esala," the receptionist greeted her with a bright smile. "Here to visit Aida again?"

"Uh huh," the child nodded, placing the ceramic container on the window's surface. "I brought her seared sufia skewers," she added. She knew the procedure very well. Anything she brought in with her had to be run through the scanner to ensure there was nothing dangerous inside.

The older asari opened the container and gingerly pushed the grilled fish off of the skewers, setting the sharp metal objects aside. Esala pouted a little, but she didn't argue. The adults here had told her dozens of times in the past four years that nothing sharp could go in, but sufia skewers weren't skewers without the skewers in them! They were just… sufia. While she waited for the container to be run through the object scanner, she stepped into the security field, letting the system run a scan of her body. It was nothing she hadn't been through a dozen times before, and she gleefully stepped through the door when the scan was finished, accepting her food from the receptionist at the interior counter of the reception desk.

"Biometrics show that she is in the virtual garden," the woman told her.

"Thanks, Athele!" she skipped off down the hall, smiling at most of the patients and doctors, but giving any muttering patients a wide berth. They gave her the creeps, the way they were always talking to nobody… Adults weren't supposed to have imaginary friends…

When she entered the virtual garden, she paused to take in the scenery. The room was filled with perfect synthetic recreations of Thessian flowers, many of which they'd had in their own garden at home. The sight brought both cheer and a wave of sadness to the young child. The familiarity of the flowers was comforting, but memories of mother were always hard to bear, and not knowing the whereabouts of her father or sister was hard. It was why she came to visit Aida so often.

They had gotten off to a bad start, and Esala had been really mad at Aida at first for shooting someone, and then for calling her father stupid and trying to take her away from Illium. But after the crimson wave, the child had been all alone. She had returned… hesitantly… to check on Aida solely because the girl had said she was Illitha's friend. She had found the older girl lying on the floor and drooling. When other adults found them, they had taken Aida to the hospital, where doctors told her that the older girl was "catatonic," which she was later told meant something was wrong with her mind.

Knowing that Aida was crazy had helped Esala to feel much better about her. Crazy people couldn't help what they did. Even she knew that. So she had come to visit Aida in the hospital week after week, hoping that the doctors could help her fix her brain. Aida was her big sister's friend, after all, and she felt like as long as Aida was there, she had a little piece of her sister close by. She liked to think Aida was _her_ friend too…

She bounded past a row of synthetic flowers and hopped into the seat opposite Aida at the small table where the asari was sitting, grinning cheerfully at the girl.

"Hi, Aida! I brought you lunch!" she announced, snapping the lid off of the container and sliding it over in front of the other asari.

Aida only stared blankly into the container, but that was hardly unusual, so she picked up one of the pieces of boned, seared fish and held it up in front of the other asari until it finally caught Aida's attention, and then she brought it up to her own mouth slowly, taking a bite of it. Aida seemed to take the hint, and finally picked up a piece for herself, slowly taking a bite and chewing without seeming to really taste it.

Esala grinned and kicked her feet idly as she sat with the other asari, eating pieces of fish and telling the older girl about her day. Aida didn't speak… she never did… but that too, was something the child was used to. The doctors had explained long ago that the Reapers had done something to Aida's brain, and when they were destroyed, they took pieces of her thoughts with them. Now her brain had a hard time putting things together because of the holes. They hoped to be able to refill the holes, but it was slow work. Esala was just happy they were trying to help… and that they were always nice enough to explain things to her in a way she could understand. She was only in her third year of primary school, after all… all of the medical stuff was _so_ complicated…

"Hello, Esala," a voice interrupted her after she had been talking to Aida for about half an hour. "How are you today?"

Esala recognized the voice immediately, and turned her gaze upon the asari that owned it, a kind-hearted therapist named Ulensia. She smiled and bowed her head in greeting. "I am fine," she was quick to assure the woman. "Aida seems good. How is her therapy doing?"

"Going, not doing," the woman corrected her with a smile. "Nothing has changed since last week," the woman added in a softer tone, pulling a chair from a neighboring table and sitting down beside her. "It is going to take a lot of time. We still do not really understand what the Reapers did to Aida and people like her. But we are learning."

Esala frowned at the mention of the Reapers. While reconstruction of Illium was well underway and some neighborhoods already looked good as new, there were certain scars that would not heal so quickly. Her mother was dead because of the Reapers…

"Did you get her to talk yet?" she asked, trying to distract herself from thoughts of her mother.

"Not yet," the doctor smiled at her, stroking her scalp crests gently. "But she is still in there. She still remembers things. And she can remember new things. When I meld with her to help her, I can find images of you in there."

Esala grinned at this bit of news. She often wondered if her friend really knew who she was. Aida always seemed content to sit and listen to her, but it was hard to tell if she actually knew who was speaking. Sometimes the child felt like it could have been a turian yelling at Aida and she would still have had the same look on her face.

"Unfortunately, visiting hours are over," Ulensia said softly. "I have to get Aida back to her room for today's therapy session. But you can come back next week."

"Aww," Esala frowned, sliding from her chair with a pout. She walked around the table to Aida's side and wrapped her small arms around her in a hug, leaning up to kiss her on the cheek. "Bye Aida. I hope you liked the Sufia! Maybe next time I can bring human food."

"I am sure she would like that," the doctor smiled at her, taking her hand. "Let me walk you to the door."

Esala nodded slowly, allowing the doctor to lead her toward the exit. As they walked away, however, she saw that Aida had turned her head, and was watching them go. It wasn't the first time she'd seen such a thing, but it was an infrequent occurrence. And there was something about the way the other asari was looking at her… she seemed kind of sad. It made Esala feel a little sad as well.

"Feel better, Aida!" she called to the asari as she was led from the room.

As she walked down the hall, she almost immediately started thinking brighter thoughts. Someday, Aida would manage to smile at her, she hoped. She was waiting for that day. Second only to the arrival of her family to reclaim her, it was the thing she most hoped for in the galaxy.

* * *

**The **_**Khes'tal**_**, Migrant Fleet, Unnamed System 073…**

Selura was beaming as she stood with several of her quarian crewmates, gazing across the large, square-shaped room toward Neela, who was sitting with several friends at a table on the other end of the chamber. It was hard for the asari to pay attention to the conversation at hand, given that she was being congratulated for the hundredth time that day. Neela was wearing her enviro-suit as always, but the protective outfit was augmented with a quilted vest and hood of softest lavender, newly-made in honor of the day. The celebration had been underway for hours, and the time of their wedding was fast approaching. The asari could hardly contain her excitement that the day had finally arrived.

Selura saw Neela's head turn, and could see her girlfriend's radiant smile through the nearly-clear visor of her helmet… she had chosen to wear the visor she had saved from Selura's handiwork on Terra Nova, so that Selura could gaze into her eyes throughout the coming ceremony. Warmth filled her at the sight of that smile. This was a moment long in coming, and though the scientist herself was a child by the standards of her people, they had decided not to wait. Among the quarians, Neela was now considered an adult even though her pilgrimage hadn't officially been completed… and many of her peers of the same age were either married or seriously considering it.

The two friends with which Neela had been conversing rose from the table and drifted away from her, and Selura took the opportunity to activate her omni-tool, scrolling through the functions until she found the one she wanted. Neela's eyes were still upon her, and she saw the quarian shake her head slightly as if in warning, her eyes narrowing. Selura grinned at her as her hand strayed teasingly closer to the key.

While the two of them had not been truly intimate in their relationship yet, they had shared as much intimacy as was ever possible while they were both in enviro-suits, and that included Selura being given omni-tool access to Neela's nerve-stimulation program. She had been teasing the quarian all day with the threat of activating it, enjoying both the game she'd made of it and the promise that later that evening, they would finally be able to be together without relying upon it. When she saw Neela's companions returning she stopped teasing and instead switched to her holo camera, capturing a holo of her bride. Then she turned her attention back to her crewmates.

"You should have set up a drone for captures," her friend and fellow engineer, Hoan'Velir, commented. "I think that's about the fifteenth holo I've seen you take today…"

Selura grinned, hoping that her blush wasn't too apparent through the visor of her helmet… or that it was mistaken for one of excitement. She took the holos mostly to cover her teasing of her bride, and was glad that her cover was working. While she had learned that most quarians had a fairly accepting attitude toward intimacy and such suit functions, she still didn't want to embarrass Neela by calling attention to her little game.

"It would have been a good idea," she said softly. "I just think she looks so beautiful today. I can almost imagine I see her glowing through her suit."

"We can all imagine it," Hoan nodded slowly, his head turning in Neela's direction. "I really wasn't sold on your relationship with Neela when I first heard about it, to be honest. It's hard for a lot of us to imagine one of our people mating with an outsider instead of finding another quarian to love and having children to help perpetuate our race."

"I know," Selura nodded slowly. She was all too aware of how insular and focused on their own species' survival most quarians were. No one could blame them, given the struggles they had faced after being driven from their home world. She actually felt even sorrier for them now. The Migrant Fleet had been stranded by the deactivation of the mass relays, trapping them on the opposite side of the galaxy from their newly-reclaimed home world. No one had been able to even guess how long the Mass Relays would take to repair. And so the Admiralty Board had decided that they would start the journey home the long way, exploring new systems and setting up a network of comm buoys on the way. They were currently in orbit of an unnamed gas giant, gathering materials and refining them into fuel while scout ships launched probes at other planets in the system and catalogued them for future exploration and possibly colonization by some race or another. By the time the fleet reached Rannoch, they would have mapped dozens of new star systems for the galaxy, but it might take decades to actually reach their home…

Word had recently come through the comm buoy network from Earth that they had reactivated several of the relays. But for the quarians to go back would mean a four-year journey the way they had come. Instead, the admirals had chosen to press forward, since they expected to reach the Argos Rho cluster in approximately five years at their current rate of travel. Once there, they could go to work on reactivating that relay, in the hopes that by that time, other relays linking to it would be operational and they could complete the rest of their journey more quickly.

"I was so nervous when we first arrived about how we would be received, given our relationship," Selura finally murmured, tearing her thoughts away from the state of their voyage and concentrating on happier thoughts. This was not a day she wanted to spend brooding. She'd spent enough days on gloomier prospects.

"I think most of us could see what I've seen since we first met. It's obvious how happy you make each other. Even without those un-tinted visors it's apparent. You seem a perfect match." There were murmurs of agreement from her other friends at the statement.

Selura smiled brightly. Hoan was probably one of her closest friends aboard the ship, and she knew he never said anything he didn't mean. It meant a great deal to her to have his approval and support.

It had taken her months to earn the full respect and trust of her quarian crewmates aboard the _Ganaza _before it was destroyed in the war. After the pulse had destroyed the Reapers and the geth, a number of quarians had claimed derelict geth vessels and restored them to working order, seeking to expand the Migrant Fleet and to increase their own standing in their society. A close friend of Neela's father had been among these enterprising quarians, and it was upon his ship… a converted geth cruiser… that they all now served.

"I feel blessed to be here. There were times when I thought this day would never come," Selura admitted.

"That makes two of us," Neela's voice joined the conversation, and Selura could feel through the tactile emulators in her suit that her bride's hands settled on her shoulders. "Could you all excuse us for just a few moments? We need to talk before the ceremony starts…"

Selura grinned, even as she winced. She knew what was coming as soon as they were out of sight of any witnesses. The others nodded and drifted off to join other groups of revelers, and Neela took Selura by the hand, leading her out of the room and into the corridor beyond. The moment the door closed in their passing, the quarian turned and punched her in the arm, right where the padding was thinnest. Neela always knew _just_ where to strike. Benefits of having a suit technician for a father, the asari supposed.

"Bosh'tet!" Neela growled, but she was smiling as she spoke. "You're killing me with all of the teasing… Now hand over your omni-tool," she held out a hand.

"Oh, be serious!" Selura grinned at her, rubbing her arm. "I would not actually activate your nerve-stim program…"

"I should never have given you access to my suit's systems," Neela shook her head.

"I would have just spent my nights hacking in," Selura teased.

"Keelah," Neela laughed, slipping her arms around her and pressing close in a gentle embrace. "I bet you would have, too…" she said softly.

Selura glanced around furtively, and seeing that they were alone for the moment, she activated her omni-tool and actually _did_ activate the system in Neela's suit. She felt the quarian's body stiffen against her, and she smiled and held her close. Neela's hands ran down along her back, settling upon the curve of her backside, and she could feel her bride trembling by the time she deactivated the function.

"Keelah," Neela breathed when Selura finally deactivated the system. "You're not making it easy to wait for tonight…"

The quarian drew back to gaze into her eyes, and Selura could feel herself blushing as she met her bride's gaze. The end of the ceremony was something they were _both_ eagerly anticipating. As she stood there and their gazes remained locked, Selura felt truly blessed. Neela looked radiantly happy, and to see that happiness was all Selura wanted anymore.

"I know I have already said it, but you look beautiful today…" she whispered.

"Thank you. And you look… radiant," Neela smiled at her, and then slowly stepped away.

The quarian reached into a pocket at her side. The object she withdrew was a clear polymer sleeve, and had been specially made by her father just for this occasion. Selura smiled and watched as Neela attached it to the forearm of her suit, and then held her arm out to Selura. Selura slipped her arm into the other end of the sleeve, attaching it to the forearm of her own suit. Once it was sealed at both ends, internal systems in the sleeve activated to sterilize the interior. She then went to work on removing Neela's glove inside the sleeve, after which Neela did the same for her. Once both of their hands were bare, their fingers intertwined and they both smiled. Selura suddenly felt butterflies in her stomach.

"Are you ready for this?" she asked. "It is not too late to back out…" Though her tone held traces of playfulness, she held her breath as she waited for Neela's answer. She'd had nightmares for weeks about Neela changing her mind at the last moment.

"You're not getting rid of me now," Neela told her with a teasing smile.

Selura released her breath in a sigh of relief that made them both laugh nervously. She shifted her grip upon her bride's hand so that it would be easier to walk hand-in-hand with her, and she glanced toward the door. Ordinarily, quarian weddings began with the bride and groom coming from opposite sides of the room to stand together before the captain. However, to accommodate the asari tradition of maintaining a light meld throughout the ceremony, they'd had to change the normal course of things a little… thus the custom-made sleeve, to enable skin-to-skin contact.

The door opened, and two quarians exited from the main chamber. Selura recognized the embroidery on the padding covering their suits immediately, and she smiled at them both, even as she glanced past them to see the other members of the crew gathering in a circle around the captain.

"My little girl," Neela's mother whimpered the words, obviously on the verge of tears. "I am so proud to see you all grown up…"

"Mother, please," Neela laughed softly, sounding a little choked up herself. "You'll make me cry…"

"This is a day we've long awaited," Neela's father's voice was filled with pride. "To see you making a life for yourself as an adult among our people… Not quite the way I pictured it," he added with a sidelong glance at Selura. The asari wished she could see through the dark tint in his visor. "But Selura… I will be proud to call you my daughter as well."

Selura felt the swift sting of tears, and she took a deep breath, letting it out slowly in an attempt to maintain control. She knew she would likely end up crying by the time the ceremony was over with, but she hoped to at least be able to greet the captain without sniffling.

"Thank you, Dorn. I am prouder than I can express to be joining your family," she smiled at him, and then shifted her gaze to Neela's mother, who gathered them both into her embrace. She smiled and hugged the quarian matriarch fiercely in return.

"It's time," Rasya prompted them, and the two elder quarians took their places behind the asari and her bride. They would follow the two of them in, and when they took their places behind their daughters in the circle, the ring would be complete and unbroken. The love and support of the crew would encompass them on all sides.

Selura tightened her grip upon Neela's hand, and the two of them walked together as one toward the waiting circle of crewmates and friends, and toward their captain, who stood at its center. The asari felt her knees shaking as she began that walk, but Neela's grip upon her hand lent her both strength and courage. She couldn't imagine a life without her bride-to-be, and though she felt a small pang of regret that her mother was not there to witness her bonding, she was happy to be among the crew of quarians who were very much like a family to her.

Once they were standing before the captain, Neela and Selura turned toward each other. Selura gripped her bride's hand firmly, feeling her own shaking, and her eyes slowly darkened to black as she initiated the meld. Within moments, she could feel the quarian's heartbeat, racing in time with her own, and she could feel the nervousness they shared, but more overwhelmingly, the excitement, the happiness, and the pure and boundless love that brought them together. It was difficult to maintain her control and keep the joining between them light, so that it didn't submerge the outside world beneath it, but she would not allow herself to fail, and with the support she could feel emanating from Neela, she knew she would do just fine. She smiled at her bride, and saw Neela do the same.

"It is always a joyous day in a captain's life to see love shared by two members of his crew become a bond so strong as to inspire a life together," their captain began. "Community means everything to our people. We are many individuals traveling together on a single path, and it is the bonds of our community that shape and define that journey. As our community changes and grows, our bonds grow stronger, and so does our path into the future grow brighter. Especially now, on our final voyage through the stars toward the home world, these bonds give us strength. Like our people, the two of you began on separate paths, but now come together to continue forward as one. May the strength of your love, and the support and love of the family that surrounds you, brighten your future together and help to guide you along the path forward that you begin this day…"

Selura tried to listen to the captain's words, but in truth she was quickly becoming lost in the eyes of her bride… in the joy she could see there, as surely as she could feel it shared between them. She knew Neela could see the same in her own. The more their feelings were shared back and forth between them, the more they seemed amplified. It took every ounce of her will not to lose herself in the depths of the bond she had forged between them. That time would come soon enough.

* * *

**Alliance Refugee Camp D-193, North America, Earth…**

Illitha glanced around in confusion at the letter and number designations on the prefabs that surrounded her, glancing down at her omni-tool in confusion. The refugee camps were temporary cities that housed hundreds of thousands of dispossessed humans while the efforts to rebuild the cities continued, and since every prefab looked exactly the same aside from their designations, the asari was becoming lost during the attempt to find her way to their destination.

Behind her, she heard Vorak grumbling to himself, and was vaguely aware that the few humans in the area were giving the krogan a wide berth. It might have had something to do with her crewmate's obvious foul mood. While Vorak loved human culture and had barely been able to contain his excitement on the shuttle ride down, being deprived of his ludicrously-oversized cannon by security at the gates to the refugee camp had almost prompted him to resort to violence to keep it. Illitha had been forced to scramble to diffuse the situation, and had only managed to finally do so by snaring the krogan in a singularity until he promised to give up the weapon when it dropped him.

"Do you know where we're going or not?" the krogan growled.

"Every one of these buildings is identical… Just… I need a moment to get my bearings," Illitha muttered.

"You've had twenty minutes worth of 'moments' already," Vorak grumbled.

"It is… this way," she finally said, setting off along a row of prefabs. As she walked, she added, "I think…" under her breath.

It was Illitha's understanding that humans with financial means and those actually working for construction or reclamation crews had been the first to obtain new housing among the newly-constructed or repaired structures in the cities, leaving those with neither money nor contributions to make to the reconstruction to live in these camps until additional buildings were completed to make room for them. Fortunately, the human government had gone to great pains to perform a census of the survivors and record their whereabouts, so Illitha knew the ones she sought were present here. When she finally saw the letter and number designation she'd been given on one of the buildings, she paused in her stride, taking a deep breath to settle her nerves before she walked up to the door and pressed the doorbell.

"Just a sec," a voice called out from inside.

Illitha reached into the pocket at her side, pulling an omni-tool from within. It had been with her every day since Rachel's death, and now that the time had come to give it up, she found herself selfishly wanting to keep it. Of course, she suppressed that selfish urge.

The door opened, and Illitha found herself staring at an eerily familiar face. This girl's hair was cut much shorter than Rachel's had been, and there were subtle differences in her features, but for a moment, Illitha only saw Rachel standing there, and she felt tears flood her eyes. The asari had known that Rachel's sisters resembled her, but she hadn't anticipated just how much they would have grown up since the picture the blonde had once showed her. She guessed the girl standing in front of her now was just a year or two younger than Rachel had been at the time of her death.

The girl seemed a little taken aback at the presence of an asari and a massive krogan upon her doorstep, and it took her a moment to recover and respond. It was just as well, since it took Illitha just as long to find her voice…

"Can I help you?" the human girl asked.

"I-I am sorry," Illitha stammered, stuttering for the first time in years… the war had beaten the luxury of indecision out of her, and by its end she had no longer been stumbling over her own words. She took a deep breath to get a handle on herself. "You are Holly, are you not? Holly Sanders?"

"Yeah…" the girl regarded her suspiciously.

"I… My name is Illitha T'Zari. I am… I was Rachel's friend. We fought together on Terra Nova-"

"Mom!" the girl suddenly called, her expression immediately clouding with sadness and pain.

An older human woman almost immediately appeared from a second room in the prefab, followed by a teenage girl that Illitha knew would be Rachel's youngest sister, Jessica. The older woman looked from Holly to Illitha, and her expression hardened imperceptibly.

"Lady Sanders," Illitha bowed her head, instinctively using the title by which she would have referred to an asari matron or matriarch. "My name is Illitha T'Zari. I was friends with your daughter. I fought with her on Terra Nova. I… I was with her when she died."

The sadness and pain on the faces of all three women as she spoke was like a knife in Illitha's heart. She knew they'd all had a number of years to deal with their grief – the Alliance had contacted the families of the fallen soon after the war's end – but Illitha also knew that it was a pain that never truly went away. Time had proven that her own feelings for Rachel were more than just a crush. She still loved the blonde as much as she had at the time of her death. She was quick to continue.

"I made a promise to Rachel… that I would see her omni-tool delivered into your hands," Illitha told them, holding out the device. "She said there was a message on it for her family…"

Rachel's mother stepped forward, and her hand shook as she reached out to take the omni-tool. All three of the blondes were staring at the device as it lay in her palm, and Illitha knew they were eager to play the message. She decided it would be best to withdraw quickly. But she had one more thing to give them. She reached behind her neck and unclasped the necklace she wore, holding up the dog tag. Her gaze shifted to Holly.

"Rachel told me that you planned to join the Alliance one day," she said softly. "I… I thought you should have this."

Her eyes lingered momentarily upon the placard dangling from the chain, and she sighed inwardly when the teenager's hand closed around it. Holly cradled it in the palm of her hand, staring at it for a moment, and then raised her eyes to regard Illitha.

"You and my sister were… together?" she asked.

Illitha hadn't realized that her feelings were so plain upon her face, and she felt herself blushing at the question. She was quick to shake her head. "No! Goddess, no… I…" she swallowed. "Rachel was not interested in me in that way. I loved her, yes," she admitted, hoping that the humans would not take offense. "But we were just friends. Close friends."

"Thank you," Rachel's mother spoke up, clearing her throat. "It means a lot that you would travel all the way here to give this to us."

"How did she die?" the teenager, Jessica, suddenly asked.

Illitha was overcome with guilt and anger at the question. She knew, deep down, that these three women deserved the truth and needed closure, but she couldn't bear to tell them that her best friend had shot Rachel. She felt a wave of self-loathing over her hesitance, but she opted for a somewhat gentler and more diplomatic version of the truth.

"She was with me and my team, fighting to stop an indoctrinated salarian. She was instrumental in getting us to him. But she was killed in a surprise attack before we could defeat him…" she bowed her head. "I am sorry. I tried to protect her… It is my fault…"

"No it's not," Holly's words surprised Illitha, and she raised her head to find the elder teen regarding her steadily. "In a war, people die," the girl's voice was soft and filled with pain, but her gaze never wavered. "I have watched the documentaries and vids made by survivors of the war. I plan to join the Alliance. And I know that Rachel died-" the girl's voice cracked, but she swallowed and continued. "Rachel died fighting so that many others could live. She died to beat an enemy that _had_ to be beaten. And if she was instrumental in getting you to where you needed to be like you say… then her death… it made a difference. But it was no one's fault but the Reapers'."

Illitha nodded slowly. She still felt responsible. She always would. Just like she felt responsible for the death of every man and woman that she commanded during the course of the war. But she also recognized that the larger part of the blame rested with the Reapers. She managed to smile at the teenager.

"Your sister was an excellent soldier," she told her. "I fought with many during the war, and she was the measure against which I evaluated all the others… None ever truly matched up. She was proud of you," her gaze shifted to the other girls as well, and she added, "_all _of you. It was clear in the way she talked about you. I am only sorry we had to meet under these circumstances. Take care of yourselves…"

Illitha turned to go, wanting to leave the three women to view Rachel's final message in peace. As she was turning away, however, a hand caught hold of hers and pulled her to a stop. Surprised, she turned to find Holly holding onto her. The girl smiled sadly and held up the necklace with Rachel's dog tag upon it.

"If you two were so close, then I think Rachel would want you to have this," the girl said softly.

"I cannot-" Illitha started to protest, but the girl cut her off.

"You can, and you will. I will have my own next year," she smiled.

Illitha was slow to take the necklace, but when her hand wrapped around it and she felt the cool metal settle in her palm, it was comforting to her, as it always was. She glanced at the other two girls uncertainly, and saw both of them nod their heads. She smiled.

"Thank you," she said softly, slipping the necklace over her head once more.

There were no further goodbyes spoken. Illitha and her companion walked away, and she could vaguely hear Rachel's voice speaking after the door closed. She hoped that whatever message the blonde had recorded for her family would bring them some measure of peace. She had never played it herself. She'd felt it would have been too disrespectful to listen to a message intended for the ears of Rachel's family.

The walk toward the gate of the camp was silent, save for the conversation of people they passed. Vorak seemed content to leave Illitha to her thoughts. Or perhaps he assumed that she was upset and didn't want to make her even more so. However, though her thoughts were filled with sadness over the memory of Rachel's death, the years since her passing had also soothed the sting of her loss enough that Illitha could think about the blonde with a smile. And now that she'd finally kept her promise, she felt a great deal of weight lifted from her thoughts. She knew in her heart that Rachel was at peace.

As the sentries at the gate struggled to lift the krogan's cannon so they could return it to him, she decided that lingering upon Rachel's home world for a little longer couldn't hurt.

"Do you know if there are any operating restaurants in the city?" she asked the guard, her gaze turning upon the distant cluster of buildings that marked the nearest settlement. Even from this distance, she could see shuttles and cranes being used to rebuild structures, but she knew some portions of the place would have been finished.

"Yeah," the guard nodded. "The northeastern section of the city is mostly complete. There are restaurants and takeout places all over those neighborhoods." The man glanced sidelong at the krogan and seemed to hesitate before adding. "City security isn't gonna let you carry that thing around though."

Illitha smiled at Vorak, laying a hand on the krogan's massive arm. "Would I still have to pry that weapon of yours from your cold, dead hands if I offered to treat you to a meal of pizza?" she asked. She knew the krogan was enthralled with all things human, and wanted to see just how human food would stack up against her companion's love of weapons.

"Deep dish?" the krogan rumbled.

"Yes."

"Meat lovers'?"

"If you wish."

"Extra cheese?"

"Of course."

"Five pies, and you've got a deal," a toothy grin spread across the krogan's wide jaw.

"We'll log the weapon in with local security when we get there," Illitha smiled, declaring victory in her test. Perhaps if she stocked human food consistently enough on her ship, she could finally get the krogan to leave his weapon in his cabin…

"I wonder if there's a bioti-ball game on the vids tonight," the krogan mused as they set off toward their waiting skycar rental.

* * *

**The **_**Khes'tal**_**, Migrant Fleet, Unnamed System 073…**

Neela stood at the window, her eyes lingering upon the lovely blue and red bands that graced the gas giant. Quarian and geth ships were visible everywhere as her people worked to harvest resources for fuel and construction. However, her thoughts were not currently with her people, but focused wholly upon the noises behind her as Selura moved around the room. She could feel herself trembling with excitement and nervousness, and her entire body was still tingling with the aftereffects of the meld that had bound them throughout their wedding ceremony. She glanced down at her wrist, where a delicate band of silver encircled the limb. It was decorated with intricate engraving, and was a symbol – by asari custom – of their status as bondmates. She could still hardly believe that it was finally done.

"Goddess," she heard Selura breathe, "What a breathtaking sight…"

Neela turned to face her wife, smiling at her as she stood in front of the window. She knew that the asari wasn't referring to the backdrop of the gas giant beyond the window. Selura had removed her visor and helmet and placed them upon the table behind her. Neela reached up and snapped her own visor free of its moorings, then set to work removing her own helmet.

While the two of them had been assigned a small shared cabin as part of their marriage ceremony, their first night together would be spent in the solitude of this room, one of several clean rooms intended to allow open-air interactions for such things as mating, childbirth, and similar events. She smiled at her new mate, her gaze traveling down over the asari's form idly. Selura was wearing a quarian-style enviro-suit, made by Neela's father, and had been ever since joining them on the Migrant Fleet. Any doubts Neela had ever harbored about the depths of Selura's love had been erased long ago. The asari had no need of an environmental suit to survive, and yet she had willingly been living in one for years… solely to be a part of Neela's life. The quarian's love for the asari overwhelmed her at that moment.

"Stay there," Selura urged when Neela started to take a step forward. Neela froze in place, and she saw the asari activate her omni-tool, taking a quick capture of her as she stood in front of the window. She started blushing.

"I have been waiting for so long for this chance," Neela admitted, glancing around at their surroundings with a deepening blush.

"Goddess, me too…" Selura stepped closer to her, sliding an arm around her waist and pulling her close. "Watching your face when we've been together in the past is always a treat, but something about letting your nerve-stim program do so much of the work makes me want to cry…" the asari teased.

Neela suddenly felt stifled by the heat in her suit, and she gazed into the asari's eyes without saying a word, awed by how much of Selura's feelings she could see in her gaze. She lowered her eyes shyly, only to raise them again when her wife's finger touched the underside of her chin, softly stroking the bare flesh. She met the asari's gaze once more, and their lips came together in a slow, sensual kiss. Neela could feel Selura trembling as they shared that kiss, and she knew that she was doing the same. By the time their lips separated, they were both breathless.

Selura slowly moved back a few steps, and she started working to free herself of her enviro-suit. Getting out of the protective gear was time-consuming, and Neela knew she should have been doing the same, but she found that she couldn't tear her eyes away from the asari as more and more of her bare skin was made visible as the suit came away from her body. Neela's eyes lingered upon the dark lines of the cybernetic inlays that marred the otherwise flawless pale blue of Selura's skin, and she felt like she was once more on the verge of tears of joy… they were yet another sign of just how much Selura had committed to life among Neela's people.

"You're beautiful," she finally said as Selura shed the last of the outfit and stood in front of her without a hint of discomfort. While the words were simple, the emotion conveyed by them was more powerful than anything she could express with words. Her eyes traveled over her wife's body, and the desire she could hear in her own voice shocked her. Her hands shook as she reached up to begin removing her own suit.

By the time the last of her own suit was lying upon the floor, Selura's face and neck were flushed with purple, and the asari's gaze was so intense that Neela could almost feel it upon her skin. The minutes that had ticked by while the two of them undressed had only heightened their anticipation, and Neela felt like she was drowning in her desire. She had kept only one thing she'd been wearing in her hands… her new asari bonding bracelet. This, she returned to its spot upon her wrist, and she saw Selura's gaze soften when the silver band was settled once more in its proper place. She held her arms out to her wife, and laughed when Selura surged across the small distance that separated them, instantly wrapping her up in a vice-like embrace. Their lips met in a hungry, almost frenzied kiss, and Neela marveled at the silken softness and the intense heat of the asari's bare skin upon her own. Selura walked her backward while they kissed, and it wasn't long before she felt the bed against the back of her legs.

When Selura drew back to gaze at her, the asari's eyes had darkened to black, and she was already beginning to feel the effects of the meld between them. Selura's desire and excitement joined her own, and they were united in all of their emotions and sensations. The corner of the asari's lips curled in that teasing smile Neela so adored.

"Embrace eternity…" Selura whispered, as if it was an afterthought.

"I'd much rather embrace you," Neela smiled at her, placing a soft kiss upon the tip of her nose.

The quarian tightened her arms around her bride, falling back onto the bed and pulling Selura down atop her. The room was theirs for the entire night, and if Neela had anything to say about it, they would be getting absolutely _no_ sleep until their time was up. Already, Selura's hands were beginning to roam along her flanks and down the outside of one of her thighs, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. She closed her eyes and concentrated on Selura's excitement and love… or perhaps it was her own… it was hard to tell in the midst of the meld. Only one thing was certain. They were _both_ intent on making this a night to remember…

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* * *

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**Author's Notes: Well, this is going up about three hours later than usual, because of issues in my life completely unrelated to the internet. I had to wait until other things were taken care of before I could get around to putting this up. But finally, it's here! I apologize to everyone who was expecting it earlier, and especially those of you who PMed about the lack of an update. The eagerness is very appreciated :)**

**So, this is the end! I hope the ending of the story was as satisfying as the story itself. I know there are a few elements that may have been a little open to debate, such as Aida's state after Indoctrination, but I was just trying to work with information given in the games. They claimed in the games that in past cycles, when the Reapers withdrew, their indoctrinated agents were left to waste away and die, which suggests that once indoctrinated, without the Reapers to guide them, victims no longer have the capability for independent action and survival. And so, this is just my take on the few bits of information already provided to us.**

**Likewise, the quarians' journey home the long way just made sense to me, but I know others might disagree. I just figured, since they are already practiced at surviving on the move and scavenging for materials, it's not such a stretch to figure that they would head out toward home, setting up communications and stopping at any Relays they pass to try to reactivate them. If I decide to do another story, it will probably be founded on this vision of the post-war galaxy. As I've mentioned previously, I already have a few vague ideas rolling around, so who knows? In a couple months I may start on something new.**


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